Interior Stylist Colin King Releases “Arranging Things”

As a former dancer, interior stylist and product designer Colin King has an understanding of the facility of stillness. It’s an awareness he brings to his practice since moving to the realm of interiors. By working with several design firms where he oversaw content creation and art direction, Colin became increasingly more interested in methods to execute and capture visual storytelling through the arranging of objects. The experience led him to make an unspoken promise to the forgotten corners of the house, that he would transform them into something worthy of attention.

As a go-to stylist for a lot of leading brands and publications, Colin is an everyday contributor to Architectural Digest, T, Ark, and Rum magazines. He collaborates recurrently with West Elm, Anthropologie, Zara Home, Crate & Barrel, and Roman and Williams Guild, and has his own product lines with Beni Rugs and MENU, with more within the works. Colin was recently named the Artistic Director-at-Large at Beni Rugs and continues to expand his practice to incorporate product design, private client interiors, exhibition design, and inventive direction, spreading his signature aesthetic across the industry.

This month Colin adds one other title to the list: creator. Arranging Things, published by Rizzoli, shares his intuitive, personal technique of elevating spaces. It takes shape through a series of anecdotes and visual essays written with Architectural Digest’s Sam Cochran and a foreword by Robin Standefer of Roman and Williams. Organized by theme, Arranging Things offers insights into Colin’s approach to styling through showcasing his work for home brands and publications, installation design, and even his own residence.

Arranging Things is about taking a look at objects in an unexpected way, and inspiring others to view them beyond their on a regular basis use,” Colin shared. “Whether a bowl, a single candle, a branch out of your yard, I need readers to raise these easy objects to create sophisticated vignettes that bring joy into their home.”

This week, Colin King joins us for Friday Five!

dimly lit interior space full of furniture and art with a light-skinned man standing near the window while looking away

Colin King Photo: William Jess Laird

a man faces away from the camera picking out large greenery at a flower market

Photo: Colin King

1. Florals + the Flower Market

Having elements of nature around me in my home is amazingly necessary. Whether I’m styling a shoot or simply sourcing fresh flowers and branches for my own residence, I at all times return to the flower market on twenty eighth Street. My favorite spot is twenty eighth Street Wholesale Flowers – Persaud and his team take great care of me there they usually at all times have the perfect selection.

There may be a big branch in my front room which normally stands 8-10ft tall. I enlisted my good friend Alex Crowder, founding father of Field Studies Flora, and her foraging team to assist me source unique branches of this scale. I made a decision to go together with a branch as a substitute of a tree so I could change it out every couple of months and watch the decay which provides me with a lot inspiration. Florals and nature add texture, color, softness, life, and inspiration to each space.

street magazine kiosk

Photo: Colin King

2. Print

I’m a lover of all things print. Whether it’s overspending at Casa Magazines, combing through the shelves on the Strand, writing notes on stationery, or reading the latest selection from my book club, there may be nothing I like greater than holding something tactile and tangible. I’m at all times picking up the most recent problems with AD, Arc Journal, World of Interiors, and Apartmento. I like to take a look at design and styling through the eyes of others, I learn a lot that way. Every time I travel, I’m at all times on the hunt for out-of-print books or obscure finds with interesting covers for my very own personal collection and to style with. A book is at all times a favourite prop. I even have this beautiful stationery that I like using to send thank yous and spontaneous notes to clients and acquaintances. And without delay I’m deep in The Power Broker, essentially the most recent select for my book club. There may be just nothing like print.

black and white low angle image of ballet dancers warming up

Photo: Anna Jurkovska Imagery via Shutterstock

3. Exercise + Dance

I danced almost on daily basis from the age of eight. Moving my body helps me connect with myself and get in the current moment – I even have a lot gratitude for my facility and a healthy body. Five days every week I’m going to Barry’s Bootcamp classes and once every week I attend my friend Marisa Competello’s Moves dance class. It’s there where I discover a sense of freedom and belonging. It’s all ages and all levels and it’s just pure joy. I even have no attachment to the consequence and just really attempt to let go and lose myself within the music and movement.

black portrait sketches on white paper laying on a studio floor

Photo: Colin King

4. Seeing Art in Person

I’m a member at almost every museum in town, from the Met to the Noguchi, the MoMA to the Latest Museum. I’m also a member on the Joyce Theatre, which is a dance performance venue in Chelsea. I believe it’s really necessary as a creative person to see what other artists are making across all mediums. Some recent standouts: Lea Michele in Funny Girl, my good friend Eva Alt’s choreography on the ABT Incubator performance, and the Lucio Fontana Sculpture show at Hauser and Wirth. I like doing studio visits with friends like ceramist Natalie Weinberger and Danny Kaplan to see their process and shop their newest creations straight from the kiln for shoots. I’ve even sat for artist Jack Ceglic as he drew my portrait in his East Hampton studio. I try to search out the balance of taking a look at each dead and contemporary artists.

light-skinned man with dark hair and striped short-sleeved button down holds a light-skinned baby

Photo: Colin King

5. Being an Uncle + Godfather

Becoming an uncle (twice), and recently being asked to be Godfather for a friend’s son, has brought me more joy than I could have ever imagined and taught me a brand new type of love.

 

Work by Colin King:

styled interior with books and paperweight

MENU, Sentiment Paper Weight Photo: Wealthy Stapleton

styled interior living space

Beni, Obscura Collection Photo: Adrian Gaut

light-skinned man with dark hair wearing a white t-shirt and holding out a book in front of him

Photo: Colin King

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