I’m constantly reviewing photos from past travels. Whether I’m pulling a story together related to art, mosaics or trends, everything’s mentally cataloged. Today I figured it was time to do a stool round up.

Lately, cushions from the US seem to fall into one of two categories: neutral and organic or vibrant and geometric.

If you hop across the Atlantic (or perhaps the Pacific) though, you’ll notice that designers abroad are a bit more playful.

From this clever needlepoint top at Milan’s La Rinascente department store to these glitter-covered tree stumps at Bensimmon in Paris to this sad emoticon in Tokyo, to this Helsinki technicolor stool, all examples illustrate how to brighten up a home with a little unexpected character.