What colors and styles will make your house pop this season? MG+BW knows
The tufted sofa in jewel-toned blue, above, is the favorite piece of Bob Williams in the current collection he designed with business partner Mitchell Gold, both seated opposite. Their boutique chain is currently marking its 25th anniversary.
ARNOLD WAYNE JONES | Executive Editor
A lot of exes fight over how to split up the furniture. But Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams are well above that — they cooperate in making new furniture. Though no longer partners in life, they remain partners in business, and their upscale Uptown boutique — called, of course, Mitchell Gold+Bob Williams — is a mecca for fine décor.
“We’re having a great year,” Gold says of the company’s landmark 25th anniversary in 2014. “It really is exciting for us. When we have hit special anniversary dates in the past, we’ve had a party in High Point [North Carolina, where they are based]. But Bob suggested we have a party at each one of our stores [to mark 25 years], and it’s been great fun with great turnout.” (The 25 number is further significant because by the end of the year, they will have 25 stores — two of which are in North Texas.)
You don’t stay in business that long without having a sense for what styles, color and trends are in fashion, so we asked these doyennes of decorating to fill us in about what is hot for the fall. Here’s what they said.
Break out the 8-tracks! It’s a post-Mad Men age. As Mad Men nears the end of its run as the ultimate statement of ’60s style, MG+BW sees the ’70s in your living room.
“It’s an interpretation of ’70s style, but with an updated twist,” Williams says. It’s definitely a classic ’70s theme. A lot of accents are coming up brass, but as this is our silver anniversary, there’s a lot of silver as well.”
Among those Brady Bunch-era icons making a comeback? The sectional sofa. But the modern take on it understands the family room isn’t what it used to be.
“Social networking [at home] is what we call it,” says Gold. “There are a lot of sectionals, often with swivel chairs.” Why the swivel? So that you can turn to face a number of guests … “and it allows you to see the big screen TV wherever you choose to mount it,” he adds.
“The miniaturization of televisions — the move from big furniture pieces of television sets in huge armoires to wall-mounted flatscreens — has altered the way they design for living spaces,” Gold explains. “Swivel chairs allow the room to open up.”
And what to do with those old armoires that used to hold your deep cathode ray TV? “It has a door on it right? Go ahead and repurpose it for storage in another room,”
Gold suggests. “It’s still a good piece of furniture. I redid my bedroom in the just the last couple of months and got rid of an armoire. Honestly, I can’t imagine why I waited so long.”
Williams concurs. “I had a beautiful armoire in my utility room for storage and I moved it into the den because it was so lovely.”
Color me dazzled. If you’re looking for a palette to excite your palate, Williams says jewel tones are the way to go this season. From sapphire blues to deep purples and an array of metallic finishes, the deep luxe colors are hitting to brighten up fall with a richness. You also see it reflected in the presence of natural formations like geodes and crystals as accessories. Each piece is unique, but with an earthy touch of the outside indoors.
Their own favorite pieces. An easy call for Williams.
“The Barrymore blue tufted sofa,” he says. “It reminds me of a Chesterfield, one of the classics.” It can give a room a mid-century modern vibe while still feeling timeless, Gold adds.
Gold himself has two favorites. “I love the purple velvet sofa, and there’s a chair we call the Directoire. It’s like the old canvas director’s chair [in profile], but it’s polished brass, and sturdy, not saggy.”
What you won’t find this season MG+BW? Recliners.
“Some years ago, we got requests for recliners all the time but we refused to do them,” Gold says.
Some things deserve to remain in the 1970s after all.
MG+BW’s current sale — 20 percent off linens, wall art, lighting, accessories and more — continues through Oct. 5.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition October 3, 2014.