Designer Furniture

Manufacturers know the power of aligning with a noted name to help establish a place in the market and draw an audience—whether it’s a famous actress representing a handbag collection, a performer who is personifying a perfume, or a celebrated tastemaker providing the sizzle for selling sofas. Luxury furniture companies have had great success in launching collections by noted interior designers, furniture designers, and lifestyle icons. These collections provide a point of view and celebrate a particular lifestyle. The often diverse pieces of furniture and home accents allow for the homeowner to buy from within the collection and establish a room without it looking matchy-matchy. Baker has Barbara Barry, Bill Sofield, and Jacques Garcia. Bernhardt has Martha Stewart. Hickory Chair offers Thomas O’Brien and Mariette Himes Gomez.

Michigan-born and Manhattan-based Himes Gomez has designed and manufactured furniture for more than twenty years and has a retail shop in New York City that serves as an important resource in the design community. She was one of the first decorators to design and sell her own line of crafted furniture, inspiring others to follow. A noted interior designer, Himes Gomez is known for very livable rooms characterized by simplicity, clean lines, and clear architectural definition. Many of her projects have been showcased in Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, The New York Times, and Town & Country.

Later this month, Himes Gomez comes to Minneapolis to talk about her design philosophies and her collection, which is sold through Macy’s Furniture Gallery. Himes Gomez believes that good decorating is about finding your own personal style. She also believes it’s not about the amount of space you have, but how it’s detailed and furnished. Her book Rooms: Creating Luxurious, Livable Spaces shows readers how space can be made luxurious through the right architectural framework—molding, doors, hardware, floors—and the right furnishings, arrangements, window treatments, lighting, palette, and accessories. A second book, Houses, debuts this fall.

After the success of her personal collection, she introduced The Mariette Himes Gomez Collection for Hickory Chair in 2002. The versatile pieces range from a four-poster bed to comfortable reading chairs to accent tables. Known for simple elegance and subtle use of color, her pieces are characterized by exquisite details, finishes, and fabrics and classic lines and modern attitude.