Jeffrey and Deborah Fisher Join Ocean Home

Top interior design experts Jeffrey and Deborah Fisher join Ocean Home.

Jeffrey Fisher what makes an outstanding interior designer, and his answer is simple. “Someone who has remarkable observation, listening and mediation skills,” he says emphatically. “Many clients can’t properly articulate what they like or want, so it’s important to pick up on the details of how they live in order to piece the entire puzzle together.

Jeffrey and Deborah Fisher[/caption] “And interior designers are only as good as their assembled team,” he adds. “When you hire an interior designer, you’re hiring their upholsterer, wallpaper hanger, painter etc., so make sure you’ve looked not only at their big picture but their fine details as well. It also pays to find a designer who is a good mediator because often times two people with opposing tastes are making the decisions collectively.”

Wise advice from someone who has been at the forefront of the interior design industry since 2000, when he launched his highly successful Jeffrey Fisher Home collection with his sister and business partner Deborah, and now has offices in Toronto, Canada, and a new U.S. headquarters in Naples, Florida, opening in 2014.

It was the dynamic duo’s unwavering eye for the big picture and fine details, not to mention their innate on-trend interior design skills, which first caught my attention when I met Jeffrey by chance at the exquisite Grand Hotel Tremezzo, on Italy’s Lake Como, earlier this year. Deep knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the complex and ever-evolving world of interior design is a prerequisite for any luxury homes magazine editor, and I’m delighted to say I now have not one but two pairs of laser-sharp, sophisticated, and design-savvy eyes on the Ocean Home team.

Jeffrey’s career started in the fashion industry working for Canada’s leading evening wear designer Wayne Clark, before striking out on his own with his first collection in the fall of 1991. Merging his talent for fashion and love of the theater, he worked on several major Broadway musicals, but it was while working with the legendary Diahann Carroll, star of Sunset Boulevard, that he discovered his talent for interior design.

“Diahann invited me to help decorate her dining room in New York City,” he recalls, “and it was then I realized my true passion for interiors.” Trips to India, Hong Kong, and Bali resulted in the launch of Jeffrey Fisher Home with sister Deborah in 2000 featuring an outstanding line of luxury bedding, table linens, and fine shell accessories, which were snapped up by Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.

With Jeffrey’s designs appearing everywhere from major trade shows to a celebrated episode of Sex and the City in 2003, Jeffrey later hosted his own award-winning TV show, Arresting Design, in Canada and later introduced his luxury bedding to The Shopping Channel. Describing his aesthetic as curated eclectic modern, Jeffrey’s design reputation centers on disciplined luxury and classic understated elegance. “I like clean lines and I also love things,” he says, “but I don’t want to feel cluttered, so I always curate my collectibles to showcase only the things I love. I was raised to believe it’s better to own one good piece (of anything) than three mediocre things.”

As for the importance of hiring a professional interior designer, Jeffrey is adamant. “Don’t waste good money making wrong choices,” he says. “You can have great taste and still make expensive mistakes when choosing finishes, furniture and fabrics for your home. Better to spend the money correctly from the start of the project as opposed to on corrections at the end.” jeffreyfisherhome.com.

THE FISHER FILES

Jeffrey & Deborah Fisher Select Their Five Fabulous Finds of the Fall Season

Red-hot Log Holder

Full credit to Deb for finding this one-of-a-kind log holder, just in time for the winter season. Created from tempered glass, the thick panes of the Vision Modern Log Holder are separated by polished steel rods at the top, center and base, allowing logs to nestle in between. I happen to think it will look beautiful as a sculptural element even if your fireplace is gas, fireplacemall.com.

Best Feet forward

I love a house shoe (who am I kidding- slipper) and don’t care who knows it. They’re the ideal footwear for home, hotel rooms, a cottage or beach house. Always on the look out for interesting additions (at last count I have a dozen pairs), I’m mad about my latest find, the classic double deerskin moccasin from Minnetonka Moccasins. Family owned since 1946, Minnetonka makes a really comfortable shoe, minnetonkamoccasin.com.

Nova Scotia’s Art and Soul

On a recent visit to Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, I noticed a sign for Twelve Acre Hill Gallery that led me to artist Philip Hodges. In his rustic restored woodshed-cum-gallery, Phillip sells original canvases and prints of his mainly maritime themed work. Barn on the Bay is the view from his gallery, but if you send him a photo of your favorite ocean vista, he will gladly paint a canvas of it, twelveacrehill.com.

And so to Bed

Deb and I have a passion for bedding, partly because we began our company designing decorative bedding, but even more so because of our belief in being able to change the look of your bedroom simply by changing your bed linens. Long-time fans of Dransfield & Ross, we love the Colorfield collection because the chic ombré pattern is so calming and sophisticated while the muted colors are bang on trend, nostalgiahome.com.

Flawless Floors

Sometimes it takes working on a design project in another location to find new and interesting products. Such is the case with Legno Bastone Wide Plank Flooring, based in Naples, FL. Deb and I particularly like this European French White Oak with a custom hand-crafted finish, and love working with father and son team Arturo and Frank Guido, who create beautiful, robust floors that will last a lifetime, legnobastone.com.

Image Credits: Virginia MacDonald .