THOMAS O'BRIEN CELEBRATES 'WARM MODERNISM' IN NEW SAFAVIEH RUG COLLECTION

By Lissa Wyman

Thomas O'Brien is expanding his signature style of "Warm Modernism" with a new high end Safavieh rug collection slated for introduction this Summer in Atlanta.

The Thomas O'Brien licensing partnership with Safavieh began in January 2006. The Summer 2007 line includes nine new designs with a total of 17 colorations. The rugs are hand knotted of wool and wool and silk. Suggested retail prices range from $3,000 to $7,000 in 6x9 size.

The Thomas O'Brien collection for Safavieh is aimed at the design community, to-the-trade showrooms and high end furniture and rug galleries, according to O'Brien.

In the new collection, O'Brien said his goal is to bring a new twist to traditional styling. "It's a blend of both traditional and contemporary design elements," he told Rugnews.com in a recent interview at Safavieh's Manhattan furniture store. "I work with traditional components and interpret them in a more modern way."

This works in both color and design, explained O'Brien. Antique Batik textiles, Arts & Crafts motifs and even 1920's pottery designs are the starting points for several of the new Safavieh rugs.


Batik design is a multi-level design based on an antique textile. It features a botanical field in a graphic, monochromatic style.


Palma is a trellis design that recalls the mood of damask fabric. The blend of silk and wool creates subtle pattern variation.


Natalie, featuring a single strand of flowering vine, is adapted from elements of an Indonesian batik fabric in O'Brien's private collection.

Colors are both neutral and saturated, according to O'Brien. "In the new collection, we have added both more intense colors and pale and subtle colors. We had tremendous success with the Corsaro blue color in the initial collection. We've used that color in the new group, and we've also added a mossy green," O'Brien said.

Thomas O'Brien is a multi-faceted product and interior designer who is well-known to fans of the Home & Garden TV network. His Aero Furniture store in Manhattan's SoHo district has brought the O'Brien signature style to consumers for the past 15 years. In addition, O'Brien has a licensing agreement for furniture marketed through Hickory Chair.


Thomas O'Brien in a Safavieh store vignette that features his signature furniture from Hickory Chair as well as Safavieh's Thomas O'Brien rugs.

In order to demonstrate how both furniture and rugs complement one another, both products are displayed and photographed together as much as possible. For example, both O'Brien collections are shown together in Hickory Chair showrooms. Safavieh's New York stores also merchandises the two categories together in vignette presentations.

While O'Brien is well known at the luxury end of the market, his work is also being brought to a broader audience with a a large collection of home textiles and home accessory items marketed through Target stores.

O'Brien's design philosophy embraces the whole range of price points. "I believe that a home should contain a variety of decorative pieces. Not everything has to be high end, even in wealthy households," said O'Brien. "In my own store, I have some $40 things as well as some $12,000 items."