DESIGNER BUILDS BRAND
HGTV designer from Pittsburgh builds her brand
HGTV viewers clearly aren’t the only ones who admire interior designer Leanne Ford’s white backdrops and light looks on “Restored by the Fords,” the television show she co-hosts with her brother, Steve Ford.
Since the show debuted in 2016, she has created lines for PPG Paints and Formica. Now the Upper St. Clair native’s profile has risen even further with her collection for Crate & Barrel.
“We all know what Crate & Barrel is so when they contacted me I was so excited,” Ms. Ford said in a phone interview.
Apparently someone at the highend home furnishings retailer was following her work and suggested asking her to design a line of furniture and accessories.
“Whoever that was I think I owe them a beer,” she said, laughing.
Pittsburgh family members didn’t have to go far to see it. “My sister and mom went to Ross Park Mall to check the furniture out.”
The Leanne Ford collection includes bedroom, living room and occasional pieces along with pillows, rugs, baskets and other accessories.
“We have always been such fans of Leanne’s design work,” said Sebastian Brauer, vice president of product design and development at Crate & Barrel. “She’s helping redefine American interior style with her artful and design-forward vibe.”
“Our styles overlap and naturally align,” said Ms. Ford.
Her inspiration comes from several aesthetics. “I love Mediterranean, Italian, mid-century with hints of Scandinavian and Japanese,” she said.
Materials include simple, unstained woods, linens and caning.
“I created what I wanted to buy and what I wanted to use,” she said. “I pretty much have one of everything coming over to my house.”
The furniture is scaled to fit in small or large spaces. The Lyon chair could be used as a side chair in a tiny apartment or a dining chair in a house, and the bistro table could be a kitchen table or occasional table.
Ms. Ford said she tried to design pieces that could stand alone or
work together.
“The cane bar cabinet was a strange creative idea I had that turned into something real,” she said. “I am always playing with lines, and I decided I wanted to do a lot of black cane,” a special process.
“We did not want to paint it, so they had to go figure out how to do it,” she said.
The dining table and console have an envelope shape “for modern touch,” she said. “Light tweeks on classic pieces.”
Mr. Brauer said the collection “captures both Leanne’s relaxed, effortless aesthetic and the approachability, quality and craftsmanship that makes us Crate and Barrel.”
Ms. Ford said designing the line was a matter of “knowing my aesthetic and their customer and getting that combination right, which was very easy because it was already so similar.”
Not that it was easy. Just like when she works with her brother on a home makeover, Ms. Ford came up designs for the collection that were challenging to manifest physically. “I would come in with these crazy ideas like this arched bed, a new canopy bed that features arches,” she said. “They never said no.”
Lines and texture are strengths in every piece. “I have an interest in how things live together,” she explained.
The process took a year and a half from design to production; she hopes the collection is timeless.
“I want them to endure and in 20 years still be special,” Ms. Ford said. “I never want to design anything that screams what year you got it.”