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Pleasure Principals Designers Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams made their mark in stores like Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn and on such shows as “Sex and the City” and “Friends.” Now the duo that defines a successfully furnished home as one of comfort, explains how to make r  Image courtesy Sally Fanjoy and James Labrenz Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams started their business in the late 1980s, and since then their furniture and accessories have been featured on such television shows as “Sex and the City” and “Friends” and in stores such as Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel and Restoration Hardware. This spring, the pair published their first book, “Let’s Get Comfortable” (Meredith Books, 2007), written with lifestyle journalist Mindy Drucker, which outlines how to get comfortable with your furniture choices . Although Gold and Williams design a variety of looks and styles, their goal is comfort. “When a home is successfully furnished,” says Gold, “just walking in the door is like getting a hug.” HomeStyle: Aside from the fact that you’re furniture designers, why do you think furniture is the best place to start when decorating a room? Mitchell Gold: Because it’s the thing that gets used the most. It’s also the thing that sets the tone and lets you know what a room is for.  Design duo Bob Williams, far left, and Mitchell Gold suggest arranging furniture in a tété-a-tété fashion for intimacy and variety. Mascot Lulu approves. HS: Why are so many people intimidated by the idea of decorating? Bob Williams: Because they don’t do it that often. People grow up buying clothes, and they know what they like when it comes to jeans or jackets. MG: And if they don’t like the last pair of jeans they bought, they can just leave them in the closet. It’s not that big of a deal. BW: Furniture is different. It’s something most people only buy a few times over the course of a lifetime. So they’re a lot less confident about it and, rather than make a bad decision, they make no decision. HS: What are the most common mistakes people make when decorating? BW: There are two. One is not planning in advance. You have to think about how you’re going to use a room and then buy pieces that are right for that concept. There’s a world of difference between furnishing a formal living room and a family room where you want to relax and watch TV. The second mistake is buying things that aren’t comfortable. HS: Do you make a distinction between style and comfort? BW: Yes. Comfort is about how something feels. Style is about how it looks. Style by itself is not enough. You need both. MG: It’s what our business is based on. It’s really where we started 18 years ago. Back then, no one really focused on comfort. If you look at furniture advertising from that period, everything was about price or style. HS: What role does style play in your work? MG: We’re not trendy. We think about what’s pleasing to the eye and what will be pleasing for years to come. We don’t do things that are going to go out of style in two or three years. Take something like color. Some of our colors have been around for 10 years or more. And when we add new colors, we make sure they work with the older colors. HS: What colors are you liking today? BW: The last few markets have been all about blue. But there are also some greens that are timeless and beautiful, and red always adds punch. I like soft colors. HS: Who are your style icons? MG: Lately, I’ve been looking at a lot of Dorothy Draper’s work. We also have a lot of respect for Jean-Michel Frank, a French designer in the 1920s and ‘30s. He kind of introduced the world to classic modern style. BW: You learn a little bit from all styles and when you start mixing different styles, that’s when it really becomes fun and interesting. MG: I love something like an 18th century English cabinet next to modern stuff because then the antique really stands out, it becomes a sculpture. HS: One of your decorating clients is Al and Tipper Gore. How did you meet?  Pretty in pink: A bright color, wider seat and more pillows can provide plush comfort for one guest or two. MG: Bob and I are both politically active, and we supported Al in the 2000 presidential campaign. We became friendly with Tipper, and after the election we helped her and Al redecorate one of their houses. HS: How would you describe their style? BW: Hip, traditional. There’s a big emphasis on family. They have two houses – one in Nashville and one in Washington – and both are very warm with lots of family photos and mementos. Tipper’s a great photographer. MG: Al Gore actually has very good taste. He thinks about design and is very tech-oriented. He doesn’t do anything lightly. HS: You guys are personal as well as professional partners. Is there anything one of you likes that the other doesn’t? MG: I can’t think of anything. When we did Camp Hickory, our house in North Carolina, 10 years ago, Bob took the lead in putting it all together. When I first saw it, my jaw dropped. It was exactly what I would have done. Decorating is actually a lot more fun if you have someone to do it with. HS: Did the two of you grow up in stylish houses? BW: I grew up in a ranch house in Texas with Colonial American furniture. It wasn’t fancy. MG: It’s beyond me how Bob came to have such good taste. I grew up in New Jersey. My parents had very modern taste that kind of deteriorated over time. |
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