Umbra

Designed for real life.

OriginCanada

Est.1979

Warranty1-Year Limited Manufacturer's Warranty

Known forOriginal, functional design for everyday objects — wall hooks, jewellery storage, mirrors, picture frames, planters and home organisation — including modern classics like the Garbo waste can, held in the permanent collection at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Designed in TorontoFunction-first thinkingOriginal, patented designsEveryday objects, elevatedDesigned, not sourced

Umbra is the Toronto design house that rethinks the everyday object. For over four decades it has taken the things most brands ignore — the hook, the jewellery dish, the mirror, the planter, the dish rack — and redesigned them with wit, originality and a function-first mind. Every piece is conceived in Umbra's own studio by a named team of designers, built around how people actually live rather than how an object looks sitting still. The result is homeware that earns its keep: clever where it counts, modern without trying too hard, and priced so original design isn't reserved for the showroom. From the window-mounted Triflora planter to the sculptural Hubba mirror, these are the small solutions a home runs on.

The Planter That Frees Your Windowsill

Few designs are as unmistakably Umbra as the Triflora. Instead of crowding a sill, it suspends three adjustable pots on a slim tension rod mounted inside the window frame — putting herbs, succulents or trailing greenery in the light where they thrive, and handing you back every surface below. No drilling, no permanent fixing; the pots slide along the rod so you arrange the display to suit the plants and the room. It's the whole Umbra idea in a single object: a small daily annoyance most people just tolerate, quietly solved by better design — and a piece of living wall decor in its own right.

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EU's Take

Why We Stock Umbra

We're drawn to brands that genuinely design, and in homewares that's rarer than it should be — most of the category is the same blank with a different badge. Umbra is the opposite: its own Toronto studio, designers credited by name, and a patent wall thick enough to tell you how often it gets copied. What sells us is that the cleverness always has a point. Every piece answers a real, everyday irritation — a planter that clears your sill, a rail that's mirror and hook in one, a dish rack that folds away. It's affordable design with a point of view, the kind of object someone picks up and instantly understands. For organisation, entryways, wall decor and the practical corners of a home, it's exactly the brand we want to put in someone's hands.

It Started With a Window Shade

In 1979, childhood friends Paul Rowan and Les Mandelbaum couldn't find a window shade they actually wanted to live with — so they made their own. That one question, could this be better?, turned into a way of working. Rather than chase statement pieces, Umbra looked at the objects people use without thinking — the ones that organise a room, shape a routine, or solve a small problem so quietly they go unnoticed — and gave them original, considered design. More than four decades on, working from its Toronto studio with an in-house team of named designers, the belief is unchanged: function isn't added at the end, it's where the work begins, and everyday objects deserve original design. It's an approach that's put Umbra in homes across more than a hundred countries — and one piece, the Garbo waste can, into the permanent collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Umbra products designed in-house, or just branded?

Designed in-house. Around 90% of the range is created in Umbra's own Toronto studio by named designers, and the company patents its work — which is why so many cheaper look-alikes exist. Buying genuine Umbra means you get the original proportions, materials and mechanisms the design was engineered with, not a thinner copy that mimics the look but cuts the function. It's also covered by Umbra's manufacturer warranty, which copies are not.

How does the Umbra Triflora hanging planter attach, does it damage the window frame?

It mounts inside the window recess on an adjustable tension rod, held by pressure against the frame — no screws, no drilling, no holes, so it's safe for rentals and leaves no mark when removed. The three pots slide along the rod so you can space them to suit your plants and the light. Plant with lightweight potting mix rather than heavy garden soil and water modestly, keeping the load within what the tension mount is designed to hold.

Do Umbra over-the-door hooks fit a standard door, and do they need screws?

The over-the-door styles, like the Buddy hook, simply hook over the top edge of the door — no tools, no fixing, nothing to damage, and they lift off freely (ideal for renters). They fit standard interior doors; if your doors are unusually thick or panelled, measure the top edge against the product's stated fit before buying.

Is the Umbra Hubba mirror OK in a bathroom?

Yes — the Hubba range is designed for entryways, living spaces and bathrooms, with a slim metallic-finish frame that suits a steamy environment. As with any wall mirror, match the fixings to your wall type (toggle anchors for plasterboard, a tile bit clear of grout lines on tiled walls), and the included hardware covers standard mounting.

Which Umbra bathroom pieces can handle constant moisture, and which can't?

The functional bathroom items — drain stops, hair catchers, sink caddies, toothbrush and tissue holders — are made from rust-resistant, water-friendly materials like coated steel, silicone, ABS and TPR, and are built for daily splashes and steam. The pieces to keep out of a wet zone are the timber-framed and velvet-lined items (some mirrors, jewellery boxes, storage boxes) — natural wood and fabric prefer a drier spot. As a rule: plastic, silicone and coated-metal are bathroom-ready; timber and velvet aren't.

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The Planter That Frees Your Windowsill

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It Started With a Window Shade

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The Planter That Frees Your Windowsill

The Planter That Frees Your Windowsill

Why We Stock Umbra

It Started With a Window Shade

Frequently Asked Questions

Contact Us

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