Your color of 2011: It’s all over the spectrum, but I am surprised that yellow is creeping into my designs and I like it!
Design element you’re so over: Cheap knockoffs
The new neutral: Eggshell—it brightens any room and provides unity when needed as well as contrast.
Every home should have: A signature candle
Favorite home store: I want to support our local shopkeepers, so my vote is Grange Hall.
To red or not to red: It’s strong, and I love it when a client wants to use red, but most people shy away from strong colors.
The most overused word in the design world: Fresh, but I still use it.
Favorite coffee table book: Art and Architecture by Brigitte Hintzen-Bohlen and Jurgen Sorges
Biggest design influence: Sally Sirkin Lewis
Your color of 2011: Dark hues, likely red. Red isn’t new, but I love it.
The new neutral: Dark blue
Every home should have: Large-scale art
If you were a designer in another country, it would be: Italy or France
Favorite home store: Moss in New York City
Most overused word in the design world: “Clean lines” and “drama” are both overused, but in a positive way. “Eclectic” is overused when it is impossible to label a style in a space.
Favorite coffee table book: Tom Ford by Tom Ford, Bridget Foley, Graydon Carter, and Anna Wintour
Biggest design influence: Japanese “wabi-sabi” philosophy
Your color of 2011: Byzantine
Design element you’re so over: White ceilings (unless the walls are white)
Every home should have: A great book collection or art you truly love
If you were a designer in another country, it would be: Japan
Favorite home store: Vinya
To red or not to red: The color red evokes the most intense response of any color. Use it sparingly or “make a declaration.”
The most overused word in the design world: Amazing
Favorite coffee table book: East Meets West by Daniel Ost
Your color of 2011: I might experiment with using very soft butter yellow (English butter, of course).
Design element you’re so over: We don’t need one more “eyebrow arch” in the world.
The new neutral: I love the color of real putty translated into a warm gray lacquer, rubbed to a satin sheen.
Every home should have: A good espresso machine
If you were a designer in another country, it would be: I would love to live and work in Spain. Maybe Argentina in semi-retirement.
Favorite home store: Gracious Home in NYC
To red or not to red: I am passionate about Cinnabar red, a very particular shade of Japanese lacquer that I have never been able to achieve with unleaded paints. I have a pet rock lacquered in that color on my desk.
Most overused word in the design world: Fabulous
Brant McFarlain
Biggest design influence: The fashion industry and travel inspire me.
Design element you’re so over: I am so tired of chocolate brown, rift-cut oak.
The new neutral: I use black as a neutral.
Every home should have: Unique personality with objects that reflect the homeowner
If you were a designer in another country, it would be: Italy
Favorite design store: Locally, I love Grange Hall.
To red or not to red: I almost never use red. It’s not a color I’ve been drawn to.
Favorite coffee table book: Tom Ford by Tom Ford, Bridget Foley, Graydon Carter, and Anna Wintour
Biggest design influence: Travel
Your color of 2011: Periwinkle (blue-purple)
Design element you’re so over: Ruffles
The new neutral: Lamp Room Grey by Farrow and Ball
Every home should have: Comfortable seating
If you were a designer in another country, it would be: England
Favorite home store: Axel Vervoordt in Belgium—especially his spaces at antique shows at Maastricht
Most overused word in the design world: Eclectic
Favorite coffee table book: Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator by Adam Lewis
