Renegade Status: Crowd Displeaser

Here’s an industry secret that’ll put me on the outs, but I’m not interested to play it safe or fit in.

Ever wonder why all the rooms you see plastered across the pages of Pinterest look the same? It’s because most designers are shopping from identical trade resources. Jane, Sally and Michelle all went to same annual fair to purchase from wholesalers who’ll extend them deep discounts for meeting minimums. But that forces them to use the same pieces from a catalog over and over and over again. And 8 times out of 10, they’re knockoffs and derivatives of another creator’s work.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘪𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺.

While those facsimile furnishings might beguile the general public, they absolutely infuriate me. The way this industry cannibalizes its own and promotes plagiarism for profits — and from people who should understand and respect the sacrifice, grit, and damn hard work an original idea demands — is truly disheartening and frankly repulsive.

And that’s why I will doggedly defend authentic design, remain fiercely anti-trend and perpetually averse to the obvious choice. I will always champion the inherent value of the genuine object over the expedience of imitations.

It takes an outside perspective and conviction to stand out from the crowd and create truly iconic spaces. So when I say custom, I mean custom… like in this narrow Brooklyn foyer where I reimagined a void once occupied by a standard swing door as a built-in wardrobe and bench with a cantilevered brass tray for keys and wallets.

FOYER BEFORE

FOYER AFTER

Or this sexy, pyschedelic Manhattan living room with its collection of one-of-a-kind pieces inspired by Alice in Wonderland.

I make it my business to hunt off the beaten path because my clients deserve a home as singular as they are, not a Xerox of someone else’s dream. I’m adamant about crafting a home that reflects their exacting standards, not a showroom concept churned out for the masses. That means original furnishings and limited-edition or one-off pieces from an exclusive network of premium global artisans and dealers built over 25 years.

No retail sources.

And no wholesale, mass-produced, to-the-trade furnishings.

I’m here for the renegades. The mavericks. The live wires. Those who want to inhabit a universe inconceivable to the masses and who’ll accept nothing less than iconic.

That’s the #MHLIMETHOD.