Learning from 30 Years of Ralph Lauren Home - Wall Street Journal

Oct. 4, 2013 3:51 p.m. ET

BEFORE HIPSTERS BEGAN growing beards and launching so-called heritage labels, before venues like New York's Ace Hotel sported a nostalgic, antler-heavy aesthetic, there was Ralph Lauren Home —a brand that strategically evokes grander times with its richly layered look.

Mr. Lauren , already famous for reinterpreting the past, was on his way to becoming the first fashion designer to offer a complete product line for the home when he debuted the brand 30 years ago this fall. Riding a "morning in America" postmodern wave of colonial revivalism, he started with items such as bedding, dishes and rugs in 1983, adding furniture in 1985, paint in 1995 and lighting in 2000. By the time he was done, devotees could outfit their entire lives—from dinner plates to pillow shams—in an expertly styled, history-laden look without the help of a decorator or blue-blooded ancestry. "When [my wife] Ricky and I were first married," said Mr. Lauren, "we were on the hunt for things to furnish our apartment with. Often, we were disappointed by what we found—not only the quality, but also the variety. I was looking to create a total world."

Multiple collections are introduced twice a year, with unapologetically romantic names like Thoroughbred and Log Cabin, borrowing heavily from early- to mid-20th-century design and Mr. Lauren's latest clothing lines. That connection to fashion, and its hugely expensive advertising campaigns, has always helped steep the home line in mystique, said Donald Albrecht, curator of architecture and design at the Museum of the City of New York. To him, Mr. Lauren's storytelling sense elevated reproductions into something desirable and contemporary. "When Ralph Lauren Home launched at Bloomingdale's, the displays were like little movie-set designs," he said. "They weren't just bed sheets, but settings with props that [promised] a certain lifestyle. It was the evocation of a kind of narrative." That's still the appeal, said Mr. Albrecht: "When you're buying Ralph Lauren furniture, you're buying a piece of that myth he's selling."

“ 'Layering cuts the sterility you can find in someone's home when they haven't lived there very long.' ”

The opulent Lauren look inspired a generation of decorators to embrace tradition, including New York-based Jon Call, who fondly recalls being raised in a home filled with the brand's designs. "What's unique about Ralph Lauren's take on classics is scale," Mr. Call said. "He takes the tradition and scales it up for American homes and proportions. That's why you can't just go out and get a vintage Louis chair and recover it with leather. These products never existed before."

While one collection can feature tartan-heavy Highland motifs and the next a French-country feel (one of this fall's new groupings was inspired by the late Duke of Windsor), they all evince a lush livability that appeals to the masses—what Mr. Albrecht calls a "high-end take on American casual comfort." Over the past 30 years, the brand has defined a trademark, layered approach to décor, and certain lessons stand out:

Your bed is a sartorial canvas. Ralph Lauren Home has always treated bedding like fashion, transforming a sleeping surface into a personal statement. "It's like putting together a suit look," said Mr. Call. The strategy, as he sees it: Choose a duvet cover in a formal and durable fabric, as you would with a jacket and pants, followed by serene sheets that feel good against the skin the way a good shirt should, and finally bold patterns and colors for your accent pillows, the equivalent of a tie and pocket square.

A home shouldn't be a furniture showroom. Decor that interweaves textures, colors, patterns and other elements in this style "looks lived in and gives your guests a feeling of warmth and timelessness," said West Hollywood, Calif.-based designer Mary McDonald. "Layering cuts the sterility that you can find in someone's home when they haven't lived there very long."

Restraint is overrated. "The point of the aesthetic is to go overboard," said Mr. Call. Still, to prevent a room from resembling an overstuffed closet, he recommends that you focus on elements that "function for your lifestyle, not just for the look. If you golf, then golfing trophies are appropriate. Items become props if they don't reflect who you are."

Patina telegraphs easygoing style. Ralph Lauren sold distressed leather sofas before it was cool. By sprinkling worn-looking objects around a room, you can replicate the aura of casualness seen in his room schemes. "Always have a few things that—even if they're brand-new—look like they were bought on a trip, or something that's been given to you and has stood the test of time," Ms. McDonald said.

Yes, plaid can peacefully coexist with zebra. As in fashion, orthodoxy should constantly be questioned when upholstering furniture or putting a room together. "Just the way I would throw a safari jacket over a gold evening dress," said Mr. Lauren, "I love the look of gingham on a French gilt chair or a menswear tweed on a contemporary steel chair." If you're not ready to upholster in tweeds and pinstripes, experiment with a menswear-inspired pillow or a herringbone-patterned cashmere throw.