Certain Objects is a Chicago-based decorating practice and design gallery founded by Sarah Cougill.

My work draws on a deep knowledge of vintage furniture as well as relationships with contemporary designers and artists. I build rooms first through spatial planning, then work with a client’s existing pieces and layer in carefully considered additions. The finished room should feel useful and particular, with pieces from different periods finding a natural place together.

The gallery presents emerging independent makers alongside historical works of design. Its program looks closely at how things are made and the many decisions that give an object its character. Exhibitions are also an argument for experiencing furniture and functional art in person, at full scale and in relation to other things.

Certain Objects also publishes writing about interiors, furniture, craft and visual culture.

The studio is located in Chicago’s Kinzie Industrial Corridor and is open for exhibitions, events and appointments.