Katayoun Hatami

Designed in response to the question “How can I design for my own cultural representation within British space?”, Part of the Furniture is a collection of four stools - Haldi, Basmati, Upon my Back, and Stonetown - that embed South Asian presence into the everyday setting of the British pub. Familiar in form yet subversive in meaning, the project asks how subtle interventions in material culture can challenge what, and who, is seen as “British” and who gets to feel like they belong in British space.

Grounded in a designer-as-subject approach, the collection draws from personal heritage to explore themes of domestic ritual, sensory memory, hybridity, and colonial history. Each stool uses the vernacular of traditional pub furniture, not to blend in, but to quietly disrupt, slipping cultural identity into the background of social space.

Rather than offering explanation or spectacle, these pieces sit among, not apart, asking users to reflect on what feels familiar and what feels unfamiliar - and why.

Installed and tested in a working Edinburgh pub, the stools prompted open conversations about belonging, memory, and cultural visibility. They act not only as functional furniture but as spatial prompts - objects that hold identity without demanding attention, making room for others to do the same.

Part of the Furniture is accompanied by Making Space, a guidebook for designers who wish to explore cultural identity through material practice.