Lifestyles

Interior and product designer Larry R. Laslo has created home and work spaces throughout the world that have focused on livability as well as aesthetic appeal.

He has done work that has been on the pages of Architectural Digest, the New York Times, Elle Decor and House & Garden, among other places. He also has designed commercial spaces, such as the Bergdorf Goodman and Takashimaya stores in New York City.

The president of Larry Laslo Designs will present his thoughts Sept. 16 at "The World According to Larry Laslo," open only to interior designers at Gregory Alonso of PA, a design showroom in Ohio Township. The Alonso company is the exclusive marketer in the Pittsburgh area for Laslo's fabric and trim collections, which are made by the Robert Allen Group, headquartered in Massachusetts in the United States.

While Laslo's presentation is not open to the general public, he shared some of his ideas to those who will not be able to attend.

Question: What will you do at the designer presentation?

Answer: It is all about my world and how it evolves. It will really be about my evolution and showing various beautiful rooms around the world.

Q: Do you do these often?

A: I do 10 to 20 a year. Last year, we did 36. I don't use cue cards. The stream of conversation varies each time. The more exciting the audience is the better I am! We have a slide show because it is hard to talk about design without using visuals.

Q: It is titled "The World According to Larry Laslo?" So what is that?

A: It is very eclectic. The New York Times asked me 10 years ago what the next trend will be and I said there wouldn't be one. No one does all French. No one does Danish. It is like getting dressed. We pick up the pieces. In the old days, the shoes matched the handbags. Now we have wild eclecticism.

Q: You have done the Bergdorf Goodman and Takashimaya stores in New York City. Does designing for a store present a totally different set of issues?

A: Yes, because you have to sell from a store. You have to get people to get focused on goods. Sometimes, you have to live in a house for a while to see what it needs. But a store has to open on a certain date.

Q: Does being a product designer stem from being an interior designer?

A: I love designing furniture, fabrics, wallpaper. It is a wonderful part of being an interior designer. You just have an internal eye. It all runs from the same brain. It has the same sensitivity and instinct. There is no set formula. I don't figure out how I'm doing it. The hand just moves and the plan emerges. It is like in art: Your first instinct is your best.

Q: Do you consider yourself more of a product and fabric designer than an interior designer at this point?

A: I consider myself a designer. As well as an artist, if you want to use a slash between them. It's like they saying: I am able to roost in all the best trees.

Q: What mistakes do people make most often when they get involved with design?

A: Scale first, then color. Using it badly. Scale is difficult. It really takes years to refine an eye to a sense of scale. Really half the people in the world were born with bad taste. It is like being born with brown eyes and you want blue. Surprise! You don't have them.

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