Whenever Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams make a personal appearance, their fans ask how to achieve the couple's comfortable and stylish look.
The two lay it all out in "Let's Get Comfortable: How to Furnish and Decorate a Welcoming Home" (Meredith Books, $34.95).
Their $100-million-a-year company, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, supplies chains such as Pottery Barn, Crate Barrel, Williams Sonoma Home and Restoration Hardware and has 13 namesake licensed stores, including one in Newport Coast.
Here, they talk about their book and design philosophy:
Q: How do you define comfort?
B.
W.: There are two aspects to comfort: physical and mental. There's the physical comfort of the chair, how the fabric feels and if it supports your lower back when you sit in it.
The second part is the mental part of being comfortable. Some of us feel you have to have a formal room that is very uptight and dressy. A lot of people don't feel comfortable in those rooms.
They never use them. People have to feel that they are a part of the room.
M.
G.: It's balance. A house has to be soothing to the eye.
When you have slipcovered furniture, you really reduce the stress factor.
Q: You have found things like a chandelier in an Los Angeles junk shop. What advice do you have for people looking in offbeat places for furnishings?
B.W.: When I found it, it was spray-painted gold.
It looked pretty ugly. But I started looking at the lines and realized it was forged iron and would be great for the house.
M.
G.: A person has to have a little bit of feel for spotting the potential of a chandelier in a junk shop. But you don't necessarily have to have an eye to collect something like snow globes.
Q: When you don't use your own company's furniture, what else do you buy?
M.G.
: Mostly antiques or flea market pieces. We wouldn't go buy upholstery from another company. It wouldn't be comfortable and the price wouldn't be right.
Q: Any advice for aging Baby Boomers?
M.G.
: I think the best piece of advice is to have different types of seating. Some should be straight up and firmer and easy to get in and out of. If you think of someone like my parents, they can't get out of a deep, goose-down sofa.
They need something firmer. But it's nice to have a nice goosey sofa to take a nap on.
Q: What do you want the reader to get from your book?
M.G.: I think what we really want is people to live comfortably.
Too many people are uptight when they are decorating. We want to share with them how to have a comfortable home. We are out to make the world more comfortable.
DESIGN TIPS Gold and Williams offer advice for creating rooms that makes people feel like staying awhile:
- Comfort first. Pick an inviting sofa for the living room in a classic style. If the fabric is neutral, you won't tire of it.
Add colorful accent pillows and a throw. Before you buy, try it out in the showroom. Lie down on it, put your feet up.
Want to linger over dinner? Find soft, upholstered chairs for the dining room.
- Slipcovers reduce stress.
You no longer have to panic over everyday use and spills and you can change the look when you change your mood.
- Limit colors. A room appears less chaotic if you use no more than three or four colors.
Pick at least two as accents. Use the prints or stronger colors on pillows or smaller upholstered pieces. Texture adds interest.
Chenille. Leather. Linen.
Washed denim. Distressed wood.
- Celebrate imperfections.
Distressed furniture already has dings and marks so you won't panic if more happen.
- Things you love. Your home should reflect who you are and what you love.
But don't get carried away with too much stuff. Editing what you display makes rooms appear larger and what you do feature look more important.
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