Donut design: the sweetest furniture trend of 2025
21-5-2025
Translation: machine translated
Furniture that looks like donuts? Sounds crazy, but it's the latest interior trend.
The donut has long been more than just a snack. Its iconic shape is currently inspiring the design world. Whether stool or planter - the silhouette brings playful vibes into your home.
A prime example of this is the pouf «Boa» by Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis, which was designed for furniture manufacturer Hem in 2021. With its sculptural, chunky donut shape, the piece causes a stir - and perhaps even a ravenous appetite. But it's more than just a feast for the eyes: its completely seamless fabric cover was a milestone in upholstered furniture manufacturing and shows how technological innovation and design can go hand in hand.
Why now?
The donut as a stylistic device is anything but new - it's been around since the 60s. Back then, for example, Ingo Maurer launched the «Pox Donut Wall Lamp». An eye-catcher that proves how timeless the silhouette is.
At the time, it stood for playfulness and minimalism from the pop art era. The soft, rounded shapes were like a little wink and made it clear: design can be sweet sometimes. In today's world, which is becoming more digital and abstract, many people are once again longing for tangible shapes that radiate a sense of security. Donut furniture delivers just that.
New ingredients for donut designs
Donut designs are also evolving - with innovative materials such as XL Extralight®. This is recyclable, waterproof, UV-resistant, ultra-light and designed to last. Sabine Marcelis' new project, the «Bloom Planter», presented at Milan Design Week 2025, is made of it. She explains: «The double donut shape not only gives the object a strong look, but also makes watering easier - and even a bit fun.» With two chambers, it is designed to provide better watering as a planter, but can also simply serve as a storage box.
The sweets in comparison
While many current trends focus on strict lines or sustainable materials, donut furniture focuses on a rounded, almost childlike aesthetic. One example of this is «Glassa» from Italian studio Pepita Design: An industrial steel frame combines with a donut-shaped seat made of bouclé fabric, playing with contrasts and making raw materials look sophisticated. Hand-polished steel and precise 5-axis technology, in which a machine moves in five different directions, combine with fine craftsmanship to make the stool a mix of industrial look and glamour.
Heavy metal, soft look
The glaze is what really takes a donut to the next level - both visually and in terms of flavour. This is precisely the effect that Yang Shueiyuan has created in his bar stool from the «Railing Collection»: with a shiny iron seat.
The «Chunk Stool» from Obscure Objects also demonstrates how versatile candy can be as a design element: With cylindrical shapes and extruded circles, the stool looks almost surreal, while its hand-brushed surface and seamless stainless steel seat ring add elegance.
How to bring the donut vibe into your home
Donut furniture is perfect if you like unusual furnishings. They make a statement without taking over the whole room. Whether as a vase, lamp or stool, the soft silhouette brings cosiness to living spaces. Sounds like your taste? Then you can find more🍩-inspired ideas here.
Pia Seidel
Senior Editor
Pia.Seidel@digitecgalaxus.chLike a cheerleader, I love celebrating good design and bringing you closer to everything furniture- and interior design- related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior ideas, report on trends and interview creative minds about their work.
