Website: www.ToddMerrillStudio.com
E-mail: info@ToddMerrillStudio.com
Instagram: @ToddMerrillStudio
Elle DecorElle Decor’s Quote of the WeekSemptember 2014
ELLE DECOR’S QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Words of wisdom from some of ELLE DECORโs favorite talents and tastemakers over the past 20 years
Elle Decor Staff | Current
โMy favorite project is always the next one.โ
โArchitect Michael Graves, July/Aug 11
Past Quotes
“Serious is a word that must be entirely avoided when it comes to decoration.” โDesigner Kathryn M. Ireland
“I work on the assuption that a house is successful if it’s plesant to live in.” โDesigner Alexandra de Garidel-Thoron
“I try not to bring in anything I don’t love looking at. It’s about restaint … There is something about an unfinished quality that leaves within you that sense of possibility.” โArtist Caio Fonseca
โOur goal is always to create a place where there’s a memory.โ โDesigner Laura Sartori Rimini, April 08
“I donโt see boundaries between styles, such as modern or contemporary. Iโve collected each piece from a different experience or period of my life.” โFashion Designer Carlos Miele, October 10
“You should have a picture of yourself as a kid in your home so that you remember where you came from.”โMusician John Mayer, September 09
โWeโre really into comfort. Not some abstract idea of what a comfortable room should be, but real comfortโthe kind where you can happily drift off for an hour or two with your dog at your feet.โโDecorator Jeffrey Alan Marks, June 10
โI learned that passion about objects and furnishings makes for fearless decoratorsโand that if you are comfortable in your home, everyone else will be too. That sense of authenticity is what gives a home its soul.โโInterior designer Courtnay Daniels Haden, Jan/Feb 10
โI like to set people free. I give them a hint and encourage them to go with their imaginations. It is the only way that new things can come true.โโDesigner Muriel Brandolini, Jan/Feb 06
โAs far as Iโm concerned, either you have the confidence to like whatโs good, or you donโt. Either you know who you are, or youโre lost.”โFilmmaker Nathaniel Kramer, May 10
โA home should be a distillation of your interests, of who you really are. If youโre happy with your life, your space will reflect that.โโDesigner Rafael de Cรกrdenas, October 10
โIโm not as concerned with provenance as much as with how something looks. Design is a puzzle, and certain things just work.โโDecorator Eve Robinson, Feb/March 04
“Every room needs a slap in the face.”โDransfield and Ross co-owner Geoffrey Ross, Jan/Feb 06
“I appreciate history, but you have to bring your own experience into your rooms.”โFashion Designer Istvan Francer, September 09
“I love what you might call brutal elegance. Where form and function are really obvious. There is nothing easily broken in this house.”โActress Meg Ryan, June 10
“Modesty is great, and quietness is nice, but sometimes it’s much more fun to be decadent.”โInterior designer Robin Standefer of Roman and Williams, March 10
โItโs not hard to make a space that looks good by itself. The trick is to craft a room thatโs even more attractive when itโs occupied. Thatโs when it becomes magical.โโInterior Designer Kerry Joyce, March 10
โLife in the 21st century means taking the best of history and making it work for you.โโDecorator Miles Redd, Jan/Feb 09
โIโm more influenced by peopleโs attitudes and spirits than by their particular style. Whether itโs Elsie de Wolfe or Pauline de Rothschild, I always admire women who had a vision and stuck to it. Because ultimately, the way you live has to be a reflection of you.โโInterior designer Charlotte Moss, November 09
โThe best decisions are always made at the last minute. Just know what the last minute is.โโFurniture dealer Holly Hunt, November 09
โ[My approach] is all about the wow factor, and sometimes that means pushing right to the edge of good taste. But if you donโt push, lifeโs pretty dullโโFurniture dealer Todd Merrill, December 09
โI donโt think people have enough fun with decorating. It doesnโt always have to be so serious. Design isnโt like marriage. You donโt have to commit for life.โโDesigner Ross Cassidy, June 10
โEven if I love it, I donโt put everything on display. I am always ruthlessly editing.โโMadeline Weinrib, December 08
โI donโt think of decorating as a science or a discipline. People always say start with the rug, but it is often the last thing I end up selecting. I begin with whatever makes my heart sing.โโDesign shop owner Deborah Buck, December 08
