The Number One Design Rule Iris Apfel Encourages Homeowners To Break

Iris Apfel, an international fashion icon, recently passed away on March 1st, 2024. Leaving her exuberant and colorful mark on the fashion, interior design, and textile industry, Iris Apfel was one of the most influential fashion moguls of our time. Living to 102 years old, becoming a professional model at age 97, legend Iris Apfel has left behind a vibrant legacy in the art world. Originality is synonymous with Iris Apfel. Her signature large round glasses and remarkably colorful eye for fashion and interior design magnificently disrupt the current modernistic trend of monotony and repetition within design. She rejects the cookie-cutter approach to all aspects of design, especially interior design. Her number one design rule that she recommends for homeowners is to break up with the norm, and reject a copy/paste design formula.  

She encourages homeowners to "go their own way," embrace their unique stylistic taste and preferences, and reject the lack of creativity in modern-day interior design. She laments that, "Everybody wants instant everything, nobody wants to wait for anything, so they go and buy ready-made sofas and just throw an apartment together." She remembers a time when people would express their individual flare in their homes. In a world where retailers are selling the same exact furniture across different stores under different names, it can be hard to be a one-of-kind. Apfel has some legendary tips and tricks to customize your home design and embrace your personal expression.

World-renowned fashion icon and trendsetter Iris Apfel has left some essential interior design rules to help us collectively move away from cookie-cutter, monotonous design and embrace our individual style. Although she was a trendsetter herself, she urged homeowners to refrain from following trends. Ironic? Not really. She effortlessly set trends while embracing her unique expression and doing what she loved. And she's encouraging you to do the same. Just because the masses get their furniture from Ikea, and it seems nice and easy enough to assemble, does not mean you should. 

Instead, Apfel urges homeowners to find what makes their hearts sing and look for unique pieces to bestow their home with a distinct feel and sensation that cannot be mimicked elsewhere. She states that you should "Express yourself, not what your neighbor has. There's very little creativity left. It used to be that people wanted some individuality, so when you walk into an apartment you know whose apartment it is." To a woman who lived and breathed creativity, seeing the world turn monochromatic and less colorful seems like an attack on individual artistry. However, we can easily honor the visionary Apfel by bringing home more character and imagination.