As designers of hotels, homes, furniture and accessories, George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg spend their days surrounded by intriguing objects. But when the founders of the Toronto- and New York-based design firm Yabu Pushelberg choose pieces to keep in their own homes, they focus mainly on two considerations.
“Sometimes it’s a trigger of a memory, of good times,” said Mr. Pushelberg, 71, explaining that the couple collects objects that recall their travels, from finds in North American antiques shops to discoveries in cities like Delhi, Marrakesh, Milan and Tokyo.
Mr. Yabu, 71, said they also look for items that will inspire their design work, which has included hotels for brands such as Aman, Edition and Park Hyatt, and furniture for companies including Molteni&C, DePadova and Stellar Works.
“I don’t like an object just because it’s pretty,” Mr. Yabu said. “I like an object because I think it’s going to inspire me in the future.”
The pieces that populate the couple’s loft-like apartment in Manhattan’s West Village are “like an inventory of ideas and thoughts,” he said.