โThe design process is hard work, but in the end I want my interiors to look inspired and relaxed, not studied.โโInterior designer Katie Ridder, March 06
โYou always want to mess with perfection. You decide to convey an idea, then do something to throw it a little off.โโLandscape designer Mario Nievera, March 06
โCollecting is very autobiographical. Itโs a pathology.โโGallery owner Roland Augustine, March 06
โPedestrian is not in my vocabulary. Every wall has to have some element of interest and richness. I loathe Sheetrock!โโEditor and stylist Freddie Leiba, March 09
โSomething may be a bit on the wacky side, but if itโs also chic, then it works.โโJewelry designer Stephen Dweck, September 09
โYou really have to think before doing anything to an old house. Because you can never get it back to the way it was.โโAnthropologie antiques buyer Keith Johnson, August/September 03
โRooms are albums that provoke memories. What you decorate with should remind you of a street you wandered down or an experience that made you happy.โโDesigner Amy Hase, September 10
โMore is more. Less is never moreโless is obviously less. Who wants less?โโInterior designer/shop owner Michelle Nussbaumer, November 09
โI donโt shop. I buy things that inspire me, that give me emotion.โโFashion designer Giambattista Valli, April 04
โI dress homes the way I dress myselfโlayers and collages, bits of old things mixed with new, like a patchwork. Eclectic style is hard to achieve, but itโs always personal.โโTextile designer Sherri Donghia, December 07
โNothing is passรฉ if you really love it.โโInterior designer/antiques dealer Rose Tarlow, June/July 94
โWhen I entertain at home, I take time and pleasure in the small details that make all the difference. Entertaining is about giving to people and sharing with them.โโFashion designer Valentino Garavani, October 07
โLight is the magical ingredient that makes or breaks a space; itโs one of the most important elements in all my interiors.โโInterior designer Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, June/July 94
โI just donโt like to settle. Good enough is never good enough.โโFashion designer Josie Natori, October 07
โKitchens should be designed around whatโs truly importantโfun, food, and life.โโChef/restaurateur Daniel Boulud, September 08
โMy mantra is curate, donโt decorate. Iโm more about objects than swags or flounces.โโDesign entrepreneur Troy Halterman, November 02
โSo many people arrange furniture in order to see whatโs going on outside. But why? The view isnโt going anywhere.โโInterior designer Albert Hadley, May 10
โThe most important thing? Perfect lighting at all times.โโFashion designer Oscar de la Renta, April 02
โI donโt know if less is more or more is less.โโGallerist David Gill, November 05
โPeople think youโre limited when a space is small, but I think the key is seeing everything as somewhat in flux, never standing still, always shifting, realigning. In a lot of ways, itโs like a garden.โโLandscape architect Mario Nivera, March 06
โReal comfort, visual and physical, is vital to every room.โโInterior designer Mark Hampton, June/July 94
โOur kitchen is warm; itโs who we are. And it has everything. Honestly, I could get rid of the rest of the house and just live in the kitchen.โโRalph Lauren Home executive Adrian Kahan, June 08
โIf a house is a novel, then a poolhouse is a short story.โโArchitect John Keenan, June/July 94
โThe drama of this interior doesnโt come from the obvious; it comes from the strength of the point of view. The rooms are setsโnot for theater, but for living.โโInterior designer Vicente Wolf, August/September 01
โYellow is a color thatโs easier to use as a textile than a paint.โโInterior designer Steven Gambrel, November 07
โThe best interiors make your heart pound.โโInterior decorator Tony Fornabaio, November 06
โAn enfilade holds an element of surprise the way a good plot does. It hints at whatโs on the horizon and keeps your curiosity up.โโInterior designer Stephen Sills, November 07
โI canโt abide rooms that go unused or untouched for days or weeks.โโInterior designer Malcolm James Kutner, April 07
โWhatโs the purpose of living in a loft if you put up walls?โโFashion designer Naeem Kahn, September 06
โA house has to evolve and change.โโFurniture designer Julian Chichester, November 06
โI couldnโt live without something that touches my heart. No one should.โโFashion designer Donna Karan, April 02
