Tag Archives: Thomas O’Brien

Blogfest 2011: Lee Jofa Heritage Collection with Iconic Interior Designers on Long Island

Next stop on the agenda – May Studios on Long Island. The Blogfest 2011 crew was spoiled with a once-in-a-lifetime treat! Lee Jofa  celebrated the launch of their new “Heritage Collection” by having 6 iconic interior designers design vignettes using fabrics from the collection. This party was hosted by Traditional Home.

 

Suzanne Kasler, David Easton, Diamond Baratta Design, Eric Cohler, Suzanne Rheinstein, and Thomas O’Brien were all in attendance. These designers were all gracious and autographed our very own “Inspired Styles” book published by Assouline.  

 

 

(Above left) Thomas O’Brien’s vignette and (Above right) Hilaire with Thomas O’Brien

 

 

(Above) The Rosebank Print and vignette designed by Diamond Baratta Design.

 

(Above lef) Jennifer Powell of Kravet speaks with Eric Cohler about his vignette while (above left) is a glimpse of David Easton signing books for fellow attendees of the event.

Tomorrow we’ll have a review of the Ace Hotel, plus more on the events at Blogfest including a kickin cool tour of Kravet and Lee Jofa’s headquarters in Manhattan.

Stay tuned!

images: 1. Mayo Studios & the rest are personal

Need Holiday Gift Ideas? 7 Of Our Favorite Interior Design Books

Designers gather inspiration from many different places, one being innovative interior design books written by iconic interior designers of the day. In no particular order we have listed some of our faves. For anyone who loves interiors, these can be awesome gift ideas for the holidays.

Alexa Hampton The Language of Interior Design

Alexa Hampton – The Language of Interior Design

Alexa is without a doubt one of America’s most influential interior designers. Judy has an autographed copy sitting on her bookshelf in her office.

Thomas O'Brien American Modern

Thomas O’Brien – American Modern

Thomas is often referred to as a taste-maker bringing ranges of style into homes across the country. The Thomas O’Brien brand can be found in Target stores, Visual Comfort and Hickory Chair to name a few.

Suzanne-Kasler-Inspired-Interiors

Suzanne Kasler – Inspired Interiors

If you’ve stopped by the office recently, you might have seen this book in our front sitting room; our Hickory Chair rep, Kristin, gave this autographed book, as a gift to the entire firm. Kristin, thank you! You are so sweet.

Suzanne’s interior design is timeless!

Home By Kelly Hoppen

Kelly Hoppen – Home

Kelly is a world-renowned British designer with huge amounts of chic style.

celerie-kemble-to-your-taste

Celerie Kemble – To Your Taste

This is one of Lauren’s favorite.

“New York “it girl” interior designer Celerie Kemble and writing partner Karen Kelly give readers a snappy, in-depth guide to cultivating personal style at home.” – Veranda


Domino The Book of Decorating

Domino – The Book of Decorating

Every DIYer’s inspiration and guide. A copy of this book can always be found on Brittany’s desk.

Glamour-Making-It-Modern

Metropolitan Home – Making It Modern

Every page exudes glamour, a must for the inspiring interior designer.

What are some of your favorite interior design books to look through and draw inspiration from?

2010 Spring High Point Market Trends & Favorites Part 2 of 2

And the crew returns for part 2 of High Point Furniture Market Trends and Favorites. Within part 2 you will find our remaining trends and also a few pictures of some iconic people: Thomas O’Brien and Mariette Hines Gomez. Lets begin!

 

Trend #4 – Neutrals and browns will never go away.

Below are shots in the Lee Industries Showroom of

some classic pieces that scream versatility and style.  

Lee High Point 2010

 

Market wouldn’t be the same without testing the comfort-ability of recliners and sofas. Ashley is lounging in one of the relaxers from Lee Industries.

Design Lines at Lee

 

The bed has a classic and romantic feel while the sofa and coffee table display invites a family for a cup of ice tea on a Sunday afternoon.

Shots below are from the Hickory Chair  Showroom.

Design Lines at Hickory Chair 2010 Highpoint

A pillow line we saw in Inner Hall called Ankasa. Ideal for bedrooms, sun-rooms and/or family rooms.

