If you were asked to create the guest list for a fantasy dinner party, whom would you invite? Dreaming up interesting combinations of dinner companions is one of my favorite pastimes. If asked to base my guest list on the designers I would like to meet, I would choose Miles Redd, Thomas O’Brien and Vicente Wolf, three handsome, world-renowned designers who live interesting lives and create rooms in which I want to live.
Vicente Wolf is a Cuban-born world traveler and photographer who has created an eclectic, but curated, approach to interior design that celebrates the cultures he has visited during his travels. He has published three books—“Learning to See,” “Crossing Boundaries: A Global Vision of Design” and “Lifting the Curtain on Design”—that inspire the reader to see the world and the world of design through his eyes.
Vicente’s view of design is a unique one that juxtaposes ornate with simple, ancient with modern, and luxurious with austere. His signature look is comprised of interesting, and sometimes startling, combinations of chairs, large leaning mirrors, ancient artifacts, the Saarinen tulip table, and furniture arrangements that float in the middle of the room surrounded by modern artwork and beautiful photography. He has developed an international style that looks at home anywhere in the world.
Thomas O’Brien is an interior and home furnishings designer known for his loft-inspired, vintage modern designs. He is the founder of AERO, an interior design studio and unique retail store located in Soho, the neighborhood that inspires much of his work. Thomas has published two books—“American Modern” and “AERO, Beginning to Now”—which illustrate how he creates rooms that are inspired by the vintage past, and yet feel modern and entirely relevant for today.
O’Brien combines industrial elements from the early twentieth century with furnishings from a range of periods to formulate a look that he calls “warm modern.” He has helped translate the loft lifestyle into a design philosophy that works in Soho as well as neighborhoods throughout the country. Thomas O’Brien is also known for the fabulous lighting fixtures he designs for Circa Lighting, as well as for the very affordable home products he designs for Target.
Miles Redd brings an entirely different design philosophy to the (dinner) table with his quirky brand of glamour. His unique aesthetic vision combines traditional design with whimsical splashes of color, exotic finishes and modern gestures to enliven and invigorate his rooms with boldness, fantasy, and sophistication. Miles is responsible for one of my favorite tomes, “The Big Book of Chic,” which showcases his design work and provides a humorous glimpse into Redd’s vivid imagination. As you flip through the pages of his book, you see vibrant shades of red, turquoise and green, animal prints, lacquered and mirrored surfaces and bold pattern play. Rooms designed by Miles Redd never cease to surprise and delight.
The invitation list in complete, the table is set and the guests have been introduced. Now it’s time to sit back and enjoy.
Jim Tibbs is the creative director of HDR Remodeling. If you would like to learn more, please read his blog at http://hdrremodeling.wordpress.com or follow him on Twitter @HDRremodeling1.
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