About

About ilan

Home is where the small things matter. The keys you can never find. The shelf that holds too much. The entryway that sets the tone for the whole day. ilan was founded on the belief that the objects we live with every day deserve the same rigor and care as the spaces we design around them.

The Founder

Ilan Rubin is a designer who has spent his career cutting through clutter — visual, functional, and physical. Trained in modern design and obsessed with the relationship between form and function, Ilan started the brand with a simple conviction: that a beautifully made object can quietly transform how you move through your home.

The Control Panel began as a personal frustration — the daily scramble for wallet, phone, keys. The solution had to be effortless, adaptable, and honest in its materials. It had to earn its place on the wall.

Design Philosophy

Every ilan piece is designed to do more with less. Magnetic components give each organizer flexibility without compromise — hooks, shelves, and mirrors can be repositioned as your life changes. Fixed forms tend to become clutter; adaptable ones stay useful.

We don't design for trends. We design for the long term: objects that look right, work flawlessly, and age well. The goal is always to remove friction from daily life, not to add decoration to it.

Materials & Craft

ilan products are built in solid walnut — a hardwood chosen for its warmth, durability, and the way it improves with age. Powder-coated metal components add structural precision while keeping a clean, considered palette. Every material is selected to last, and to look better for having been used.

Solid walnut is a responsibly harvested hardwood. We choose materials that we can stand behind — honest, durable, and free of unnecessary complexity.

As Seen In

The Control Panel was featured with a glowing review in NYT Wirecutter — recognition that thoughtful design and genuine utility go hand in hand.

Built to Last

We make things you'll keep. Not because we tell you to, but because they're worth keeping. That's the only sustainability story that matters to us: objects that don't end up in a landfill because they never stopped working.

ilan — designed to cut through the clutter.

Ilan Rubin trains his photographer's eye on the world and sees space in terms of composition, light and narrative. After moving to New York City in 1985, he spent several decades as a commercial and editorial photographer, collaborating with clients like Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Knoll and Barneys in the kind of rigorous and creative problem-solving that now informs his design work. With a gift for illuminating the beauty in unity, ilan transforms the everyday into something extraordinary.

ilan cuts through the clutter with impeccably crafted modern design that connects form to function. Streamlined solutions for every room in the house offer a sense of relief, a poetic structure that is truly liberating. Magnetic components provide an elegant modularity that enhances efficiency and encourages individual expression. Creativity and play are the order of the day.

In keeping with our vision and aesthetic, ilan always chooses high quality, enduring materials and processes that are environmentally friendly and sustainable. Our solid walnut is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, powder-coating is efficient and resilient and magnets are fully recyclable. Our corrugated cardboard packaging can also be recycled.