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Cover Story
A top designer on 'Top Design'
Colorado-born Nathan Thomas moved to New York when he was 19 to make his name in the scientific field but ended up in the world of interior design, focusing on a high-end residential Manhattanite clientele for Nathan Egan Interiors. Looking for yet another challenge, he turned towards television, becoming a con-testant on Bravo's second season of Top Design. I recently got a chance to talk to him.
Jerry L. Wheeler: What made you decide to do Top Design?
Nathan Thomas: I got an e-mail for a casting call, and I guess my boss did as well. He said, 'My god, Nathan, this is perfect for you - why don't you do it?" And I said, 'You know what? It would be a little queer if I did that show." Then I went to the casting and I thought, 'Oh my god, yeah, I should do this. It would be fun.' The next thing I knew I was mov-ing to Los Angeles (where the show was shot), and I was on the show.
JLW: What was the audition process like?
NT: It was interesting. The first audition was, I guess, more like a group - a panel discussion. I sat with about five other prospective contestants, and the casting agent did this roundtable discussion about what was good and what was bad about design. I think I sort of sat back timidly, biting my tongue and not wanting to say or react to what I was hearing from the other people. Then somebody talked about wood paneling, and how it was such a horrible thing. That set me off. I was like, 'Oh my god, wood paneling's so chic!' Basements like Calvin Klein's pedophilia ads or something - it has a sexiness to it.
JLW: So you're a fan of wood paneling?
NT: I think it's pretty cool. I think it can be used in a great way, and it doesn't have to have that suburban rec room quality to it. You can turn it up and do some-thing pretty fabulous and add great art-work or pretty chic finishes and furniture.
JLW: Light or dark?
NT: That's personal (laughs).
JLW: Has the reality-TV experience been what you thought it would?
NT: Being on Top Design was amazing and working with Bravo was great. It was a really worthwhile experience that I never could have imagined. Going into it or coming out of it, I definitely experi-enced culture shock. After I left L.A., it was a little weird - I was looking for a cameraman and I was trying to find out where my mic was. It was like, 'Where's my chaperone? I need to go outside.' Now, I'm free again, so it was a little daunting to go from living my day-to-day crazy life in New York to the quarantine of reality TV life.
JLW: Was that kind of confining?
NT: You know, it was - but then my fellow contestants, we sort of created our bonds with each other. We became our own support system, our means of letting things out and getting through it - because you don't have a telephone or any kind of access to the outside world. So it was confining, but it was also a great learning experience, like a self-exploration.
JLW: What did you learn from it?
NT: I learned to be very patient. I learned to smile and keep my thoughts to myself. I also learned how to work with very small budgets, which was a big switch for me from the office that I work in. The budget constraints are not typical at all here in New York. The level of clients our office deals with is much higher-end. I said on the very first episode that $2,000 to me was something I could spend on a table lamp or a letter opener. It’s a very, very different world, but was really interesting because you’re forced to be very creative with not a lot of money and come up with good-looking stuff - maybe alter it to make it look like it’s much more expensive. I think a lot of good design isn’t necessarily the most expensive thing. Good design comes from good training and a good eye.
JLW: Which challenges have you found the toughest and why?
NT: Well, we’ve only had two that were seen so far (as of OFC’s publication date). I really enjoyed the very first challenge, the loft. It was great to work with Kelly Wearstler as my client, and it was a team challenge which was really interesting. And I had a great time doing that because you quickly learn a lot about three other contestants. And then on the second challenge, the bunker, I was teamed up with one of my former teammates, Wisit, and we just had a ball with it. We pretended we were this married couple moving into our bunker - we kind of took it over the top and really made a gay anthem out of it. Both of them have been a lot of fun.
JLW: Who do you see as your biggest competition on the show?
NT: Me (laughs). I am my biggest competiton.
JLW: (also laughing) Well, you’re gonna have to explain that one.
NT: Okay, then - I’ll give you a real answer. I think, looking at the contestants and the personalities and the styles, I think Eddie and I are probably each other’s biggest competition.
JLW: What are the differences between New York and Los Angeles. Are there things you’d do one place and not the other?
NT: There’s definitely a pace I’m used to in New York. It’s very go-go-go, get up and go. From the minute I wake up to the minute I go to sleep, I’m constantly working and I’m constantly looking for inspiration and on the phone - it’s non-stop. I think the only downtime in New York is when you’re on the subway, because you don’t have access to your e-mail or your Blackberry and you can’t really communicate. I think in L.A., the pace is very different. The lifestyle is very different. Everybody’s controlled by their automobile - there’s not a walking population there. It’s controlled by highways and byways, and I also think the density of Manhattan compared to Los Angeles makes a big difference, especially in the design world. In Manhattan, I can hit 25 shops in a day and I can get a lot of work done. In L.A., you might be able to get half that work done. New York is also this epicenter of commerce and design and ideas and art. It all sort of filters through New York - it’s a constant source of inspiration and beauty and possibility.
JLW: What differences are there in designing for the two places?
NT: The firm I’m with focuses on high-end residential that can afford designers and decorators and can also afford to shop for vintage and antique furniture. I find more of a retro feeling in L.A. - more open. Spaces are very different there. People don’t live on top and next to each other. People have private homes; it’s not about your penthouse or your two-floor duplex apartment that is more common in Manhattan. So I think there’s a sense of space. You have a little more freedom in Los Angeles, maybe.
JLW: What’s your design philosophy?
NT: I think good scale is very important. I think that proportion of furniture relative to the space, the size of the room and also the user and complementary pieces of furniture is important. For me, it’s all about a harmony and it’s all about a language and creating a dialogue that makes sense from the moment you walk into a space and leave the space.
JLW: What happens if you have a client who has a favorite piece that disrupts that harmony?
NT: (laughs) As a designer, you have to listen to the wants and needs of your clients, but it’s also very important to push your artistry out there and your sense of skill. It happens all the time where a client says, ‘Well, I really want to use my old sofa,’ and it’s like, ‘Well, then why did you hire me?’ If something like that comes up, it’s pretty easy to coerce the client into what you want - I don’t mean that in an egotistical way. It’s a matter of helping your client visualize and achieve what you want as well as what they want.
JLW: What’s your dream project?
NT: I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be back in the late ’70s - hang out with Halston, Chaka Khan, Bianca Jagger. I would love to reinvent the over-the-top glam of the ’70s, and let that come back into life. I could see myself doing that - brass and leopard. It’s not in my repertoire now, but I could have a ton of fun doing that.
JLW: What would be the anchor pieces in something like that?
NT: (laughing) I think it would probably be a pair of cast cheetahs, flanking the double doors into my penthouse apartment with white marble floors. Over. The. Top.
JLW: What else would you like to tell our readers?
NT: If you’ve got a dream, follow it. You might end up on TV.
For more info on Top Design, visit www.bravotv.com.
