An interesting question came up in the Decorating Panel on Facebook.  Does anyone still decorate in that Ralph Lauren English Country Style anymore.  Back in the 80’s when I first started decorating, Ralph Lauren “style” was all the rage with his plaids and florals, feet up, nothing too precious, but absolutely gorgeous sensibility.  This was something that I could relate to, crystal on a scrubbed pine table, 

Oriental rugs on brick floors, brass lamps with an equestrian influence, over scaled upholstery with sumptuous down filled cushions. 

Christmas bedroom with RL Plaid pillows I made.  Antique English Tavern Sign and French Voters Registration from 1800’s.

 Plaid blankets made from wool not acrylic.  Wicker chairs not just for outside anymore and stacks of leather suitcases were repurposed as end tables. 

 Leather bound antique books became great space isolators and the perfect riser in which to view an interesting box or figurine. All of these things could be purchased for a price!  But the heart and soul of “Ralph Lauren Style” was the antiques.  

Antique Dressing table with a $5 chair picked up at an Estate Sale and Corner Cabinet from a few years ago.

If you have been to his store in New York City and really studied his books or magazine spreads from back in the day you realize that his rooms were carefully curated.  Not mass produced. 

This seems to be the problem in this instant gratification world.  It’s been my experience with clients that they look to me to curate their home.  Well, that is what they are paying me for, but where is the satisfaction in all things new and shiny.  It is very important to me as a designer to create spaces that are uniquely my clients.  I don’t ever want someone to walk into a home and say “Oh, Shelley Humpal did this room.”  A beautiful room should never be about the designer but only about the people who live there.  I try to bring pieces of my clients into every room I do whether I like it or not.  If it’s important to them then it should be included in the design and important to me.

So yes, Ralph Lauren was probably my biggest influencer in developing my own style.  Well that and my mom, we both fell head over heels with everything Ralph Lauren.  Back then it represented quality, style and a gentility that no one else was offering.  Sheets that felt so good on your skin in patterns so beautiful that I made curtains, table cloths, and even clothes.  I still have crystal glasses that I use every day.  They weigh a ton!  In fact everything that I bought of his from back in the day I am still using.  My kitchen table is the Front Porch Table, legs painted a mustard yellow and a scruffy white painted top.  This table I bought about 10 years ago and it is designed to look like it sat in water for months.  The paint job is bubbled and blistered and true artistry, does it have mass appeal probably not but it spoke to me and was the perfect size for my small kitchen.

Mother’s Day Table Scape with Ralph Lauren “Front Porch Table”

Wanting to create “His” look in my own home I started hounding antique shops, and estate sales for antique books, leather suitcases, pottery, plaid stadium blankets, and a basket here and there because these were the things that I could afford at the time.  As I started working in design I was able to start adding some good reproduction furniture and art.  I still keep curating my home.  I am still looking for things that reach out and grab my attention.  The key is to keep looking with an open mind.  I’m not filling any specific need anymore but I do like to keep things fresh. 

Redware and Yellow Ware pottery with antique books and a couple of cherished figurines.

In finding Ralph Lauren I found my home.  His style sense helped me find and develop my own sense of style.  How did I do this?  Not by buying everything Ralph Lauren. 

 I couldn’t afford to do that.  His home furnishings were and still are terribly pricey.  I did it the almost free way, by scouring his books and any magazine article I could find, and going to his show room when in The City.  I dissected the photos.  Not just looking at the RL furnishings but really looking at the details,

How he loaded accessories into a cabinet, where he placed the books, what he placed on the books, how he positioned an object, a little more to the left!  You’d be surprised at the difference a 1/4″ can make and turning something just so.  Everything has it’s angle and height in which it’s meant to be seen at.  What objects was he using in his spaces that weren’t necessarily RL but the things he brought to the room to make it feel like home.  That was what I was interested in.

My home has changed over the years but “my style” that I use in my own home is purely curated by me at the heels of Ralph Lauren.  Because of a keen eye and attention to detail I have been able to create a home that is rich in texture, interest and uniquely ours. Thank you Ralph, long may you reign.

Hope your Sunday is full of texture and joy.

Thanks for stopping

Shelley