Latest Target designer takes high-end design to the masses

By Eils Lotozo

New York interior designer Thomas O’Brien has a roster of A-list clients and a chic home-furnishings store in SoHo. He has his own line of luxury bedding (from Marshall Field’s) and an elegant collection of furniture that bears his name (from Hickory Chair).

For sheer cachet, though, all that has nothing on O’Brien’s latest design venture: a home collection for Target.

The Thomas O’Brien Vintage Modern line, which arrived in Target stores Oct. 2, includes furniture, lamps, tableware, rugs, clocks, throw pillows, towels, shower curtains — even picture frames and pot holders. With more than 500 items, it’s the biggest launch Target has ever done and signals a major reinvention by the retailer of its home-furnishings category.

“It started as a big idea, and in the process of designing it grew even bigger,” O’Brien said.

He’s the latest high-end designer to be courted by the company, which has shrewdly honed a reputation as the thinking person’s mass merchandiser, the hip alternative to dowdy Wal-Mart.

The nation’s No. 3 retailer (with more than 1,100 stores), Target has featured home wares designed by Phillipe Starck and Todd Oldham and carries architect Michael Graves’ modernist tea kettles, toasters and fondue sets. Earlier this year, the chain — whose motto is “Design for All” — introduced a home-furnishings line from fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi, whose apparel collection has proved a big hit.

But Target has pulled out all the stops for O’Brien, whose 14-year-old store, Aero Studios, is known for displaying vintage furniture alongside new pieces — and for having stoked the craze for mid-century modern design.

“A person could furnish a whole house or apartment with this collection,” said Target spokeswoman Paula Thornton-Greear. “We think it’s going to have wide appeal across broad categories of consumers.”

One thing is certain: O’Brien’s creations, which the company is billing as “classic American design interpreted for a modern world,” represent a step up in quality for Target’s home-furnishings offerings.

Forget the cheap veneer and particle-board furniture that have been staples of big-box retailers. O’Brien’s clever black-and-white interlocking enameled-steel tables ($39.99) have real heft. So does a metal-trimmed black wooden coffee table that comes with a pair of chocolate brown ottomans that store underneath ($229.99).

Also impressive are a sleek black side table ($99.99); wooden nesting tables whose gridded tops sit on X-shaped bases ($129.99); and a tall, boxy chest with sliding doors in white laminate and dark wood ($499.99). That last item, the largest and most expensive in the collection, will be available only on Target.com.

O’Brien’s textile and tableware creations, all in a palette of soft blues, pale greens, grays, and off-whites, also have a luxe feel.

During an interview at his Aero Studios in New York, O’Brien proudly pulled out two of his bedding designs for the Vintage Modern collection.

“Just look at this stitching,” said the 44-year-old designer, displaying a pale blue channel-quilted coverlet ($89.99/queen) and an ivory duvet with a chain-stitched leaf motif ($99.99/queen).

But achieving the right look at those Target prices is a rigorous process, said the designer, whose attention to detail extended to creating the fonts for the wall clocks in the collection.

First, O’Brien and his design team, who work in a basement warren of cluttered offices below his Aero store, come up with product ideas. Those get turned into detailed computer renderings that are presented to Target staff at the company’s Minneapolis headquarters.

“Then they make samples, and those get reviewed and reviewed and reviewed,” said O’Brien, who professes to enjoy the marathon critiques, in which furniture finishes are debated, colors questioned, and textiles taken apart.

“I think about design in a pure way,” he said. “Whether it’s a display in the store, the design of a client’s home, or a product, it’s all about problem-solving.

“Target has just been incredible to work with,” said O’Brien, who got on the retailer’s design radar when he launched his bedding line for department-store chain Marshall Field’s, which Target Corp. owned until last year.

Hickory Chair president Jay Reardon said he has no fears that the designer’s association with low-price Target will tarnish the O’Brien brand.

“I’ve seen everything in the collection, and it’s really well designed,” said Reardon. “Not every consumer can afford Hickory Chair, especially when they’re starting out in life. But they do want good products. As they move up in income and can afford finer pieces, they’ll already be acquainted with Thomas’ aesthetic through Target, and maybe they’ll want to buy from us.”

O’Brien has no qualms either about his crossover from the high end to the realm of $3.99 wine glasses and $5.99 dish towels.

“I love Target,” he said. “I shop there all the time.”

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