Home Decor

Top designer dishes on the perfect gift, how to freshen up a room and what he has in common with Cher

If the name Michael Aram rings a bell, you're not alone. Many people recognize the award-winning American homeware and fine jewelry designer’s name and eponymous brand. His pieces can be found in galleries and shops worldwide, including major department stores and specialty boutiques.

Aram studied and worked in fine art in New York until the late 1980's when he took a life-altering trip to India. It's here that he discovered metalworking. Inspired, he turned his passion and energies towards the craft starting his own brand of metal-themed home decor in 1989.

Today, he splits his time between New York City and New Delhi with his partner Aret Tikiryan and their two children.

In Houston for a personal appearance at Events Gifts in River Oaks, the warm and instantly disarming designer, who loves customer conversations, chatted with CultureMap about his business, his family and what he has in common with Cher and the Kardashians.

CultureMap: What’s inspiring you now?

Michael Aram: I would say a lot. I started the company when I was 25 years old and we’re now in our 26th year of business. I always say, jokingly, that every day feels like the first day. For me, making things and creating is in my blood. It fuels me and excites me to move forward. I’m really, truly as excited today as when I started the company. I feel like the longer you do something, the more in your groove you get, and the farther you can push it.

CM: How do you stay creative after all these years?

MA: It’s not hard to stay creative. One of the new things we’re doing is working in new materials. For example, we launched a fine jewelry collection in the fall. To go from working in bronze and stainless steel to now working in sterling silver, 18-karat gold and precious stones has been a huge shift even though, of course, it’s still metal.

In terms of categories, we’re expanding hugely into the lighting and furniture arenas. This allows me to work larger. One of the really amazing things for me, as an artist, has been to return to fine art. Last year for our 25th anniversary, I created 12 different large sculptural pieces. I did it as a way to pay tribute to my beginnings, before I started working in decorative art, but I was so pleased with how well it was received by our existing customers and by our collector base that sculptural objects are now part of our offerings.

CM: What’s the perfect gift?

MA: That’s a hard question. There are so many perfect gifts. We encourage symbolic gifting. I’m crazy about my Butterfly Ginkgo collection right now on a symbolic level as well as an artistic level. It’s a celebration of nature, which is my biggest muse. But it’s also a reference to a variety of the Ginkgo tree called the Ginkgo Biloba. I amplified the story to be symbolic of metamorphosis from flora to fauna. The butterfly is coming out of the cocoon and landing on the branch. There’s something very poetic about that. If we think about giving a gift to someone and being able to convey that this is a piece about change, about well-being and about resilience, it has such meaning.

I think jewelry is the ultimate gift. You know when you got a piece of jewelry. You know who bought it for you, or if you bought it for yourself and why. Quite often, you know who you’re going to leave it to. It’s such an incredibly treasured piece. You wear so close to your body and it becomes part of you. It's symbolic of who you are.

CM: What’s a good way someone can freshen up a room?

MA: With quick fixes. So much of what we design are pieces for entertaining. When you have guests over and pull them out, they take center stage. Freshen up with just a few pieces – a cheese board, nut dish, wine coasters. They’re things that are used, touched, considered and give pause as people use them.

CM: What’s something someone wouldn’t know about you?

MA: I think they wouldn’t know a lot about me. The fact that I’ve spent most of my adult life in India. That I’m an artist maker, not just a designer in an ivory tower. I’m actually very tied to the making process.

CM: You have four-year-old twins. How do you do it all?

MA: I’m very blessed. I have an incredible partner who is able to stay home with the kids and allows me to continue with my work. My office is quite close to where we live and their (the kids) school is halfway in between. The kids come and visit me in the design studio nearly every day. They inspire me and always give me ideas of what I should make. Thankfully, my life, my family and my work are all very integrated.

CM: I’ve heard that you and Kim Kardashian are the two most famous Armenians right now. What do you think of that?

MA: I have heard that before. I think Cher is on the list, too. I’ll share the stage with Cher.

Aram is happy to share Armenian heritage with Cher.

