High End Lifestyle Design: An Interview with Jonathan Hansen

Mel and I have long been huge fans of our friend Jonathan Hansen, whose soft spoken kindness and personal sense of style impressed me long before I knew of his admirable and considerable contributions to the world of high end design.  Whether building his own furniture, working with famous interior decorators or for clothing designer Thom Browne, Jonathan's fascination with mixing luxurious and affordable, modern and traditional elements shines through.  He agreed to answer a few questions for us about his designs and inspiration, and we're thrilled!

Jonathan's interest in design began while he was still a little boy;  for his fifth birthday he remembers asking his parents for a new look in his bedroom: wall to wall shag carpet in bright red!  A High School shop class taught him the basics of woodworking and leading him to experiment on his own, making furniture and playing with different finishes to create a variety of antiqued looks.  He even started his own business in college, building and selling his furniture in his spare time from studying (we love that DIY spirit!).  


Closing up shop in order to continue his training, Jonathan next spent two years at the North Bennet Street School in Boston,
which is the oldest trade school in the country and has programs in furniture making, violin making, and jewelry making.  During this apprenticeship style training, Jonathan studied 18th and 19th century pieces from the period when hand skills were at their highest, before machines altered the craft.  These pieces are based on classic principles of architecture, lines and construction-- principles Jonathan applies to all aspects of design.

I was able to check out his gorgeous furniture close up!

In New York City, he worked with several high profile decorators (including Keith Irvine, Jackie Onassis' decorator!!), creating one of a kind and custom pieces of furniture for their clients' homes.  For one job in Santa Barbara he was asked to design all of the furniture for a whole new home, with everything custom fit for the house.  He designed everything and assembled a network of highly skilled craftsmen from all over the country to execute his designs.


That project in LA started him onto what he is doing now, which is  full time design and product development.  Recently, Jonathan has helped Thom Browne, Ralph Rucci & Aerin Lauder to expand their brands into the home product category.  He loves the process of translating a brand aesthetic from one category (like fashion or beauty) into the home category.  The fun for him is in working with a designer and finding out how their aesthetic can find its expression in furniture, table top and decorative objects. 

A collection of glassware Jonathan recently designed for Baccarat and Thom Browne.

His designs for the collection

A few helpful insights from the expert himself:

- Be patient.  Designing anything is an evolutionary process.  You don't know how it's going to look until you see the prototype for the first time.

- When decorating a room in your home, buy things you love and see how you can work them together.  

-Be sure to mix old and new together.

- Furniture is supposed to be used! It's ok when it looks lived in.

Stay tuned to read about Jonathan's inspiration, and later see the tour of their amazing NYC apartment!

Liza