apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Being from western PA, I couldn't not experience Frank Lloyd Wright. I appreciate attempts to integrate nature and natural elements into the overall design of a space, aside from the obvious modern influence from Fallingwater.

But I have to admit, it was a a show on E! or some other network that had one of Betsey Johnson's apartments on that really sparked my interest in interior design. I am not a fan of pink or florals like she is. But the way that she mixed traditional with vintage, uses color, and created a home that reflected her unique personality was truly inspiring.

Charles and Ray Eames -- it's incredibly inspiring to see a philosophy play itself out across such varied projects. It reminds me that I am who I am in every design situation I encounter, whether I'm working on a client project or grappling with an aspect of my home. And, it reminds me to have fun!

Ilse Craford.

An obsession that continues all of these years later. ALSO, I find that when I look back at pictures of her interiors that i saw years ago, a lot of those ideas have found there way into my home without me having realized it.

the first I remember being enamored with were Saladino, Le Corbusier, Andrée Putnam, Charles Rennie MacKintosh, Josef Hoffman, Alvar Aalto, Frank Lloyd Wright, and the Bauhaus... when I was in high school, I wanted to be an architect...

The only piece that sticks with me is Saladino's juxtaposition of old with new, but none of these relate to my life, not even Saladino.

My inspirations for over the past decade and a half remain: Ilse Crawford, Axel Vervoordt and, to a lesser degree than in the past, Christian Liagre. The first two are brilliant at mixing different vintages, textures, and the last two are also about refined simplicity and discipline.

kristian: how cool!!

(I was so thrilled to see her in the current issue of Domino!)

I have to go with Vicente Wolf as well. I was lucky enough to work for him when I first started out in interior design and what he taught me has stayed with me to this day.

This going to sound kinda weird..

When I was a kid, I had a dollhouse that my grandfather built for me. I spent a little time playing with the dolls but I was more facinated with painting, wallpapering, furnishing and making little tiny realistic things for my dollhouse. I started watching a television show with Lynette Jennings. Now that I think about this, it is really odd to think of the child me watching a decorating show.

Anyway.. it was through that show that I started to learn that interior design was a profession. I had that idea through high school and when it came to looking for colleges I realized that it was a real major and a real job!

In school, I was very influenced by my art and architectural history classes. The art nouveu and art deco periods really inspired me as well as the Bauhaus movement. I think the whole time period where industrialization was happening and some (Bauhaus) embraced it while others in the Arts and Crafts movement idealized hand made and craftsmanship was really exciting. That mix of industrial and hand made still drives me today.

As a tween I used to watch Lynette Jennings, This old house, and the New yankee workshop.

This is soooo going to date me, but when I first got interested in interior design and furniture (as a kid), I thought the Milan-based group Memphis was so rad (have to use the proper decade's terminology.) I even had a poster in my bedroom. It's particularly funny because at the same time I was saving my money to buy Scandinavian designed furniture. Google Memphis Design and get an embarrassing retro kick.

I'm not alone! Thanks LaDonnaNichole

Joe Brunson...my family'sgay decorator from my childhood. Effete, glamorous, and wordly...he was my hero. I still have many of the pieces he sourced for my dad's office....35 years later...and they all still work.

Russel Wright. He was the originator of "design your life." It wasn't just about architecture and furniture. It was native landscaping, accessories, dishware, a whole system of living. His Guide to Easier Living was published in 1950, reissued in 2003 and just as relevant as 50 years earlier.

lol Vicente Wolf for me too. Until I found joy in color a little bit more than texture. I still follow a few of his golden rules though, such as placing picture frames closer to furniture so they're not just lonely floating at eye-level. Guy's awesome.

I love this post! It's so fun to think about one's aesthetic journey and read about that of others. My first design influence was certainly my father, who filled our house with an eclectic and perfectly balanced mix of all things Saarinen, Eames & van der Rohe, togther with treasured finds that would do the above mentioned modern masters proud.

When I began my interior design career in the early '90s, I too was ALL ABOUT VICENTE! ...and Saladino, Victoria Hagen, Christian Liaigre, Dialogica, Totem, Philippe Starck, Aero Studios. Then came Muriel Brandolini and Allegra & Ashley Hicks.

Insert total interior design burnout and subsequent hiatus, so I have no idea what happened in design between 2000 and 2006 - as is totally evident from my list of influences!

Today, Saarinen, Eames, van der Rohe, Christian Liaigre, Muriel Brandolini & Allegra & Ashley Hicks remain, joined by some very good company - Kelly Wearstler.

The funny thing is, I am currently imersed in an obsessive search for a Finn Juhl Poet Sofa for my dining room to use as a banquette on one side of my Saarinen table - WHICH IS SO VICENTE WOLF - it all comes full circle doesn't it ;)

My earliest memories of liking a "style" come from Biedermeier furniture. I've long loved architect Oliver Rousseau's center patio San Francisco homes, but find Wright's Usonian houses to be sexy beasts as well :D

I don't yet have a favorite interior designer.

Kelly Hoppen. Definitely.

Um, I'm a little embarrassed to say that my first design inspiration was HGTV, followed by Apartment Therapy.

Earlier, I has inklings that some world existed out there where people knew how to organize spaces and colors and make things functional and beautiful, but the only real designers I could identify were Frank Lloyd Wright, IKEA (bear with me here), my very stylish interior decorator neighbors, and some really good city planners that I'd read. Design -- as a field, an art, a profession, a community, magazines -- was something I didn't know existed. Really. I thought beautifully designed places were just a matter of instinct and luck. And, although I'd heard of the job of "interior designer," I thought that this was a service for people with tons of cash and very traditional, old-fashioned tastes.

Then I discovered HGTV in 2006 while staying at a vacation rental house that had cable (I don't). I loved it -- every single show, every single makeover. So I started looking for some sort of web version of HGTV. when I stumbled upon apartmenttherapy. com (thanks to Real Simple) and my heart literally skipped a beat.

Confession: I don't know what Eames is even though I see that name a dozen times a day on AT. However, what I love about AT is that it illustrates the principles of good design for me so that regardless of my knowledge of designers & big names (or lack thereof), I can extrapolate design ideas, use them to guide my instincts and interests, and put together a great living space. I look forward to learning a lot more. This has opened up a whole new world for me. Thank you!

I'm with Hasina - Kelly Hoppen, plus Catherine Memmi, Anouska Hempel, Andree Putman, Christian Liagre. Love the french take on soft minimalism.

He's not really a designer, but more of a retail genius. Terence Conran. He really has a great sensibility. Modern, but also eclectic. Minimal, but warm. Design classics, but also good basics.

Love his whole empire -- Habitat (now sold off), restaurants, Conran Shop, interior design books, etc.