For a good chunk of its 17-year history, the Mitchell Gold brand flew under the radar, despite the fact that it was quietly revolutionizing the furniture industry.
The modern-looking chairs and sofas snapped up by customers of Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, Williams-Sonoma Home and Storehouse had no hang tags to identify their provenance: a factory in Taylorsville, N.C., where they were made. What they share besides style is comfort in the spirit of “relaxed design,” a philosophy co-founders Gold and Bob Williams espoused from the beginning.
First there was seating clad in casual wearables, such as denim and khaki. Washable slipcovers and distressed-leather club chairs, adapted from a vintage 1930s model Gold and Williams found at a Paris flea market, followed. There are chairs and a half, ottomans that double as tables, upholstered beds and a revival of sectionals scaled down for apartment living.
All of these are translated into an impressive variety of shapes and styles that captured the eyes and dollars of baby boomers and Gen-Xers to help shape the $100 million-plus company.
Not that any of the designs are totally new. It’s like a cover for a pop tune, except that the Gold and Williams version often is more engaging.
“Mitchell has taken ideas that existed, like the leather club chair, and made them exciting and vibrant,” says Jerry Epperson, 35-year furniture analyst with Mann, Armistead & Epperson in Richmond, Va.
Success breeds knockoffs. One thing still sets them apart: production with minimal lead time. Much of the company’s retailer core keeps inventory in stock, and when it must be ordered, most pieces are available within weeks rather than months.
Consumers include an impressive celebrity list: Hillary Clinton, Al and Tipper Gore, Lindsay Lohan, Eva Longoria, Brooke Shields, Rosie O’Donnell, Cher and David Hyde Pierce. Their furniture sits in W hotels, a Radio Shack commercial, on a “Today” show set. It has graced interiors for “Friends” and “Sex in the City.”
There’s something for everyone, including 19th-century English Regency, 1700s Dutch farmhouse, art deco, American Shaker, Indian Raj, mid-century modern, British campaign, 1970s Billy Baldwin (Jackie O’s favorite decorator), beachy cottage, French moderne, 17th-century Moorish.
The best way to furnish with Mitchell Gold products is to mix it up and keep it uncluttered.
“If a room gets too busy, nothing looks special,” Gold says.
While Gold, 55, the company’s “chair-man,” is known for his marketing savvy, Williams, 45, is the design whiz, brilliantly translating visual bites from TV, fashion, travels, hotels and restaurants to designs that are hip, press-worthy and in demand.
Last year the more shy partner was rewarded when Gold lengthened the eponymous company logo. Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams production was kicked up a notch, first with an ambitious 90-piece case goods collection (armoires, tables, dressers, beds), lighting, then accessories, rugs and signed fine art photography by longtime pal Tipper Gore.
Some in the industry were taken aback by the name change. But Gold never has been one to accept status quo. He shook things up a few years back with a provocative advertising campaign that featured not-so-ambiguously gay messages, savvily, some say, recognizing the strong buying power of that minority. One featured a buff, shirtless guy strolling through a loftlike space with wide-planked floors, empty except for two red leather chairs on casters. “Head over wheels in love,” was the clever tag line.
Now extending their brand with 14 freestanding showrooms, the two have created a coffee-table book to be published by Meredith in March. In November, they’ll launch their own twice-yearly magazine, more a “magalog,” to spotlight product mixed with features.
While the two may set trends, they don’t design what’s trendy. “We do pieces we have or would like in our own homes,” Gold says. Sometimes pieces are whimsical, perhaps “antiques of the future.”
“Our customers are of the income and taste level that they don’t necessarily want to have what everyone else does. Bob and I love 18th-century but don’t want whole houses full of it. It’s the mix that makes pieces feel collected rather than decorated,” Gold says.
Very often, Gold says, the details “make people want to buy your stuff.”
With upholstery, it may be big nailheads or distinctive welting that defines a sofa’s silhouette. With case goods, it’s a hand-rubbed finish, the Chinese red interior of a cabinet or drawers lined in hand-blocked Venetian wallpaper. These pieces are being crafted in Italy by fourth-generation furniture makers and in China and the Philippines, where rattans and wovens are done to perfection. With lighting, details include chrome dimmers, clear cords and glass balls as pulls.
It always comes back to comfort.
“In 1989, nobody used the word ‘comfort.’ It was all about $799 sofas,” Gold says. “But when you sit down, you don’t want the cushion to feel hard. You don’t want a real austere look. Furniture has to be comfortable.”
Tips from the trade
Whether you’re decorating a new space or updating one that’s tired, Bob Williams has one word: Mix.
And, no matter what styles you choose to mix, Williams advises to keep it relaxed. That’s why he likes slipcovers.
“People automatically feel comfortable sitting on a slipcovered chair or sofa, putting their feet up, sipping a cup of coffee, reading a book, watching TV or taking a nap,” he says.
Balance comes naturally to the designer. “On a mantel, for example, I’ll place a vase on each side or two tall candlesticks on one side and three picture frames on the other. On tables, I’ll do two or three picture frames, a tall lamp and a pile of books-something tall, medium and short.”
Although each design challenge is unique, there are some elements that Williams likes to incorporate consistently:
In an entry, he always has a place to put keys, and he is likely to have a coat rack and a mirror where you can glimpse how you look going out the door.
A mudroom definitely should have a place to sit and put on shoes or boots. “I like hooks to hang all kinds of things on the wall. And, if you can, a sink is amazing. It’s great to get water for a dog,” he says, as well as wash up when you come in from the garden.
Living rooms call out for a big cushy chair, Williams says. Comfy chairs also are essential to his dining room designs. He wants guests to be able to sit and enjoy a meal plus dessert and coffee after.
Williams favors candles and beautiful hand towels in powder rooms. In the master bath, he loves fluffy towels and something soft underfoot.
Visit mitchellgold.com for a listing of showrooms.
Making a room inviting
Keep lighting soft and direct. “Light that bounces off a wall is more flattering,” says Bob Williams. “As I get older, I realize I love to have a reading lamp next to a bed or chair.”
Collect. “Whether it’s a rock or a stick, seashells, broken pieces of coral or glass,” he says collections should be “a connection to you, representing a time or place, a memory.” They don’t have to be fancy or expensive, he says.
Display family photos. “Frames unify them. Choose the same color or same style, something that brings it all together. Otherwise the photos will be a hodgepodge.”
Look to nature for color inspiration. “Kids learn about color from an eight-pack of crayons. But (bright primary) colors are really rare in nature,” says Williams, who prefers white and soft hues. “White is clean, timeless. We have friends who bought a house in bad shape. They painted it completely white with a little gloss – floors and walls. It’s so fresh. It even lends character to the imperfections.”
Layer pieces in a room, like an 18th-century chest with a slipcovered sofa or a mirrored piece. But keep it simple. “I find I’m keeping it simpler, visually cleaner than I used to.”
