Venus Williams’ New Crate & Barrel Collection Blends Tennis and Italian Design

Venus Williams is bringing her eye for interiors to Crate & Barrel with a new furniture and home décor collection that combines her longtime connection to tennis with an appreciation for Milanese design. The collaboration with Crate & Barrel and Crate & Kids launches September 15 and spans nearly 200 pieces across furniture, lighting, textiles, accessories, and children's décor.

For Williams, the project is a natural extension of a design interest that has been part of her professional life for years. The tennis champion founded V Starr Interiors in 2002 and has continued to work in interior design alongside her career in sports and other creative pursuits. Her latest collaboration gives that experience a broader retail platform.

The collection also reflects an unusual combination of influences. Tennis is present throughout the assortment, but Williams and Crate & Barrel's design team approached the sport through its culture, geometry, movement, and traditions rather than simply reproducing obvious tennis imagery.

A Design Collection Inspired by Tennis and Milan

The collaboration developed in part from a design trip Williams took to Milan with Sebastian Brauer, Crate & Barrel and Crate & Kids' head of product design. The Italian city became an important reference point for the collection, particularly its mid-century modern and eclectic design influences.

In an interview with Vogue, Williams explained that she wanted the pieces to feel elegant and timeless rather than overly literal. That approach is visible in the way tennis references appear throughout the collection. Some are subtle, while others are intentionally playful.

One example is the Game Point Swivel Accent Chair. The sculptural chair has an Italian-inspired silhouette while incorporating details that reference tennis balls. Williams described the tennis elements as something the team deliberately "snuck" into the designs rather than making them the sole visual focus.

Crate & Barrel's Brauer similarly explained to Vogue that the team was interested in the broader culture of tennis, including movement, geometry, preparation, arrival, and the sport's historical environments.

That distinction gives the collection a wider design vocabulary. Instead of creating a line that looks like sports merchandise, Williams and the brand translated elements of tennis into furniture forms, materials, patterns, and decorative details.

Furniture, Lighting, Textiles, and Decorative Pieces

The collection covers many of the categories expected from a full home collection. Pieces include sofas, beds, chairs, tables, credenzas, mirrors, lamps, blankets, pillows, boxes, and decorative accessories.

Among the featured products are the Rossi lamp, arm sofa, Legacy credenza, coffee table, mirror, chair, end table, and several textile and tabletop pieces. Vogue reported prices ranging from smaller accessories to larger furniture pieces, including a $599 Rossi lamp and a $2,699 Legacy credenza.

The variety allows the collection to function as more than a single-room assortment. Homeowners can incorporate individual pieces into existing interiors rather than needing to redesign an entire space around the collaboration.

The furniture also reflects Williams' interest in pieces that can remain relevant beyond a particular trend cycle. She told Vogue that she wanted the designs to have the feeling of furniture that could be lived with for years, similar to an heirloom piece passed through a family.

That philosophy is particularly notable in a celebrity collaboration, where collections can sometimes lean heavily into recognizable branding. Here, the tennis connection is part of the story, but the pieces are designed to operate as home furnishings first.

The Crate & Kids Collection Takes a Different Approach

Williams is also collaborating with Crate & Kids as part of the launch. The children's assortment reflects a more playful interpretation of her design ideas while maintaining connections to the broader collection.

Her inspiration for the children's range was personal. Williams told Vogue that she wanted to create a room she would have wanted as a child. As an aunt to her sister Serena Williams' daughters, Olympia and Adira, she also has a close connection to the experience of designing spaces for children.

The result expands the collaboration beyond adult furniture and décor. Rather than simply adapting the main collection for younger audiences, the Crate & Kids portion gives Williams an opportunity to approach scale, color, furniture, and bedroom design from a different perspective.

The children's pieces also reinforce one of the broader ideas behind the collaboration: a home can reflect personality without sacrificing longevity. Williams' approach treats children's interiors as spaces that can be imaginative while still feeling considered and cohesive.

Venus Williams' Design Career Continues to Expand

Williams' Crate & Barrel collaboration is another example of how her professional interests extend beyond tennis. Her design practice, V Starr Interiors, predates the new collection by more than two decades, giving the partnership a foundation beyond celebrity branding.

Her interest in design also fits with the way she has discussed creativity throughout her career. In her Vogue interview, Williams compared tennis and design as disciplines that both involve creativity, problem-solving, and an element of personal expression.

The Crate & Barrel collection ultimately brings those interests together in a format accessible to a wider audience. Tennis provides the starting point, while Milanese design, mid-century references, sculptural forms, and everyday functionality give the collection its broader identity.

For homeowners, that means the collection does not require an interest in tennis to make sense. A sculptural chair, substantial credenza, distinctive lamp, or textured textile can work within a room independently of the story behind it.

The collection's launch also places Williams within the growing group of athletes, entertainers, and other public figures entering the home-design space. In her case, however, the partnership builds on an established design practice and a long-standing interest in interiors.

Rather than treating the home as an extension of a sports career, Williams' Crate & Barrel collection presents design as its own creative discipline. The result is a collaboration where tennis serves as inspiration, but the furniture and décor remain focused on how people actually want their homes to look and feel.