Deborah Needleman

This year at High Point Market I was thrilled to finally meet Deborah Needleman, one of my all-time design heroines. The lovely Ms. Needleman led a design luncheon at High Point where she talked about her new book, The Perfectly Imperfect Home. It has risen to the rank of my favorite home decor book of the past year, and it sits atop my slant-top desk next to a small box filled with antique German coins, one of the "smalls" that Deborah talks about that make my home personal, happy, and perfectly imperfect.

The former editor of Domino magazine and the current editor of WSJ. Magazine, Deborah recently answered some of my questions about her book, decorating philosophy, and personal favorite decorating ideas and quirky pieces. Keep reading for the first half of my interview with Deborah Needleman!
CasaSugar: What inspired The Perfectly Imperfect Home?
Deborah Needleman: It was inspired by how uncomfortable I feel in overly decorated, everything-just-so houses, and how inspired and comfortable and happy I feel in houses that are stylish and real. I love houses that are portraits of their owners.

CS: How do you think the concept of designing imperfectly can spark creativity and growth in decorating?
DN: You can’t be creative if you are constantly just trying to keep everything neat and perfect. If the evolution of your life is reflected in your decorating, that means your decoration will not remain static. It changes as you change; it grows and morphs with you. I’ve never liked or believed in the idea of decorating as something that can be finished. Like life, it is a work in progress.

CS: Can you describe one of the stylish, welcoming, and imperfect homes you’ve visited and found particularly inspiring?
DN: The decorator and design writer Rita Konig is my patron saint(ess) of stylish imperfection. She was raised by a fancy decorator (Nina Campbell), has lived in and visited beautiful houses her whole life, and knows all the rules of decorating, but she is never hampered by rules or fussiness. She is inspired by the kind of life she wants to go on inside her house. It is always inspiring, exciting, and completely comforting to be in her home. Her home always smells fantastic. It has a lot of personality, quirk, and color. There are soft pillows on the sofas and chairs, lots of books you want to read, and interesting things on the walls. Plus, she’s a doting host, always ready to make you something nice to drink and eat.

All the top editors at Domino had homes like you describe — stylish, welcoming, and imperfect — and they inspired me enormously. I hired them so they could inspire others like they did me. The brilliant Sara Ruffin Costello (who now writes the best and cheekiest decorating column out there for the Off Duty section of the Wall Street Journal), Tom Delavan (who is now editorial director of the recently launched GiltHome), Dara Caponigro (editor in chief of Veranda magazine), and the aforementioned Rita Konig (who is European editor of WSJ. Magazine magazine)

Keep reading for more of our conversation with Deborah Needleman!

When I interviewed former Domino editor in chief Deborah Needleman in August of last year, I, of course, asked her what she was up to in her post-Domino life. She said she'd been spending her time gardening "like mad," consulting, and writing, and conceded that it was "quite a good relief to not be working so hard and to have a break from the pressure." Hopefully, she enjoyed her respite, because now she's back in the grind with a full-time gig as the editor in chief of the Wall Street Journal's news and lifestyle glossy, WSJ.

Needleman's premiere issue debuted in the WSJ Weekend edition on Saturday, and it's apparent that she has not lost her enthusiasm for design. Always a shelter magazine girl at heart, she was sure to sprinkle a delightful dose of interior eye candy in the December issue. In "The City Squire," Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry, who dropped a solo record in October, opened up his London apartment to another Domino alum, writer Rita Konig. The rock star shares his keen collections of British photographs, ceramics, and antique textiles, and reveals a very unrocker penchant for decorating and entertaining at home. "Decorating is so interesting to me," he says. "I like to control my environment. How it looks, feels and sounds. I couldn't imagine asking someone else to decorate it." Ferry's apartment, a puzzle of furniture pieces, has a decidedly bohemian vibe with an upscale British style, layered with worn textiles, stacks of books, and other worldly finds. Check out the article to take a further peek inside Ferry's home, and pick up the issue on newsstands tomorrow!

