DWR Ushers in a New Chapter of Enduring Design with Landmark Residency Program

Stamford, CT - Design Within Reach (DWR) has played a major role in shepherding the most celebrated midcentury classics into the 21^st century, with an unparalleled assortment of modern design titans that continues to grow - from Charles and Ray Eames, to Florence Knoll, Marcel Bruer, Verner Panton, George Nelson, Jens Risom, Frank Gehry and Pierre Paulin, to name a few. When these classics were developed, they confronted the challenges of their time and helped set a new standard of modern living. DWR is committed to this practice and is thrilled to launch the DWR Design Residency, an ambitious new platform that will invest in the next generation of modern masters.

Through an immersive, 18-month collaboration with the DWR product team, the program will support residents by leveraging DWR's scale, reach, and deep product intelligence in shaping design for modern living for both today and decades to come. Each resident will receive strategic design briefs, research insights, and full production support to address the unmet needs of modern life.

"The DWR Design Residency reaffirms the brand's commitment to supporting the creative voices shaping modern life today," says Debbie Propst, President of Global Retail for MillerKnoll. "Each residency welcomes a new global thought leader - a designer poised to become a future master - and gives them the space, resources, and platform to bring visionary ideas to market."

DWR's inaugural resident is acclaimed designer Hlynur Atlason. Over the next three years, Atlason will introduce more than 20 DWR collections, a significant contribution to the brand's rapid portfolio growth.

Over the past year and a half, the DWR design team worked out of Atlason's New York City studio, while members of his team collaborated from DWR's Stamford, CT headquarters - a fluid exchange that allowed ideas to travel quickly and prototypes to evolve in real time. Atlason received briefs across three core categories: upholstery, dining, and storage. These briefs were informed by nationwide market research and insights gathered from sales teams from DWR stores across North America, identifying where there are specific opportunities. The result: an impressive number of innovative collections - each one intentionally designed to address various lifestyles, demographic needs, and emerging patterns in how people live now.

"I consider DWR to be the authority on modern design in North America," says Hlynur Atlason. "It's been a gratifying two-year period of intense study and design work, during which Atlason and DWR functioned as one in an effort to bring new ideas into the universe of modern design. Now, we get to see a number of new pieces start making their way into the world, and I'm excited to see them find their place amongst all the beautiful classics we know and love."

To celebrate the announcement of the Residency program, as part of DWR's Summer 2026 assortment launching today, Atlason introduces the Atlason Americano Sofa and Atlason Organic Slab Table Collections. These designs follow the Atlason Composed Modular Sofa which DWR launched earlier this year

"Atlason is driven by his curiosity about design, culture, and where the two intersect," says Omar Nobil, DWR's Creative Director. "The Residency allows us to invest in talent whose work we believe will define this century, and beyond. Atlason exemplifies this vision. He is a true empath, who designs with intention and an innate appreciation in the role of beauty in everyday life. Atlason removes the unnecessary while elevating comfort, tactility, and purpose - an organic alignment with DWR's values."

To learn more about the DWR Design Residency and Atlason's latest designs, please visit dwr.com or your local DWR store.

Media Contact:
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About DWR
Where modern design's greatest stories become part of yours.

At DWR, we curate the leading modern design brands in home furnishings, from around the world. We offer the most robust collection of design classics alongside the next generation of iconic design. We curate and create thoughtfully designed, exceptionally crafted, built-to-last pieces that move with you, from home to home, generation to generation.

DWR provides customers with endless opportunities to shape spaces that are deeply personal, boldly individual, and uniquely their own.

Our unparalleled selection of exclusive designs span all categories of the home and is available to residential customers and trade clients across North America. DWR is part of MillerKnoll. Visit dwr.com or one of our 45+ stores for more.

About Hlynur Atlason
Hlynur Vagn Atlason came to design by chance. Raised in Reykjavík, where no design school existed when he left. He found his way to Paris, and it was there that an open house at Parsons interrupted everything else he thought he was doing. "I didn't know the profession existed until I was in my 20s," he says.

The discovery was immediate and all-consuming. "When I started studying, I was just completely taken over by this stuff." He transferred to Parsons New York, earned a BFA in Industrial Design, and went on to start his eponymous studio in Manhattan. With an ever-observant eye, he identifies what the moment calls for and responds with objects: A razor a generation of women made their own, a tequila bottle that redefined the category, a chair that looks like sculpture and feels like relief; that are sophisticated, effortless, and built to endure.

His practice is rooted in a genuine curiosity about how people live. New materials, emerging technologies, and shifting behaviors are as much a part of his process as form and proportion. "There's a fairly pure aesthetic to most things I do. I'm not much for embellishments. That's what feels right."

That restraint is never passive. Atlason reimagines the familiar with precision and warmth, introducing new modes of comfort without announcing them. "I don't see furniture as an exercise in form alone, but as a response to the way we actually live right now."

In 2023, the Smithsonian's Cooper Hewitt Design Museum awarded Atlason the National Design Award for Product Design, the highest honor in American design.