AMY MELLEN
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Winsor & Newton watercolors. Calvin Klein Home's Amy Mellen. Rosena Sammi bangles. Inside the Michael Trapp store in West Cornwall, Connecticut (image courtesy of Rachel Schwarz). The summer salad from 101 Cookbooks. Fritillaria meleagris. A table at Annisa restaurant. The Almond Body Moisturizer by Dr. Hauschka. The Clark museum in Massachusetts (image courtesy of Betty Sartori). Greenwich House Pottery.
When your day-to-day revolves around overseeing Calvin Klein Home’s nine distinct product lines, you tend to develop an elegantly minimal view of the world. “I’ve been here so long that the Calvin DNA comes naturally to me,” says Mellen, the brand’s creative director. “Sometimes we push the envelope—we might do a pink bed, but it will be grayed and muted and soft.” Her lyrical design inspirations notwithstanding, Mellen is quick to offer a refreshing disclaimer: “I probably spend a little too much time being silly as opposed to being mysterious.” And that is precisely why we’re fans.
Lonny | Melissa Goldstein
What Inspires Me : Amy Mellen
ABOUT
Amy Mellen is a passionate creative designer for home lifestyle. She loves the entire design process from the initial concept to seeing it all the way to finished product.
Amy is drawn to minimal spaces but also appreciates color and pattern. Inspiration comes from her extensive travels as well as her connection with nature. She has always been very hands on painting, drawing and sculpting to work out an idea. An internationally regarded brand creative who most recently led the Calvin Klein Brand for 17 years. Her unique capability to lead creative, product development, brand strategy and manufacturing field growth and led to new categories.
Amy’s designs for Calvin Klein can be seen in WSJ, Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Maria Claire, Living Etc, Lonny, Domino, 1st Dibs, One Kings Lane amongst others. Amy is available as a creative consultant for commercial and independent projects.
PRESS
We thought Calvin Klein’s New York headquarters—origin of the most sublimely simple, strikingly modern fashion and decor out there—might be a touch intimidating. After all, you can’t achieve perfection without being hyperfocused on detail. But sitting down with Amy Mellen, the creative director of Calvin Klein Home, we found a totally gracious, down-to-earth soul who comes off as more artist than executive. She made a few disclaimers about her office, but there was nothing in sight that wasn’t brimming over with beautiful design. Even the technology was hidden! Amy showed us around and, while painting and knitting (for real!), let us in on her creative process and the ideas that fuel the famed look of Calvin Klein Home
Domino | Kerry Moore
Vivid Anniversary
Under the aegis of creative director Amy Mellen, Calvin Klein Home has crafted a dynamic method of developing custom colors for its collections, incorporating shades inspired my Mellen's world travels. Each season Mellen creates a palette of Calvin Klein Home based upon her current obsessions - from such various sources as the opalescent tinge of a hummingbirds wing, the luminous vermilion of a cochineal insect, the mellow tones of a black walnut’s husk.
The New York Times | Mimi Vu
A Pizzeria and Fine Dining Restaurant - All In One
In Kent, Conn. chef Joel Viehland has opened Swyft, a casual restaurant with pizza and
small plates. Come summer, it will be joined by Ore Hill, a more upscale counterpart on the same premises.
Architectural Digest | Hannah Martin
Bon Appetit's Private Kitchen At One World Trade Hosts Guest Chef Andrew Carmellini
Tucked away past a series of unmarked doors in New York City’s newest landmark, 1 World Trade Center, BA Kitchen—Bon Appétit magazine’s exclusive new cooking, entertaining, and event space—will host its inaugural soirée tonight. “It’s like the PDT of 1 World Trade,” jokes Pamela Drucker Mann, publisher and chief revenue officer at Bon Appétit and Epicurious. She’s referring to the famous East Village bar (an acronym for Please Don’t Tell) only accessible through a telephone booth at the back of a hot dog joint. “If we only had a phone booth, it would be perfect.”
And walking into the rustic-meets-modern space—designed by architecture firm Gensler with Bon Appétit editor in chief Adam Rapoport and Calvin Klein Home creative director Amy Mellen—there is a bit of that speakeasy-style reveal. The hustle and bustle of the workday at Condé Nast (the parent company of both Bon Appétit and Architectural Digest) dissolves, and suddenly it feels like you’re relaxing in a friend’s sleek kitchen. The only giveaway is the view: a panorama that reveals a stunning swath of Manhattan.
