Interview: Awaken to the Power of Beautiful Interiors with 'Star of Design' Timothy Corrigan
INTERIOR DESIGNER, TIMOTHY CORRIGAN
One of our absolute favorite interior designers is Timothy Corrigan. His designs are timelessly beautiful and his accomplishments are impressive; Timothy Corrigan’s work is showcased in some of the world’s most extraordinary properties with clients including European and Middle Eastern royalty, Hollywood celebrities and corporate leaders and offices in both Los Angeles and Paris. Timothy is regarded as one of the world’s top 100 architects and designers by Architectural Digest for the past nine years, and one of the World’s Top 40 Interior Designers by The Robb Report.
We spent a delightful moment chatting with Timothy Corrigan as he jetted between locations about his work, his new product lines and to find out more about this beloved designer and his viewpoints on interior design.
What sparked your passion for interior design?
Since I was a kid I was fascinated by architecture. I designed houses out of balsa wood and even created the landscaping around them. If I hadn’t been so totally useless at algebra I would almost certainly have become an architect. That was in the pre-computer days of slide-rules (back when dinosaurs ruled the earth) and I would never have made it through architectural school. Now everything has changed. Even today, one of the things that interests me most about design is how spaces work…if you don’t get the skeleton of how a room or house works, it doesn’t really matter what it looks like!
Why do you think interior spaces are so important in their look, details and feel?
[pullquote]I would love people to start to really understand that there is a direct correlation between how you feel in a room and the way that you feel about yourself and the world in general. Our surroundings play a huge role in our overall well-being.[/pullquote] As corny as it may sound, when you feel really comfortable in a space that you find beautiful, you are better able to truly be your very best self.
What do you wish more people knew about creating great living spaces that enrich its inhabitants and visitors?
The most enjoyable part of my job is figuring out how a space can be designed for maximum livability and use. I hate walking into a room that screams: “Don’t come in here…you can look, but don’t touch!” We have all seen those rooms and they are like museums. Homes are meant to be fully lived-in and enjoyed. There are a lot of things that you have to consider in making a room work: the flow of how you move around the space, the silhouette, scale and shapes of the furniture, good lighting, colors that evoke the mood you want to create in the room…all of those elements combine to create a space in which people WANT to spend time!
What do you see foresee as the future of interior design and how we live?
Design is always operating on a pendulum shifting from one extreme to another and we are currently shifting away from the clean, somewhat stark modernist place that we have lived with for the ten years. Today, design is moving towards a warmer, more organic, lyrical and layered esthetic. I wanted my new fabric and carpet collections to reflect that transition with patterns and colors that are vibrant and nuanced. People are tired of grey-beige everything. People are ready for pretty again.
What are today's affluent clientele looking for when making selections for their interiors?
True luxury has always been about the details but now we are entering an age in which people expect high-end products to be more complexly created, with greater design detail and, frankly, they just have to be more special. Today’s consumer is not willing to make a trade-off between style, quality and comfort.
What inspired and is your mission with the creation of the Timothy Corrigan product line?
True luxury has always been about the details. We are entering an age in which people expect high end products to be more complexly created, with greater design detail and, frankly, just more special. I take all of those things into consideration whenever I work on a new product design. Developing these collections has been one of the great privileges of my life as a designer; I have completely loved the entire process because it pushed me to really evaluate what I am drawn to and value in terms of design. In this process I had to look at what shapes and colors I really love and then figure out how to turn those into a cohesive collection that will really work in peoples homes all around the world.
Tell us about your line and what sets it apart from other product lines for fine homes?
I wanted to create designs that are life-enhancing: you smile when you see the face of the bird on my “Huntington Gardens,” fabric, your heart skips a beat when you see the four gorgeous but very subtle colors in “Chateau Silk Damask,” you think: “I want to lie down on that ‘Wave’ sofa because the arm has been designed to actually softly cradle my neck when I am reading a book.” I like to think that my designs help make people’s homes into that special place that feeds and nurtures them both body and soul!
Many of the designs are composed of smaller patterns within a larger pattern; you think that you see one thing, but then on closer inspection you see that it’s created by a number of small shapes that form the whole. The “Chantilly Lace” fabric is a great example of this: from a distance it looks almost like a solid fabric, but, as you look more closely, you begin to see what appears to be a random, zigzag pattern and then when you get even closer, you see that the zigzag is actually created by a much more intricate pattern that resembles a fine, complex lace design.
Who do you see as the ideal client of your line?
I intentionally designed the new collection for Schumacher to provide great quality with beautiful design at a good price point. I kept pushing for ways to achieve high quality without breaking the bank and as a result, this is the least expensive designer collection that Schumacher has ever launched. I also focused on fabrics that will wear well---who wants to be worried about staining their brand newly upholstered sofa? So we stayed away from more fragile fabrics, wherever we could. I chose to collaborate with Schumacher because it is one of the oldest and most respected fabric companies in America. When they asked me to design their first fully integrated home line, I was thrilled. I am very proud of what we have produced together.
Where are your products available for purchase?
Discover refined aesthetics to adorn your spaces with meticulously crafted licensed products designed by Timothy, where each piece intertwines elegance, functionality, and timeless allure. You'll find his wonderful pieces through Dea Luxury Linens, Kyle Bunting, Perennials, Royal Limoges, Samuel & Sons, Schumacher, and THG-Paris. Visit https://www.timothy-
Timothy’s third book, “At Home in France: Inspiration and Style in Town and Country” will be published by Rizzoli this September, available for pre-sale
For more information on Timothy visit his website http://www.timothy-corrigan.com
" I love Timothy for his gracious nature which shows in his interiors; they emanate a romantic essence, a grace, an approachability, elegance and comfort. I can't get enough of his designs and their intoxicatingly luxurious, come-hither eloquence showcased beautifully with his signature blend of soothing colors, the antiques melded with new classics, all culminating in scrumptiously gorgeous spaces that cradle you, feed your soul, fill your heart and deeply inspire." - Angela Tunner
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Originally published on EAT LOVE SAVOR Luxury May 26, 2014. Written by Angela Tunner