Arranging Things

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Besides art, I think nature is one of my biggest forms of reference and inspiration. I would say my favorite plant of all time, although the blooming is so random and short lived, is a smoke bush. When it blooms, it’s cloud-like and vibrant and bizarre, unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Trash: These are items that no one will likely use—including you. If the item is broken or ruined in some way, or you can’t remember when you last used it, toss it. Colin King, who styles spaces for major names like Roman and Williams Guild, is a master at artfully placing furniture and objects. His Rizzoli book, Arranging Things, written with Architectural Digest's Sam Cochran, delves deep inside his process of composing everything from coffee tables and bookshelves to windowsill. It may also inspire readers to visually craft their own rooms. -VOGUE

Colin King, who styles spaces for major names like Roman and Williams Guild, is a master at artfully placing furniture and objects. His Rizzoli book, Arranging Things, written with Architectural Digest’s Sam Cochran, delves deep inside his process of composing everything from coffee tables and bookshelves to windowsill. It may also inspire readers to visually craft their own rooms.”—VOGUE King, who describes his aesthetic as “warm minimalism,” began the book-making process with the framework for his story, but enlisted the help of Sam Cochran, Architectural Digest global features director, to help translate the creative process behind his visual medium into a series of essays organically organized into different chapters. Colin King, who styles spaces for major names like Roman and Williams Guild, is a master at artfully placing furniture and objects. His Rizzoli book, Arranging Things, written with Architectural Digest’s Sam Cochran, delves deep inside his process of composing everything from coffee tables and bookshelves to windowsill. It may also inspire readers to visually craft their own rooms.” —VOGUE Being self taught…I don’t have a process. It just intuitive. It’s innate,” King explains. “[Sam] was really able to distill it and ask me the right questions to tease it out of me. Like, ‘I know your objects are talking to you, but can you tell me what they’re saying?’” Keep: The items that you keep will be items that you use on a regular basis. If you've used the item in the last two or three months, keep it.

The work of a stylist is really making art out of relationships - between shapes, textures, materials, and colors - in a way that's satisfying to see. In just a few years, Colin King has become a stylist who continues to surprise us with his instincts, styling minimalist yet still visually rich interiors for clients like Roman and Williams Guild, Architectural Digest, and Anthropologie. Despite working with big brands, King's approach is remarkably accessible and sustainable, and his book is a guide to looking at your own belongings with a fresh perspective. -CURBED NY

New York–based stylist Colin King shares his wisdom and insights for cultivating beauty in our everyday surroundings—composing objects into simple, sophisticated vignettes that enrich our homes and our lives. People tend to think that they need to buy something new, when in fact they might just need to alter or rearrange items they already own. When I look for inspiration, I’m not necessarily looking at the pieces— I’m looking at their compositions and how they fill space. So I might not be able to afford a Giacometti or a Calder, but I’ll realize I have something that height and shape, and I’ll build from there. Instead of focusing so much on the maker or the brand, focus instead on playing with layout. There’s so much power in arranging. Out now via Rizzoli, Arranging Things explores the magic of arranging and rearranging objects within your home, forming artistic vignettes that transcend the mundane. Above all, Colin adds that he didn't want the book to offer a series of prescriptive tips but rather serve as inspiration for the reader to experiment with creating moments of beauty that feel personal and special to them: I wanted to share my own experience in working through some of these kinds of concepts and what to pay attention to and what's worked for me in the past, he explains. It really is this trial-and-error moment that, when you arrive at it, it just feels right. -ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST

Perfect inspiration for some spring organization, Colin King's first tome is a visual exploration of the desire for attractive, cohesive spaces. Through anecdotes and essays, he shares his deeply personal process for giving items a new purposeful life. A timeless mastery of finding meaning in the everyday, Arranging Things is a gratifying metaphor for life. This gorgeous coffee table display piece demands to be read over and over again. -ARTFUL LIVING I once worked as a clerk in a store, which was responsible for maintaining the daily operation of the store, and the store sold different types of ceramics, lacquerware, postcards and a small number of books. One day, I was thinking about how to sell books, that is, not to sell one, and I also wanted guests to be interested in reading books. Out now via Rizzoli, Arranging Things explores the magic of arranging and rearranging objects within your home, forming artistic vignettes that transcend the mundane. Above all, Colin adds that he didn’t want the book to offer a series of prescriptive tips but rather serve as inspiration for the reader to experiment with creating moments of beauty that feel personal and special to them: “I wanted to share my own experience in working through some of these kinds of concepts and what to pay attention to and what’s worked for me in the past,” he explains. “It really is this trial-and-error moment that, when you arrive at it, it just feels right.” —Architectural Digest

That was the scariest part for me because I wanted to make a disclosure to everyone that it’s not formulaic. My hang-up as I was trying to create these tangible ideas for people was that I felt like I was taking away the power from the viewer and the arranger. What I’m really trying to say is, “Look at the things around you and forge relationships between them in a new and exciting way that feels good to you.” It’s really about confidence. Rather than imitating, get the things that you love and find a cool arrangement that works for you. New York-based stylist King explores the importance of composition, scale and proportion when creating vignettes around the home. Through a series of anecdotes and visual essays, he explains his process for cultivating beauty in our everyday surroundings and reminds readers that styling is not about buying new things but rather, it's about seeing old favorites with fresh eyes. -DESIGN NEW JERSEY Out now via Rizzoli, Arranging Things explores the magic of arranging and rearranging objects within your home, forming artistic vignettes that transcend the mundane. Above all, Colin adds that he didn’t want the book to offer a series of prescriptive tips but rather serve as inspiration for the reader to experiment with creating moments of beauty that feel personal and special to them:“I wanted to share my own experience in working through some of these kinds of concepts and what to pay attention to and what’s worked for me in the past,” he explains. “It really is this trial-and-error moment that, when you arrive at it, it just feels right.”—Architectural Digest Donate: These are items that may benefit someone but you don’t personally need or use anymore. These may be things like clothes that don’t fit or old textbooks. Colin King has styled and produced feature stories for major design magazines, in addition to working with renowned brands in the design world as a consultant, stylist, and creator. Sam Cochran is an editor, writer, content creator, manager, and public speaker, having worked for more than ten years as a contributor to Architectural Digest.

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I don’t have any guiding principles other than I think experimenting should be a daily practice. Sometimes I’ll rearrange my coffee table and I’ll hate it and redo it the next day. I think getting all of your favorite objects in constant rotation is really great. I think that that’s kind of a beautiful metaphor for life as well. We’re constantly moving things, and folding laundry, or cleaning up the kitchen. It just feels like you’re always arranging in a way. Keep similar clothing items together. For example, group t-shirts, sweatshirts, and dresses together in separate spots in your closet. A lot of times there’s too much emphasis on one place, like millwork or shelving, that people obsess over and feel like they need to fill. But the areas I find most overlooked are the transition spaces, whether it’s a hallway or a threshold to a room. I love displaying objects on a windowsill or a ledge to activate the spaces that aren’t necessarily obvious. Out now via Rizzoli, Arranging Things explores the magic of arranging and rearranging objects within your home, forming artistic vignettes that transcend the mundane. Above all, Colin adds that he didn’t want the book to offer a series of prescriptive tips but rather serve as inspiration for the reader to experiment with creating moments of beauty that feel personal and special to them: “I wanted to share my own experience in working through some of these kinds of concepts and what to pay attention to and what’s worked for me in the past,” he explains. “It really is this trial-and-error moment that, when you arrive at it, it just feels right.”—Architectural Digest