Designer’s advice: ‘Enjoy the things around you’

With his moniker and exacting, sleek style adorning everything from rugs to tabletops and lamps to sofas, interior designer and retailer Thomas O’Brien is all things home. He’s been known in design circles since opening his New York boutique Aero in the early 1990s, but it’s his line of accessories and linens at Target that have made him a household name.

At last week’s Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market, we caught up with O’Brien at the Safavieh Couture rug showroom at AmericasMart. In town to discuss his “warm modern” aesthetic, the style icon chatted us up on daring design, life’s little luxuries and why he wants to see your pots and pans.

Enlarge this image

Special

Thomas O’Brien, who has a line of accessories and linens at Target, defines his style as ‘warm modernism.’

Home design stories

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

• Back to Home & Garden

• Fearless design: “For me, the biggest thing about home is that everybody is so afraid to make a mistake, like it’s all such a big deal. I have these meetings with clients and they’ll say, ‘Oh, that chair is not me.’ I give them a reality check — ‘No, it’s not you, it’s a chair.’ People get so uptight about it. I just try to find ways to make it more accessible.”

• Where to splurge: “Upholstery for sure, hands down, without a doubt. It’s the thing you put yourself in. No matter what level you’re at, always buy the best you can afford. I would never skimp on the cheapest sofa. I mean, you wouldn’t wear really uncomfortable clothes.”

• Household pet peeves: “Dish towels. I love textiles, and I use real cloth napkins all the time … but those dirty, dirty dish towels are [gross]. And what’s the test of looking to see if someone takes care of themselves? For me, it’s not shoes. It’s pots and pans.”

• Life’s little luxuries: “Enjoy the things around you. It’s odd, especially in the kitchen, to see all the things people don’t give themselves, like fresh linens. Have nice towels and recycle and organize stuff and make sure pots and pans are really clean. Give yourself that. It seems like such a funny thing to say, but it’s about an attitude and it’s about having things being nicer.”

• On designing for Target and maintaining the quality of his brand: “It’s all the same stuff. I mean, there’s so much consideration that goes into every single product. Target is so analyzed, so resolved, so considered. And I’m in [corporate headquarters] looking at everything first.”

• Earth-friendly obsession: “I’m a recycling maniac. At my house I’m always yelling about what goes into the garbage and what goes into the paper pile. And I never, ever throw bags away.”

• Why design matters: “Home can be one of the last things people look at, but it really does influence how you feel.”