Interiors stylist Colin King gives quotidian objects new life through his own deeply intuitive and meditative process.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The name Colin King evokes simplicity. It&rsquo;s spare, yet regal and old-world; you might even call it timeless. It&rsquo;s interesting how a name can so perfectly fit its owner. King has spun a career in the design world that is thoroughly modern, even as his style veers a bit more classic. A New Yorker by choice and Ohioan by birth, King studied jazz, dance, and ballet for a decade before transitioning to the world of <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/design/new-works-the-danish-furniture-brand-transforming-interiors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interiors</a> in his early 20s, styling for top design publications like T Magazine and Architectural Digest. He&rsquo;s quickly become a must-follow on Instagram, founder of his namesake design studio, a go-to for brands from Beni Rugs to Menu looking for inspired product design, and, most recently, the subject of his own book with Rizzoli, titled <a href="https://www.rizzolibookstore.com/news/colin-king-presents-arranging-things-sam-cochran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arranging Things</a>, written with Sam Cochran.&nbsp;
While the book is structured as a series of anecdotes and visual essays centered around the concept of elevating spaces, it leads more by showing than telling. &ldquo;So much of the work is intuitive. It&rsquo;s not about adopting my point of view; it&rsquo;s about sharing my experience,&rdquo; King says. &ldquo;This book is hopefully an inspiration to people to find those little moments in their own <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/ibiza/the-way-we-are-ibiza-tradition-culture-editor-maya-boyd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">homes</a>, and to dust off old things and pull things out of the cupboards and really give <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/sydney-sweeney-sharp-objects-hbo-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">objects</a> that reverence and dialogue with other pieces.&rdquo;

Colin King photographed by William Jess Laird

L&rsquo;OFFICIEL: How did the book come about, and why did you choose to name it Arranging Things?
COLIN KING: One of my first mentors, Tom Delavan [design and interiors director of T Magazine], said, &lsquo;Let&rsquo;s face it: styling is just being a mover with an eye.&rsquo; And I loved that because growing up in Ohio, styling wasn&rsquo;t a thing&mdash;it wasn&rsquo;t a career that I ever saw or wanted&mdash;it was mystic. I had put &ldquo;arranging things&rdquo; in my Instagram bio because it felt like the easiest way for people to know what I did. A literary agent reached out to me and said, &ldquo;Are you working on a book? I think you should, and I think it should be titled Arranging Things.&rdquo; [That title] was really disarming; it appeals to a broader audience, which is ultimately what I&rsquo;m going for. There&rsquo;s no hierarchy in my design, so I didn&rsquo;t want there to be a hierarchy in how I shared it with the world.
L&rsquo;O: How would you describe your design approach?
CK: It&rsquo;s very informed by nature. I think the ideal room for me would look un-styled, with a trace of a human having just been there. But ultimately, I hope that there&rsquo;s a sense of <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/soul-spirituality/lavender-benefits-uses-aromatherapy-skincare" target="_blank" rel="noopener">calm</a>. If I&rsquo;m not really obsessed with an object, I love finding a pairing that really works and almost convinces me to see the objects in a new light. It&rsquo;s not about buying the newest thing or needing that exact lamp. We all have a lamp, a table, a chair. And I think there&rsquo;s so much power in arranging and finding that composition where everything just feels good.

Campaign for Anthropologie home photographed by Adrian Gaut

L&rsquo;O: Does your background in dance ever enter into your work with interiors?
CK: I&rsquo;m constantly surprised by how much they overlap. The reason I danced when I was younger was because I was so embarrassed of my voice. Growing up in a small town, I thought it outed me. So, I went into dance and it gave me an ability to express myself without having to speak. Now, I found I landed in the same exact place. I&rsquo;m able to craft these beautiful images and communicate an emotion without having to speak. Both are also about spatial awareness, and a reverence to composition and lines.&nbsp;
L&rsquo;O: Your own home recently went viral. What was it like to put your personal space out there and get such a positive response?
CK: I started out in editorial, so I had a master class in seeing design that was ready for the pages of AD. All the designers are so talented and were able to make it look easy. But when I got into my own home, excavating and starting to <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/ibiza/risen-from-the-ashes-the-restoration-of-ibiza-s-can-pep" target="_blank" rel="noopener">renovate</a> for the first time, it was such a humbling experience and a comedy of errors. But that made it so much more rewarding once I finally finished. And I feel like it&rsquo;s never going to be truly finished; it&rsquo;s constantly evolving. But yes, it was a little surreal.&nbsp;

L&rsquo;O: Where do you see the Colin King empire in the next five years?
CK: It&rsquo;s funny because I never would&rsquo;ve seen myself here. I think this year I want to build a strong team. I&rsquo;ve been <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/categories/travel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">traveling</a> and creating for so long&mdash;I was on set 180 days last year. So I really want to bring it home, focus on my studio, diversify, and take on projects that really interest me. I&rsquo;ve learned through my 34 years that I never know what to ask for because when I get the things that I think I want, [it turns out] they&rsquo;re usually not the things I really want. And so I am putting one foot in front of the other, learning as I go, and really trusting wherever the universe leads me. I hope to have a stronger work-life balance, but I think that&rsquo;s the mirage that we all hope to get to one day. But the possibilities are endless. We&rsquo;ll see.

Inside the Beautiful World of Colin King

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