Designing woman’s favorite things
“I had this vague idea about painting. I like painting. But, it always worried me: What do you do as a career with that? In school, I got exposed to the idea of design as problem-solving — using typography and communicating a message. Systems, theories and a tradition behind it was very exciting for me,” she says.
That’s when the shapes of her past and future intersected.
“When I discovered design, I discovered that they could go together. What came to interest me was that mixture of language and communication with the visual. I really wanted to write about it. So I became a curator,” she says.
She’s gone on to write or co-write 14 books on graphic design, including the seminal “Thinking with Type.”
Marrying fellow graphic designer Abbott Miller — now a partner in Pentagram, a design studio that has offices in New York and Baltimore — brought her life full circle.
“Yeah, [design] is not just a job for us. We drank the Kool-Aid,” she says.
The home Lupton and Miller have shared with their children, Jay, 22, and Ruby, 18 — both now in college — has a midcentury modern feel, filled with pieces that boast their own great design as well as contributing to the overall look of the space. If there was any difficulty in choosing her 10 favorite things, it was that there are so many to choose from.
“I love living in a beautiful environment. In my kitchen, I love using things that function and make the food beautiful. I’m not a snob. I have Ikea dishes. I think they’re beautiful, designed by Ilse Crawford, and they cost, like, $1.99. They’re fantastic.”
Not that there isn’t room for improvement, particularly when it comes to some objects in one particular room.
“A lot of things in the bathroom are irredeemable at this point in time. … I think that everything in your bathroom with labels should be removable. I hate all the brands. They’re ugly, and they don’t add anything to my experience. I would love to have everything just be … white.” Her Chihuahua mixes Jack and Kevin appear in Renaissance costumes. “I’m out five times a day walking my dogs. So it’s just big enough to carry the [spare] poop bags and my phone. These are [from] very famous portraits from the Renaissance that are in profile. And I feel that dogs — my dogs especially — show very well in profile.” “They are so beautiful. I use these bowls every day. … They can go in the dishwasher. They have a beautiful rim that is a little bit worn and exposed and that makes me feel like they already have a life. … The shape, the color, the scale; they’re my favorite kitchen items.”