Mark Cutler Design
Name: Mark Cutler Design Inc.
Location: West Hollywood, California
Size: Two floor town house
Years worked in: 12 years; Rented
Mark Cutler has been designing interior and architectural spaces for years, making his name with residential designs for celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Steve Carrell. He’s a familiar figure on shelter magazines and HGTV, and his newest venture nousDECOR.com launched earlier this month.
After working with many different styles of decor and interior projects, Mark has teamed up with Heather Gillette and developed a site that offers a search engine and designer template for anyone who wants to create a new space. NousDECOR.com offers a system like Pinterest or Houzz, combined with the abilities of AutoCad or Photoshop-like abilities.
Mark’s design studio is located on a little hidden street in West Hollywood that is full of creative businesses. His office employs several assistants and includes a full library, a gorgeous conference area, and plenty of resources for future projects. It’s a very cozy and functional office — welcome in!
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My Style: Eclectic. I am constantly fascinated by a variety of different things, and that is reflected in my work.
Inspiration: I find inspiration in a bunch of different places: standing in line at Starbucks, on a beach in Tahiti, basically anywhere. Being aware of what surrounds you will keep doors opening. Obviously, online stuff intrigues me too, but the wealth of inspiration can be overwhelming, and one of the things that drew me to nousDECOR was dealing with that. Unless you can structure your inspiration, it is useless.
Favorite Element: Favorite element of my job? Well that would have to be the people! For me design is about portraiture, so the variety of people who are my clients are my constant source of inspiration, drive and sometimes terror… how could that not be my favorite part?
Biggest Challenge: The biggest challenge for me is to synthesize someone’s life into a home that reflects who they are and what they stand for. I believe that this is a pretty universal challenge, and it’s one that nousDECOR was also built to address.
Biggest Embarrassment: I don’t embarrass easily. Being willing to step forward and throw out ideas is the equivalent to cliff diving on a daily basis. There is no room for embarrassment in that scenario; sometimes you get back to the surface and find your swimsuit came off, but that’s what makes it so appealing.
Proudest DIY: I love DIY projects… nousDECOR is actually launching a filter that will help people search for DIY projects, I will be uploading some of my favorite DIY projects to the site too.
Biggest Indulgence: Art. I think that truly good or great art can constantly remind you about the magic that is your life, so that is something that I can rarely stop from buying. The other thing is books…
Best Advice: BE YOURSELF. Truly great rooms are like mirrors: they reflect the personality of their maker. So your room should show people who you are, where you are, and where you want to go. I love to mix both high and low items, but the trick is, don’t pretend that items are more than they are. An inexpensive vase can be stunning on a very expensive antique table, just don’t try to pretend it’s Grandma’s crystal.
Resources of Note:
Downstairs
- Wall color: Farrow & Ball “Lime White”, discontinued color
- Dining Table: Crate and Barrel
- Dining Chairs: Wertz Brothers, repainted
- Hanging pendant: Circa Lighting
- Reception Desk: Custom designed by Mark Cutler Design, made by JW Custom Woodwork.
- Pair of leather arm chairs: made by Danny Custom Upholstery, leather by Mark Tursi
- Leather slipper chair: made by Quadrus Studio, leather by Mark Tursi
- Floor lamp: Circa Lighting
- Pair of cabinets: Oly
- Folding screen: Dessin Fournir
- High-voltage telephone wire sculpture: Anthropologie
- Ceramic urchins: Bespoke Global
Library
- Hanging light: Ikea
Marks Office
- Wing chair: Noir LA
All upstairs art: TKO
Thanks, Mark!
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