Miles Redd of the A-List company Redd Kai Redd, along with his business partner David Kaihoi, have mastered the balance between intimacy and grandeur. Redd invites you to sit down at his desk and learn about “Cozy Glamour” – his first
Redd is joining the ranks of Rita Konig and HTML. Redd told ELLE DECOR that the course contained all the knowledge he had accumulated over the past 20 years. If I compare it to an athletic routine, it would be like this: this is my breakfast, these stretches, and
ELLE DECOR: You mention that one of the first things you do in your process is to go to auction. Does there need to be a lot of education for clients who don’t know much about antiques?
MILES-REDD: A world market is an auction house where you can get the best. It’s not to denigrate dealers because we still need them. But you can often find better deals at auction. I have to stick to a strict budget, so I try to make the most of my dollars.
I have also learned a great deal from the descriptions they give of their products. This is where I got my education. You can also see great collectors who have great collections. People who’ve assembled great things and how they did it. This is a great way to spark your imagination, and it’s my favorite tool for decorating.
Everyone has a quirky sense of humor. It’s about getting to understand the client and finding out what excites them. We worked on a Cleveland project where the client had a particular affinity for North German furniture carved with stags. They loved it. I sent them items in this vein. Curiosities such as a deer head tucked inside the I am always on the lookout for things that are funny and have a charm to them that is natural. I can tell you that humans are curious and multi-layered. We are all unique.
When did you begin collecting art?
Mr: At the Parsons School of Design, I began as a fine artist. If I dared to do it, iIwould have been a painter. It’s my passion. The auctions are where I get my appreciation. This pile was accumulated by training my eye to look at a variety of items and purchasing the ones that spoke directly to I have nothing in storage. The warmth of an interior is driven by art and books. A room can be bare, but with just one painting, you can bring it to life.
ED: When I thought of books, I imagined that they might be mentioned. They seem to be important for your work, the importance of appearing well-read.
MR I decorate my ancestral home in English country house style to give the impression that the family is wealthy and sophisticated. Maybe subconsciously, it is my motivation. But consciously, it’s about the mania for beauty that I and other people are obsessed with.
ED: It appears that an appetite for culture and a love of life is a prerequisite for enjoying or understanding the work you do.
Mr: Yes, I agree. In the end, I hope everyone can enjoy a good life. I strive to be inclusive. The human race needs this. On the other hand, I understand that being rarefied or special can make one feel a particular way. Do you think that’s what we all want?
ED, I was curious to know where you got your fashion influence from.
MR. Clothes can reveal a great deal about a person. It’s just the way it is. A room, to me, is similar to an outfit. It needs a bit of frivolity mixed with a bit of severity and tailoredness. My mind is just like that. When someone says, “Oh, that chair feels too pointy,” I say, “Look at your shoes. Do you see how pointy your shoes are?” It would be best if you had angles in the room. It will look like a showroom if everything is big, soft, and cozy. The tension and contrast between soft and geometric is what makes a space interesting. When you tell someone that, they will understand.
