What I'm Thinking About Interior Design Now Vol.1

Encounter with interior design

Interior = (inside) interior decoration (from the web Kojien dictionary)

I had never really thought about the meaning of interior design before, so I looked it up in the dictionary. I wasn't particularly surprised, and just agreed that it made sense.
I would like to write about my thoughts on interior design in general (mostly furniture) and how I became interested in it.

I've always loved objects, so I became interested in interior design through designer furniture rather than spaces or buildings. Chairs were the starting point, and I personally believe that interior design lovers of my age (around 40 years old) still fall in love with Eames.
It all started with Charles and Ray Eames chairs. They were frequently featured in the fashion magazines I read when I was in high school, and I had the impression that all the cool people were using Eames lounge chairs, DSR, DCM, LCW, and Hang-it-all chairs, so they were objects of my admiration. I think it's similar to how Pierre Jeanneret and Pierre Garlish have been featured recently.

Incidentally, the first chair I ever bought was the Yanagi Sori Habitat Elephant Stool. I bought it about 20 years ago, and I still use it to put on shoes in the entrance hall. Unfortunately, my first chair wasn't an Eames.
When I was in high school, vintage Eames chairs were too expensive for me to buy.

I've always been an indoor person, and I love being at home, preferring to spend time at home rather than going out, so one of the reasons I became interested in places where I spend a lot of time and things that are used indoors is that I first became interested in interior design through furniture, and I still think that furniture is at the heart of interior design.

In the past, I used to think that I should use the same wood for my furniture or that I should have designer furniture, but now I think that I don't need to be so restrictive, and I choose things with a strange confidence that if I like something, there's no way it won't go wrong.
What I pay attention to is a design that I like rather than what's trendy, and a quality material, regardless of age, country, or genre. A chair doesn't just have to be comfortable to sit on. It's okay if you can find something about it that you like even if it's uncomfortable to sit on.
That's how I choose things loosely.

However, I have always walked around stores looking at various genres, such as Italian furniture, Scandinavian furniture, American furniture, German furniture, Japanese furniture, British furniture, new furniture, antique furniture, vintage furniture, etc., and sometimes sat down and experienced the furniture while feeling the pressure from the store staff.
For an 18 or 19 year old country boy, the interior design shops in Aoyama were like a dreamland, but at the same time, I was incredibly nervous and excited to enter the store. It was so intimidating, I remember wandering around the store with conflicting emotions: I wanted to look at the furniture, but I also wanted to go home quickly.

But now I've grown so much that I even have meetings at client stores in Aoyama. I used to walk all over Meguro Street, visiting stores like ACME, pour annick, MODERNICA, and MEISTER.

Internet shopping has become commonplace and you can shop from the comfort of your own home, but it's best to actually experience and see the furniture with your own eyes before making a decision.
The dimensions in the catalogue are unreliable.

In my case, I started by deciding on the interior design, starting with furniture like chairs, but it could also be anything indoors, like lighting, tableware, curtains, etc. But once you start to get interested in it, you want to have everything you like, and the scary thing about interior design is that it all becomes connected and you can't stop.
After buying plates, I felt like cooking and wanted to get some cooking utensils, cutlery to use when eating, and lighting to create a restaurant-like atmosphere. Now that I've started to take my time eating, I've started to think about chairs.
The interior is endlessly interesting.

Also, it is often misunderstood that anything requires maintenance, and just because something is expensive does not mean it is maintenance-free.Wooden products require maintenance according to the finish, and leather and fabrics also require maintenance.Of course, this also applies to Gabbeh and Kilim.

One of the joys is doing things myself if I can, and it's also nice to have a drink while applying leather cream on my day off.

Look around at stores of various genres, experience them, and try placing at least one item you like in your home. From there, your interior design will gradually take over, and you'll find it hard to let go and unforgettable. It's not a complete space from the start, but if you enjoy placing the things you like and gradually arranging them, I think you'll be able to create a comfortable space.

Meeting Maeda-san

I met Layout's Maeda, who approached me about this project, at a Gabbeh exhibition that was held regularly when I was working at Actus Toyama. Maeda was always kind to everyone, so the staff at the time affectionately called him "Gabbeh-san" and looked forward to his visits to the store.

I think the reason we became such good friends is because we worked together folding heavy Gabbeh and Persian carpets and went out drinking almost every night lol.
When I went to Tokyo, he went out drinking with my friends who work in the interior design industry, and we also had fun together in Kanazawa. I have more memories of him hanging out with me than of us working together, haha.
I am truly grateful that we have maintained a close relationship to this day. I regret that I was not able to contribute much to the sales of Gabbehs at the time.

(text: Doi)

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