Wall of Pillows-Ankasa

 

We also had a chance to check out some lamp companies:

Jamey Young (left) and Barabra Cosgrove (right).

Jamey Young Lamps

 

Trend # 5 Purple is still around! All the way from grape juice to wine colored tones.

Shots below are from Hickory Chair Showroom.

Design Lines Purple Trends 

Below: Judy admires the nail head detailing on an upholstered cabinet in the Hickory Chair Showroom.  Need a dining chair, take this cream one below, one of Hickory Chair’s most popular choices (right).

Design Lines at Hickory Chair 2010 Highpoint 2

Often times when the team goes to High Point, it isn’t unusual to run into  interior design icons. Hickory Chair had Thomas O’Brien on hand as he signed copies of his first book, called “American Modern.”You might have seen Thomas’s name on collections in Target, a lighting collection with Visual Comfort and  his interior design studio called Areo in SoHo which he opened in 1992. Here is an article on him in the New York Times.

 Thomas OBrien at Hickory Chair 2010 High Point

The team also stopped to take a photo with Mariette Himes Gomez. Mariette has a design studio  in New York City and also a designer collection with Soicher Marin.  Mariette and Thomas both design furniture for Hickory Chair. Along with Alexa Hampton and Suzanne Kasler who were also in the showroom showing off their collections with Hickory Chair.

It was nice to see you again, Mariette! Thanks for taking a picture with us.

Design Lines with Mariette Himes Gomez in Hickory Chair Showroom 2010

 

Trend 6# Floral sofas are a breath of fresh air.

Below: is a shot from the Lee Showroom of a banquet with a Duralee print.

Floral Sofa at Lee High Point 2010

 Design Lines Trends florals

Left Above: Lee Industries and Right Above: Hickory Chair.

 

Trend # 7  Trellis is popular.

What is a trellis ?  A lattice like pattern inspired by a lot of cultures, they can sometimes be graphic and organic. Below the bed in fabricated in a trellis fabric giving the room life.

This is taken from the Century Showroom and also seen on Apartment Therapy’s review of High Point Furniture Market. 

Market 10 - Century Showroom Pic

 Design Lines Trellis Trends

Above are shots from Hickory Chair Showroom.

 

Trend # 8 Animal Inspiration

Animal influences were in every showroom that we visited. Here are some of the things we saw.

Shots Below are from Hickory Chair Showroom.

 Design Lines Animal Inspiration

 

And last but not least, we had to share one of the coolest discoveries that Marty from Lee Industries showed us. Lee did an experiment putting one of their chairs they manufacture into a lake for two weeks. The actual chair is below on the left and you should definitely click on the YouTube video to see for yourself. We were amazed at how clean the chair looked after being in the lake. It was amazing!

Lee Chair In Lake 2010 High Point

Scheme of the Day: Back To School

Today marks the beginning of the School Year for many of us in the Triangle.
Why not celebrate with additions to your house that are schoolhouse nostalgic?

Here are some things we love for the K-12 pupils:

The Fabulous Metropolis Wall Clock from CB2 (Great Scale) & These Puzzle Tables from Go Home Ltd:

The Jacqui Desk in Apple Green from Bungalow 5 & Madeline Weinrib Pillows that remind us of Charlie Brown’s Shirt:
Here are some things we love for us:

Pendants with Milk Glass from Visual Comfort & planters for the kitchen in a chalkboard finish
The Domino runner from our Friends at Niba Rug & the Hallings Secretary designed by Thomas O’Brien for Hickory Chair
What are your favorite things about going back to school?

Hickory Chair University

Judy, Molly, Stephanie, Ashley, Lauren and I are off to Hickory, North Carolina this afternoon for a short excursion to tour the upholstery & case good factory of furniture manufacturer Hickory Chair . All of their products are beautiful, with collections from designers Alexa Hampton, Thomas O’Brien, & Suzanne Kasler.

We’ll be back on Wednesday evening to write about our experience (with pictures, too). Until then, feel free to salivate over these gorgeous images from their look book.

Award Winning Interior Design | Raleigh, NC