Decorating Under the Influence

October 29, 2012

As I grapple with the balance of finding design inspiration in magazines and online and making it my own I go back to a WSJ article that I read not too long ago about interior designers and their mentors.  This article starts off with Albert Hadley, who mentored Bunny Williams, who mentored Miles Redd who then mentored Nick Olsen where the lineage ends (in the article at least!).  It was interesting to read about what they learned from each other.  I can imagine the tension between the aesthetic influence they are under and the battle to make their own mark and style. A battle of wonderful inspiration that comes in so many shapes and sizes and transforming into something new, different, and unique that stands on its own. 

After reading the article I went back and looked at their portfolios again with a more discriminate eye to try and find the influences and I can say they are there- from fabric choices, to art selection and placement, to window treatments and furniture arrangement.  As I did this self-imposed exercise I chose a favorite without realizing it. It just so happened all my favorite images were all of the same designer....can you guess who?

 Did you guess? Who is your favorite?

Happy Monday! here is to a wonderful week!

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12 comments

  1. Ohhhh al love all the house. Ohhh the art wall gallery is beautiful.
    the chair !!!! the pillows. fabulous

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  2. You are right! I definitely see the similarities! I love the second interior photo, is it miles redd? I love the pink and leopard prints, gorgeous!

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  3. I too, love Miles Redd! I adore his use of color!

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  4. I adore Miles Redd. Which reminds me, I need to buy his book! xx

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  5. Well seeing the other comments it seems that the designer is Miles Redd (but honestly I wouldn't have guessed without seeing the answers !).
    But I love those pictures and all these lacquer walls ... A marvel!

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  6. I.LOVE.THIS.POST.... love how you gave us the mentor lineage-- and gorgeous photos. this is well researched, thanks for the educational beautiful way to start the week ! xx

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  7. Interesting! Great images to go with along with the content =)

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  8. I love the first one with the gallery picture wall the pink with the red and the zebra - so beautiful!

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  9. I don't know about any of them enough to determine who it is but I think Miles Redd likes to lacquer his walls and there is a lot of that above.

    I have to say that I don't like showing inspiration images to clients of other people's work because then it feels to me like I'm ripping someone else off. I try to get my inspiration from other things {doesn't always happen but I try}. I don't mind if someone brings me an image of something they love but I hate to show them something myself unless they don't understand what I am trying to describe. Sometimes it's easier to find an image than to draw it.

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  10. Definitely MR!! I love the images you've shared. How interesting about the mentoring. I'm going to read the article now.

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  11. I LOVE this post!!! Miles Redd is simply amazing. I love the fact that he was named creative director for Oscar de la Renta Home Line. What an amazing combination: One of the greatest fashion designers ever paired with an impeccable interior designer!

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  12. I definitely relate to you with finding that balance between influence and your own style! I actually find my real creativity blossoms when I purposely give the 'inspiration' a break for a while!

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You make my day with your comments! Thank you!!

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