Photos courtesy of WSJ. Magazine

>> When Stefano Tonchi was announced as W's new editor-in-chief yesterday, he said he only began talking with Conde Nast about the position last week. But WWD reports that Tonchi had been looking to leave T for more than a year, and was lobbying hard for a senior position at Conde Nast as well as looking at the possibility of a high-level position at Hearst or Time Inc.

Big changes for W under Tonchi are expected, and although he emphasized that the transition will be smooth — “Nothing is going to be traumatic. I don’t think there is any rush to make a revolution. It’s an evolution, it’s not a revolution” — those at the top of the W masthead — creative director Dennis Freedman, deputy editor Julie Belcove, and fashion director Alex White — are said to be in vulnerable positions.

White was reportedly interested in the editor gig »

Founding editor-in-chief of Domino Deborah Needleman has created a cool tool for HomeGoods called StyleScope that helps define your home décor style and navigate the vast world of décor options. I answered a few fun questions about my habits at home, color preferences, and furnishing choices and learned that my style is "Glamorous Classic." I definitely agree with that! The quiz results give a few tips on making your home a happier place, how to use color, and best of all, what to look for when you're shopping! Check it out and tell me what your style is.

This will be especially helpful for one of you lucky readers who wins a $500 gift card to HomeGoods — get all the details of the giveaway here! Be sure to read my interview with Deborah, you'll need to answer some quiz questions about what she's up to and her decorating tips to enter!

Deborah Needleman, the founding editor of Domino, is a goldmine of savvy advice on decorating your home, honed from years of experience heading up the style-centric magazine as well as decorating her own home. You can read the first half of my interview with her here. Deborah's tips and thoughts on decorating continue in the second half of this interview.

Our homes are really personal spaces. Considering that most of us are shopping from the same few décor retailers and finding inspiration in the same shelter magazines and blogs, how should we go about personalizing our homes?
Every home definitely needs a few old things and a couple unique things. And when most of what we have is mass-produced, it's more important than ever to have some things made by actual human hands, whether it's pottery, rugs, pictures, whatever. It is essential to find a few things that no one else has, whether you find them in a shop, at a tag sale, bring them back from a trip, collect them from nature, or even make them — like just tacking up drawings or notes from friends. Stuff that is meaningful to us, what we love or collect or find is interesting to our guests. I also do think it's really nice to have one really good piece — whether that's a table, rug, chandelier, whatever. It gives your room some substance, some weight — and also ensures it doesn't look like anyone else's.

To read the rest of the interview, read more

We design enthusiasts will admit that Domino will always hold a special place in our hearts — and bookshelves. But it was the stable of talented, creative people that truly made the beloved magazine an influence and an inspiration. So I was so delighted to have the chance to catch up with the founding editor-in-chief of Domino and co-author of Domino: The Book of Decorating, Deborah Needleman. It should come as no surprise that she hasn't lost her knack and passion for design.

Deborah's latest project is an exciting, interactive tool that she's created for HomeGoods, called StyleScope, which helps you find your own interior design style and learn to navigate the vast world of décor options. Home Goods, I hope you know, is a wonderful place to find designer home décor at prices 20 to 60 percent lower than department stores, and is also one of my favorite resources for stylish accessories. Deborah was kind enough to share some of her thoughts and tips on design and curating a stylish home that's uniquely you, and give us the lowdown on her life these days!

What are you working on these days? Any exciting projects on the horizon for you?
I am really enjoying the idea of just doing projects, consulting, writing, gardening — I probably shouldn't admit it, but it's quite a good relief to not be working so hard and to have a break from the pressure. I am considering on a couple book projects — one on table settings, another on decorators' gardens, and a more personal book on growing vegetables and flowers.

Before Domino, I was a garden writer — and it's nice to have time to garden like mad again. I'm also talking to people and companies about designing furniture and accessories and starting up new businesses. Sometimes I feel like I'm a professional meeting-taker. Last night the former creative director of Domino [Sara Ruffin Costello] and I hatched a plan to try to redesign all the ugly products at Duane Reade like Kleenex boxes, toothpaste, and shaving cream!

To read the rest of the interview, read more