Brian Gluckstein: Simply Fabulous

Brian Gluckstein was the first designer of the day on stage and I don't even know where to start except to say that he's one of my favourite designers ever.

He talked about his design philosophy and design inspiration - he loves black and white films from the 30s and loves reading - his home library (below) is my dream library.

He's inspired by the work of John Saladino and said he was speechless for the first time when they met.

When asked about young people and antiques, he said it's becoming more common for people in their 20s and 30s to be interested in the old. He said that antiques have a soul - consider dinner tables and all the meals, decisions, meetings and fights that took place at the table. This was his segue to his book recommendation, Ojects of Desire by Thatcher Freund, which tracks three masterpieces of 18th-century American furniture--a sofa table, which fetched $75,000 at Sotheby's; a card table, auctioned also at Sotheby's for $950,000; and a blanket chest, priced at $250,000, which failed to sell at the Winter Antiques Show.

Here're a few of his design rules/tips to live by:

* Go trendy with the paint colour on your walls and accessories but don't with your furniture - spend wisely
* Drapes should be 1/4" off the floor - you can play with skirt lengths and whatever else you like but not drapes
* Lights should be on dimmers, he rather tongue in cheekily said that the older you are, the darker it should be
* Sconces should be 66" off the floor, no matter your height or the height of your walls
* Don't be afraid to mix metal finishes when decorating because this provides interest and colour
* Paint crown moulding and base boards the same colour as the walls because this extends the height of the ceiling