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" Oscar de la Renta&amp;#039;s spring 2010 collection was a masterful mix of the voluptuous, the romantic, and the exotic. At the same time he was finalizing that standout runway presentation, he was beginning to think about his new collection of fabrics for the home. The notorious perfectionist has partnered with the venerable house Lee Jofa on a line that includes 25 designs\u2014everything from buttery velvets to vivid stripes to exotic, watercolor-soft ikats. Many of the fabrics, which will be available to the trade this summer, feature the kind of dressmaker details\u2014embroidery, pleating, raffia, and ribbons\u2014that have made his clothing so popular with women who love modernity combined with elegant craftsmanship. He&amp;#039;s also managed to find time to add new pieces to his range of furniture for Century and rugs for Elson &amp;amp;amp; Co.  So how does a couturier think about the home? Do the references translate? And why, at nearly 80 years of age, add a new business to his already full plate of fashion, accessories, fragrances, menswear, fur, gifts, and furniture?  The formidably tall Dominican sweeps into his office, with its ten-foot ceiling and a huge round mahogany table where several of the fabrics have been neatly laid out. He can&amp;#039;t stop touching them, scrunching them up as if he were imagining a slipper chair done in pale-blue silk embroidered with overscale black flowers or an ottoman covered in a graphic crewelwork suzani. Interior decorator Miles Redd, the creative director of Oscar de la Renta Home, explains that the fabrics were a natural progression, reflecting the sensibility of the designer&amp;#039;s fashion combined with an understanding of practical living. For de la Renta, the answer is simpler. &amp;quot;I am a Cancer,&amp;quot; he says impishly. The Crab is very attracted to the home, or, in his case, homes. All three of his are masterfully appointed, with luxe upholstery and fabric-covered walls\u2014patterns on patterns, silks juxtaposed with linens and wools.   De la Renta has always loved working with textiles. When he bought his house in Connecticut and was on a budget, he went to Macy&amp;#039;s for sheets to cover the furniture and walls. &amp;quot;Not having all the money to do something just forces you to be even more creative,&amp;quot; he explains.  With a collection that has as many options as this one, how do you choose? &amp;quot;You must go with your first instincts. Don&amp;#039;t go with a story,&amp;quot; he says\u2014and then tells a story about when he and Fran\u00E7oise, his first wife, were decorating their New York City apartment. They took several swatches to show Diana Vreeland, the queen of color and taste. She pulled one out. &amp;quot;&amp;#039;Fantastic!&amp;#039;&amp;quot; he says, imitating her. &amp;quot;It was a hideous, strong yellow.&amp;quot; The material went up on their walls, since the Great Diana was never wrong. And then quickly came down.   De la Renta says it has taken him a lifetime to develop his eye, but he now understands that a home should be &amp;quot;welcoming, an oasis.&amp;quot; He knows that the edgy, ephemeral colors of fashion can be hard to live with day-to-day. So you wouldn&amp;#039;t use these fabrics in your couture collection? He shakes his head: &amp;quot;I would never try to dress a woman like a couch\u2014or a couch like a woman.&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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