About Erik
Interior design, in one form or another, was a passion from a young age.
As a child I loved producing spaces. I think it started by building forts with blankets in my childhood dining room. I evolved to creating haunted houses each Halloween in friend’s basements that became more and more elaborate each year. Then designing and producing the class homecoming parade floats in high school, and constructing theater sets in high school and college. At the core these projects involve launching something immersive and creative that starts in my mind and grows through research, shopping and collaboration. To this day I lay in bed before falling asleep imagining the details of what a project will look like and how I can make it better.
Interior design is my second career.
I’ve been an entrepreneur from a young age. In middle school and high school, I owned a small business with a friend called The Bagel Times that delivered bagels and newspapers to people’s homes on Sunday mornings.
In 2008 I founded - and for 15 years ran, along with a wonderful team - a digital marketing agency called Capacity Interactive that serves arts and cultural organizations like Carnegie Hall, New York City Ballet, and the Seattle Art Museum. In 2022, I sold the business to the employees as part of an ESOP, and now serve as the company’s board chair. I learned so much about running a successful creative business. One of my favorite parts of my role was designing each new office as we grew.
I’m a native New Yorker from Ohio.
My parents grew up in very small apartments in Brooklyn and Queens. After finishing medical school and his residency in Cincinnati (and having an income for the first time) my dad went a bit overboard in the best way and bought a six-bedroom 1933 colonial on three acres with a swimming pool for my mom, himself and his son that would soon be born, me.
I love a decorated home.
My glamorous mom loved clothing and design and filled my childhood house with beautiful finishing likes grasscloth wallpaper and antiques from all over the world - always bought on sale. She loved French antiques. We ate our meals on a French country dining table with Brentwood chairs and I still remember how these old pieces teeming with history and style smelled and felt to the touch.
Learning propels me.
My unquenchable love of learning propels me forward. Working in interiors opens up worlds of architecture, textiles, color, furniture, design history, art, and world history to name just a few. I can't get enough content, from books to podcasts to videos about interiors and interior designers.
I want to help you live better.
I love working with people at pivot points in their lives as is usually the case during a design project. The great designer Albert Hadley said, "the essence of interior design will always be about people and how they live." How can I better understand your style and how you live and create the space of your dreams?
Design Musings
Contrast and Juxtaposition
A small scale print next to a large scale print. An antique mirror next to a modern artwork.
To me, the most interesting spaces mix antiques and new items, time periods, and high and low. A successful "modern" design is rarely realized in a room full of new furniture and modern art.
Don’t be scared of antiques. Once you live with old things, you can see the beauty in their history and how they can make your space more interesting and layered. Not to mention, buying antiques is green and better for the planet than buying new. Also a great way for your family heirlooms is to help them live on and honor their former owners.
A designer’s Job is To Listen, Teach and Gently push
The best designers take time to ask questions in order to understand what a client loves. What colors make you feel something? What public spaces and restaurants do you love to visit? What movies move you?. The designer then uses their knowledge of design and their resources to bring these inspirations to the client's home in a way a client could not do for themselves, but it still feels like their home.
For this to be work, client’s have to pushed out of their comfort zone. In my experience the areas where a client is the most pushed, are the areas they most love once the project is completed. I once insisted on hanging beautiful sconces over a kitchen island. "But the kitchen already has plenty of light," my client said. "Yes, this is not only about light. It is about structure and space". It is not easy to convince someone to spend their money on something they do not think they need. Recently this client told me that these lights are among the best things in their home.
Mixing High With Low
I have made this mistake over and over. I've bought a cheap rug and watched it fall apart. The fibers fall off and have to be vacuumed up. I spill on it and it’s permanently stained. Then I have to go and buy another rug! When you buy something a little nicer it is usually better quality. It feels better, is more resistant to wear and tear. As designer Miles Redd says “buy the best and you only cry once.”
I believe in mixing high with low - and not everything needs to be the best, but when it comes to some key items in your home like sofas and rugs I believe in buying the best you can afford because they can live with you for the rest of your life and will make your space so much more comfortable and enjoyable. You may even save money in the long run.
I find it is the things I don't do or don't buy that I end up regretting. When I take bigger swings that push me out of my comfort zone, I tend to love them the most and I am encouraged to keep growing and pushing.
Live Better By Design
Not very long ago, designers were hired to teach their clients how to live and entertain in society. How to host a party. How their homes should be set up for entertaining and living. I think a modern interpretation of this for me, is how can I go into someone's home and take the time to understand how they live, and not only make their space more beautiful, but also more functional, and enjoyable to live in? How can we make daily routines more enjoyable? Living with fresh flowers. Serving meals on beautiful plates and platters. Organizing spaces to make living better. Taking nerves out of entertaining, making it fun for you and enjoyable for you and your guests. A beautiful and well designed home will make you and your family happy.