โArchitecture is supposed to complete nature. Great architecture makes nature more beautifulโit gives it power.โโArchitect Claudio Silvestrin, February 91
โFurniture and food are ways that people define their attitude toward life. Theyโll buy better stuff if itโs offered to them.โโDesign visionary Sir Terence Conran, June/July 04
โObjects really do acquire a life of their own, when theyโve been held and loved for years.โโAntiques dealer Vito Giallo, February/March 99
โWhen you do a modern space, each item is extremely important. You can’t ad lib.โโInterior decorator Noel Jeffrey, September 07
โI gravitate to handcrafted and textural thingsโthings with good imagination.โโDecoupage artist/shopkeeper John Derian, December 08
โI donโt discriminate when it comes to provenance. Home Depot changed my life.โโDecorator/author Tricia Foley, December/January 02
โLight, air, sound. In every space, itโs how you embrace those things.โโArchitect Michael Gabellini, November 07
โThe most elegant interiors are just slightly tatty.โ โInterior designer David Netto, October 05
โI love the mystery and exoticism of Chinese culture, and the simple, timeless nature of the furniture. In the West, each period is marked by a distinct style, but in the East, even things made 300 years ago look perfectly contemporary today.โโGuerlain cosmetics creative director Olivier Echaudemaison, October 03
โMost people start out wanting to go for their fantasy, but end up painting their walls dove-white.โโShopkeeper/interior decorator Rayman Boozer, May 06
โWhen it comes to art, buy with your eyes, not your ears. I tried very hard not to โdecorateโ with art. Art should be reflective of your personality and whatโs going on in your headโnot reflective of the colors of a sofa.โโHotelier Jason Pomeranc, November 05
โI must have books everywhere. Theyโre the soul of a roomโthey reveal the taste, the interests, and the secrets of whoever lives there.”โFashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, April 02
โBuy the best, and you only cry once.”โInterior designer Miles Redd, November 06
โMatchy-matchy is not for me. I donโt want things to be too perfect. Itโs like pairing a matte top with a shiny skirt, so they play off each other. I want there to be relationships with texture and color, and sometimes itโs more about the contrast that chimes.”โFashion designer Peter Som, September 05
โThere is a conception in this country about luxurious things that we have to save them for a time thatโs right. But an object is truly luxurious if you allow it to be, if you use it. When you live with beautiful things you stimulate your mind, you enjoy life a little bit more.”โFashion designer Ralph Rucci, September 05
โWhen I see something great, it doesnโt matter where it comes from. In fact, sometimes the best things are from cheesy places.”โHotelier/restaurateur Jeff Klein, April 02
โI need contrastโthe old and the new, the rough and the soft. The clash of it all is very sexy.โโFashion designer Catherine Malandrino, April 02
โMinimalist rooms can be so beautiful, but I canโt live in one; I love objects too much.โโInterior designer Bunny Williams, December 03
“I could never live without artwork. Itโs a constant inspiration.โโFashion designer Narciso Rodriguez, April 02
“Iโm all about exuberance. We only have one short life to live, and we shouldnโt waste it being tasteful.โโFashion designer Isaac Mizrahi, March 05
“I love the visual energy that comes from the imperfect, the unexpected. People sometimes think designers create fairy tales, but we give them something thatโs much more sincere. We donโt live in fairy tales.โโInterior designer Victoria Hagan, August/September 02
“In the most successful spaces, you donโt see everything at once. The more time you spend in them, the more you discover. They open up like flowers.”โInterior designer Vicente Wolf, January/February 07
“There are two things that make a room timeless: a sense of history and a piece of the future.”โInterior designer Charlotte Moss, April 02
โOld houses are alive. All you have to do is pick up the thread and go with it. There is something reassuring about them that you donโt find in modern dwellings. A new space has to be tamed. It takes a lot of energy and quite a bit of intuition.โโAntiquaire Pierre Passebon, December/January 97
Todd Merrill Studio
80 Lafayette Street
New York NY 10013
Phone: 212 673 0531
80 Lafayette Street
New York NY 10013
Phone: 212 673 0531
Todd Merrill Summer Studio
11 South Main Street
Southampton, NY 11968
Phone: 631 259 3601
11 South Main Street
Southampton, NY 11968
Phone: 631 259 3601