The Designer Is In: Brad Ford at Home in NYC - Remodelista
This week, New York designer Brad Ford describes his version of what he calls “Authentic Design,” illustrated via a guided tour of his own home. Photography by Eric Striffler. In his New York Chelsea apartment, the designer practices what he preaches and surrounds himself with meaningful objects and artwork that tell interesting stories about his life and experiences. Ford mixes vintage midcentury chairs by Danish designer Paul Kjaerholm with an organically shaped wood coffee table by French artist Jerome Abel Seguin. The designer constantly finds inspiration in nature, whether in its organic shapes and forms or in plants themselves, such as the blossom branches he picked up from the Chelsea flower market around the corner from his apartment. His obsession even extends to insects (notice the Austrian metal grasshopper sitting on the the frame of a Robert Mapplethorpe print). In Ford’s harmonious world, a neutral palette allows everything to exist calmly without fighting for attention; as reflected in a Captain’s Mirror by BDDW. The “Donald Juddesque” wall sculpture is made up of wall-mounted metal cabinets from Ikea. “I am drawn to things that are handmade and reflect the work that was put into them,” Ford says. After a trip to South Africa, Ford’s family gave him an Impala head which hangs on the wall next to a series of vintage Victorian medical splints. Ford was drawn to this midcentury desk because of the unexpected shelf detail, which is ideal for displaying his ceramics. Ford’s artwork includes a small still life painting by the artist who painted the backdrops on the Muppet Show; the watercolor is by David Rathman (it’s of a rather polite cowboy: “Sorry, I need to borrow your horse,” he says). “I was drawn to the contrast of the modern use of the color red with the traditional concept of a silhouette,” Ford says. Ford’s gentle giant Turbo relaxes on the bed as he is overlooked by a map of the moon that Ford found in a flea market. Ford maximized the width of his bedroom and designed a wall to wall built-in headboard. Ford introduces a sea of color into this bedroom through his collection of Scandinavian pottery. “I am drawn to the muted subtle colors of Scandinavian glazing,” Ford says. Have any questions about “Authentic Design” and how to put the concept to work in your own space?