The Wall Street Journal | Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan
Updating A Winter Country Retreat
Amy Mellen, creative director of Calvin Klein Home, introduced off-white walls and pale neutral furniture in her loghouse in Wassaic, N.Y. The phrase “winter country retreat” may conjure up images of old log cabins filled with chunky wooden furniture. Even so, it is possible to marry the modern with the pastoral, says Amy Mellen, creative director for Calvin Klein Home. Ms. Mellen has owned a country house in Wassaic, N.Y., a riverside town nestled amid mountains, since 1998. She says it’s important, regardless of the furniture style or color scheme, to focus on one thing: “It has to be inviting,” she says. “You want to sit in front of the fire and have the feeling that you don’t want to leave the room. You want it to be cozy, a cocoon.”
Ms. Mellen introduced a modern feeling to her home, a two-bedroom loghouse that was “built by hand 50 years ago,” by keeping the color palette very light. The house, she says, “was a little too dark for me,” so she did the walls in off-white and added windows wherever she could. “It’s important to have natural lighting coming in,” says Ms. Mellen, who oversees the design of all Calvin Klein Home products, including bedding, dinnerware, table linens, rugs and furniture. “It makes you happier,” she adds. Being able to have a close view of the outside “invites nature into the house,” making it a design element.
Ms. Mellen stuck to whites and pale neutrals for most of her furnishings, with a 106-inch-long white down sofa as the main furniture item in her living room.
Muted neutrals, though modern in feel, work well, as they are natural hues, Ms. Mellen says. “I love creams, camels, grays,” she says. “I’m opposed to really bright colors. They’re too modern.” If Ms. Mellen feels the room needs a pop of color, she suggests doing it the natural way.
“Bring in beautiful flowers, put red berries on the mantle or put a bowl of rocks you found by the fire,” she says. “I like to go around the yard and see what is interesting and bring it in—magnolia branches or apple blossoms.” As a further nod to the environment around her home, Ms. Mellen likes to use one or two more unpolished furniture pieces to offset the contemporary pieces. “I love natural woods. Perhaps a beautiful wood dining table, and you can put modern chairs with it in your dining room,” she says.
She takes the same approach to her pillows. Her sofa is packed with a variety of throw pillows in various shades of cream and sandy colors done in heavy linen, alpaca knit and shearling. Because it tends to get darker earlier in winter, Ms. Mellen tries to have a few shiny objets d’art, such as white or metallic bowls or vases, around the home. “It adds a jewel touch to the house,” says Ms. Mellen. She softens the modernity with items such as her father’s antique rifle, mounted on the wall. Whichever decor route you choose, Ms. Mellen says it should reflect your personality.Just remember, she says, “don’t do too much of one thing. You don’t want to be walking into an all-plaid house.”
As creative director of Calvin Klein Home, Amy Mellen oversees all design for the classic yet directional brand, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Capturing inspiration from travel, nature and art, Mellen is responsible for everything from fabric and furniture to table top and home fragrances as well as a number of special items for the Calvin Klein Collection flagship store. Mellen joined Calvin Klein as a Senior Designer in 1999 after five years as Design Director at luxury fashion brand Adrienne Vittadini. Climbing the ranks to her current title in 2009, she now leads her design team with a hands-on approach often painting, sewing and drawing many of the original prints and designs. We tapped Mellen to lend her eye and curate a collection of her favorite items from 1stdibs, including Agnes Martin prints, Jean Prouvé chairs and vintage Turkish kilims. Scroll to see her picks, then head to The Study to follow Mellen's travels and see the sources of her inspiration.
1stdibs
Shopping with Amy Mellen
BonAppetit | Christine Muhlke
How To Set The Table in Three Styles
When it comes to entertaining, the plates you
use can be almost as important as what you serve on them. Click through the slides above to see
how Amy Mellen, creative director for Calvin Klein Home, taught us how to set the mood for a minimalist masterpiece, a chic buffet, and an eclectic evening for two.
