2022 1stDibs 50 Designers

Chris Shao Studio LLC

Color crush, Shanghai-style

Photo by Zhao Yihong

When is decorating like cotton candy? When the spinner of the sweetness is Chris Shao, a Shanghai- and New York–based designer who understands what young collectors crave. Fantasy was on the menu in this private Shanghai retreat for Kylie Ying, founder of the ART021 fair. Shao began with a Pack sofa by Edra in mind-expanding white plush, adding similarly snuggly armchairs by OBJ+ and a Cocoon swing from Louis Vuitton Objets Nomades, designed by Fernando and Humberto Campana. Patricia Urquiola is the mind behind the Glas Italia iridescent table and stool, but the brilliance here is Shao’s for mixing name designers with local talent (like J McDonald, whose green Tentacle Lamp has wildly snackable curves) and delivering the joy. It’s all “self-centric, in a good way,” Shao says. 

Photo by Rainbo Ding

 “The most beautiful home is the one that tells the best stories.”
— Chris Shao

Designer Picks

Michel Amar Black Swan Table Lamp, New, Offered by Les Ateliers Courbet Shop Now
Michel Amar Black Swan Table Lamp, New, Offered by Les Ateliers Courbet

“This is not only a lamp but also a sculpture.”

Anna Karlin W Chair, Shape B, New Shop Now
Anna Karlin W Chair, Shape B, New

“Vernacular but cosmopolitan”

Brodie Neill Alpha Ebonized-Oak Stackable Chair, New, Offered by Made in Ratio Shop Now
Brodie Neill Alpha Ebonized-Oak Stackable Chair, New, Offered by Made in Ratio

“Over the past year, Chris Shao Studio has purchased more than thirty of these chairs. The simple form and beauty of this chair appeal to our clients from the East and the West. This is our go-to chair.”

R & Y Augousti Tomboy 8 Buffet Cabinet, New, Offered by R&Y Augousti Shop Now
R & Y Augousti Tomboy 8 Buffet Cabinet, New, Offered by R&Y Augousti

“This is one of the most intricate contemporary cabinets I’ve ever seen. The geometry of the cabinet surface subtly connecting each shagreen patch is phenomenal.”

Bryce Cai for Objective Collection OBJ+ Pearl Chair, New Shop Now
Bryce Cai for Objective Collection OBJ+ Pearl Chair, New

“Designed by Bryce Cai, this chair perfectly embodies a great play of different materials and silhouette. The fact that this whole chair is supported by the sphere at the back is absolutely sexy.”

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Chris Shao Studio LLC
With studios in both New York and Shanghai, Chris Shao designs interiors that fuse masculine with feminine, rich fabrics with sharp contemporary silhouettes and romantic imagination with classical stoicism. His aesthetic is pared-back, evincing a respect for materials, while remaining avant-garde in its reinterpretations of contemporary classics.
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