Thomas O'Brien (born 1961) is an American interior and home furnishings designer. His design firm, Aero Studios, and home store, Aero Ltd., are both based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

SoHo Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

neighborhood.

Career

Early career

O'Brien is a graduate of

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...

in New York City, where he studied photography, art and design. Following his degree, he worked briefly at ''

Details Detail(s) or The Detail(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''Details'' (film), a 2003 Swedish film * ''The Details'' (film), a 2011 American film * ''The Detail'', a Canadian television series * "The Detail" (''The Wire''), a television epis ...

'' magazine, before beginning his career at

Polo Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren Corporation is an American publicly traded fashion company that was founded in 1967 by American fashion designer Ralph Lauren. The company is headquartered in New York City, producing products ranging from the mid-range to the luxur ...

. He worked on the styling and design of the Polo Ralph Lauren flagship store, the former

Rhinelander Mansion The Gertrude Rhinelander Waldo House is a French Renaissance revival mansion at 867 Madison Avenue on the corner of East 72nd Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Completed in 1898, it was designed by the architecture f ...

, on

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...

in Manhattan. He then assisted on the interior design of

Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren, ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has become well known for his co ...

's private country home in Bedford, New York.

Aero Studios and store

O'Brien established his design firm Aero Studios and its adjoining Aero store in 1992 with fellow Polo alumnus William Sofield. Sofield left Aero in 1995 and O'Brien took sole ownership of the company. The Aero store celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2012 and was commemorated in O'Brien’s 2013 book, ''Aero: Beginning to Now''.

Style and accolades

O'Brien is often cited for his style of "warm modernism" and his approach of combining vintage, modern, and traditional influences in both his interiors and his product designs. He is regularly named to editorial top designer lists such as the ''

Architectural Digest ''Architectural Digest'' is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920. Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast, which also publishes internati ...

'' AD100, and his work is frequently featured in publications such as "

Elle Decor ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the wo ...

", ''

House Beautiful ''House Beautiful'' is an interior decorating magazine that focuses on decorating and the domestic arts. First published in 1896, it is currently published by the Hearst Corporation, who began publishing it in 1934. It is the oldest still-publish ...

'', ''Architectural Digest'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', and ''

Veranda A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''veran ...

''.

Partnerships

O'Brien is a prolific product designer who has developed a portfolio of high-end home furnishings with a number of American heritage brands. He has designed bath plumbing for Waterworks; furniture for Hickory Chair and Century Furniture; lighting for Visual Comfort; textiles for Lee Jofa, owned by

Kravet Kravet Inc., is a home furnishings company established in 1918. This fifth generation family business distributes fabrics, furniture, wallcoverings, trimmings, carpets and accessories. Kravet Inc. owns Kravet, Lee Jofa, GP & J Baker, Brunschwi ...

; rugs for Safavieh; and tableware and accessories for silversmith manufacturer

Reed & Barton Reed & Barton was a prominent American silversmith manufacturer based in the city of Taunton, Massachusetts, operating between 1824 and 2015. Its products include sterling silver and silverplate flatware. The company produced many varieties of br ...

. He also produces luxury accessories, leather goods, and bedding for his own Aero brand. In 2000, he launched the largest-ever designer collection of furniture, lighting, and soft home furnishings with retailer

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

. Through Aero Studios, O'Brien focuses on the design of private residences as well store development for retail brands. He has designed boutiques for

Donna Karan Donna Karan (, born Donna Ivy Faske), also known as "DK", is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels. Early life Karan was born Donna Ivy Faske to mother Helen "Queenie" Faske (née Rabin ...

and

Emporio Armani Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...

, and subsequently collaborated with Armani on the interior design of his Manhattan apartment. In addition, O'Brien has collaborated with

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is an American publicly traded consumer retail company that sells kitchenware and home furnishings. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States. The company has 625 brick and mortar stores and distribute ...

, for whom he designed store concepts for West Elm and

Pottery Barn Pottery Barn is an American upscale home furnishing store chain and e-commerce company, with retail stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Australia. Pottery Barn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. The company is headq ...

. In 2013, O'Brien partnered with the Rudin real estate family to create the interior designs for the ten-building campus of Greenwich Lane in Manhattan's

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

neighborhood. The luxury residential complex was noted for repurposing the historic site of the former St. Vincent's Hospital.

Publications

* ''American Modern'' (with Lisa Light). New York: Abrams, 2010. * ''Aero: Beginning to Now'' (with Lisa Light). New York: Abrams, 2013.

References

External links

Aero Studios website
{{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Thomas 1961 births Living people American interior designers Cooper Union alumni Artists from New York City