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home design trends

Self-care is key among hottest bathroom renovation trends right now

Photo by Pete Helme; design by Interiors by Chloe

White and off-white are still the most frequently picked tones for bathroom walls.

The interior design experts at Houzz are unveiling the hottest renovation trends for Houston homeowners who are ready to say goodbye their outdated bathrooms and step into updated, self-care retreats.

The "2026 U.S. Houzz Bathroom Trends Study" surveyed over 1,600 homeowners who are currently renovating or have recently completed a bathroom renovation to determine the top design choices, features, and the overarching goals for their projects.

"Homeowners want their bathrooms to work harder for them to support both daily routines and self-care," said Marine Sargsyan, Houzz head of economic research. "That's showing up in the numbers, with median spend rebounding to $15,000, and nearly half of homeowners making their showers bigger. Pros are helping their clients to reconfigure layouts and make more room for the features that elevate everyday comfort."

Below are the most sought-after bathroom upgrades in 2026.

Bathrooms stay relatively the same size, but self-care tops the priority list
One of the main highlights in the report was that half of all homeowners surveyed said they spent more time relaxing and "soaking up self care" in their bathrooms after renovations were finished. Fore 28 percent, that's for beauty and pampering routines, and for 23 percent, it's for rest and relaxation.

With this in mind, most homeowners also said they don't want their bathrooms to be larger and take away precious space in the primary bedroom. Instead, homeowners are making strategic improvements like reworking the bathroom layout; increasing the size of the shower area; or updating ventilation, heating, or plumbing.

"The vast majority of bathrooms (82 percent) keep their size after renovation, while just 1 percent shrink," the report said. "When bathroom footprints increase, they tend to be modest."

Additionally, about 90 percent of homeowners said they were hiring a professional to help with their renovation projects rather than doing it themselves. This takes away some of the stress of executing renovations, though it might come at a higher cost than a DIY project.

Top-picked styles and design details
The majority of homeowners (81 percent) update the style of their bathroom when they renovate, the report said, with transitional and contemporary styles leading as the most popular choices.

Specifically, homeowners are most often choosing solid wood (like maple and white oak) for their cabinets, and white or off-white quartzite for countertops, and white or off-white paint across the shower walls and non-shower walls. While this may seem sterile at first, about 34 percent of homeowners are including an accent wall to add a touch of personality to the space.

"Renovating homeowners who include an accent wall in their bathroom projects mostly use patterns to make them stand out (53 percent)," the report said. "Color is the second choice (48 percent), followed by surface material (45 percent) and texture (25 percent)."

Porcelain and ceramic tile are the top two choices for shower flooring and for the flooring outside the shower, Houzz reported.

Specialty features surging in popularity
Recessed lighting, bidet toilet seats, and mirrors with adjustable lighting color temperature are a few of the hottest specialty features being added to bathrooms, the report found.

"[A] third of renovating homeowners add a specialty mirror feature (33 percent), most often LED lighting (26 percent) or an antifog system (21 percent)," Houzz said.

For vanity updates, 61 percent of homeowners upgrade to entirely custom or semi-custom piece, and 21 percent of homeowners opt for stock models. These new vanities are most often wider than what was previously used, and feature soft-close drawers and doors. Built-in features — such as electrical outlets, hair tool organizers, and drawer organizers — are another popular choice for vanity upgrades.

Accessibility features for homeowners planning for the future
Nearly three quarters of homeowners are planning bathroom upgrades to address their future needs.

The top aging-in-place features incorporated by renovating homeowners are grab bars, continuous or nonslip flooring, low-curb or curbless showers, additional lighting, ADA-compliant toilets, and wheelchair-accessible doorways. Four percent of homeowners said they were lowering the height of their vanities, and two percent said they were lowering their shower fixtures.

Several of these ideas were also highlighted in Houzz's 2025 renovation trends report.

Photo by Pete Helme; design by Interiors by Chloe

White and off-white are still the most frequently picked tones for bathroom walls.

home design home design trends houzz bathrooms renovation