This Interior Designer Mastered the Collected Vintage Aesthetic in His Harlem Apartment
In his five years working in strategic client partnerships at 1stDibs, Brad Thornton received a crash course in interior design. The former tech industry professional helped source furniture and manage logistics for both residential and commercial design firms, absorbing as much information as possible along the way. “It gave me the opportunity to learn how so many different studios work and to be a sponge and soak up so many different pieces and aesthetics,” he recalls.
Brad grins in front of his retro gallery wall.
Shannon Dupre'This experience prepared Brad to launch Thornton Projects, a firm offering interior design, experiential design, and staging services. It also primed him to decorate his two-bedroom Central Harlem apartment in a very collected style. “I’m inspired by a lot of vintage finds,” he says. “It’s more on the eclectic side, but really wanting it to be curated, wanting it to feel clean, wanting it to feel warm, and super livable.”
Brad had to balance his charming, varied aesthetic with his boyfriend’s preference for contemporary minimalism, so the living room combines vintage gems like an ostrich skin mirror, an egg swivel chair, and shagreen consoles with a rectilinear West Elm sofa and a round bouclé ottoman. The two agreed on the custom green mohair cushions for the window seats, which overlook a leafy plaza.
Beneath the two retro family portraits, Brad hung a photo of himself and his boyfriend in the gardens of the Louvre to represent their future.
Shannon Dupre'
