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" A man that believes in &amp;quot;the utter pointlessness of good taste without fun&amp;quot; is a man we had to meet. And as an interior decorator, potter, retail tycoon, author, and lead judge on the Bravo television series, Top Design\u2014we figured Jonathan Adler might have a lot to talk about. 1. As the designer who invented &amp;quot;Happy Chic...&amp;quot; what is the thing in your home that makes you happiest, Simon Doonan excluded. Simon and my Norwich Terrior, Liberace, are the only things I am truly attached to, but I probably couldn&amp;#039;t part with the Thriller-era Michael Jackson bust I found at a flea market. Lately for some reason, I&amp;#039;ve been finding myself buying African-American funk star art. I have a papier-m\u00E2ch\u00E9 bust of Prince as well. It&amp;#039;s funny; Simon and I don&amp;#039;t have any unsavory habits\u2014we&amp;#039;re quite wholesome\u2014but our d\u00E9cor might suggest otherwise. 2. One of your design philosophies is to practice &amp;quot;aggressive incongruity&amp;quot; but where do you draw the line between eclectic and schizophrenic design? If you&amp;#039;re not fully design-obsessed or design-conversant, it is best to leave this strategy to a seasoned professional or attempt it with a few constraints, like sticking to a color scheme. But whether you have training or not, the way to make your look make sense is to surround yourself with the things you love. 3. You always encourage expression of personal style, but when it comes to Jonathan Adler&amp;#039;s Interior Design, I bet you give the team a few rules to follow. What are the guidelines you give every JA designer? Interior Design is a service business; my team has to address clients&amp;#039; needs but handle them like a psychiatrist. Listen to what they say, channel their eccentricity\u2014then give them what they really want. But as far as rules go . . . no velure and there would be a giant hand-smacking for use of anything mauve. 4. You&amp;#039;ve just released a wallpaper collection; any other furniture categories or decor ventures you have your sights set on? I&amp;#039;m always game for a new indoor adventure but right now I am doing more of everything: more rugs, more pillows, more. Vibration-wise I am using a little Palm Beach swank\u2014with waspy country club, with mid-century modern, and with neoclassicism\u2014while still trying to be referential. I am an eclecticist and I continue to make the stuff I love and want to have. 5. Within your own home, what&amp;#039;s your next project? We just bought an amazing plot of land in the Hamptons and are working on drawing up plans. We want to create something with a rustic-modern feel. It&amp;#039;s going to be endlessly frustrating but endlessly rewarding, I know it. 6. As the proud owner of Liberace, the Norwich Terrier, what is your best advice to those decorating with prince-like pets in mind? Don&amp;#039;t be too attached to stuff. Your doggy should have access to everything. What Liberace loves more than anything, is to hide behind the legs of our marble Gae Aulenti coffee table. It&amp;#039;s always nice to give animals hiding places. 7. You&amp;#039;ve been interviewed countless times. Is there a question you&amp;#039;re surprised that no one has ever asked you in an interview?  My diet regime. You&amp;#039;d think the secret to my stellar good looks would be the first question on people&amp;#039;s minds but it never seems to come up! So for the record: I eat like pig and I exercise like a lunatic. 8. Or something you&amp;#039;ve wanted to express but which never quite comes out? I hate when people call my work kitsch. It is something that consistently comes up and I am too stupid to articulate that. Kitsch is so un-chic to me and I strive to make flawlessly, flawlessly chic and incredibly smile-inducing design. 9. Are there any tips you can give to those looking to win the grand prize of the Happy Chic Home Contest? Yes! As a judge of Top Design I am always looking for people to surprise me with their creativity. Design should be attractive and appealing but with an added je ne sais quoi that creates sizzle and something a little provocative. I love to see my stuff used in unexpected ways like my orange lacquer cube table in a traditional living room. It&amp;#039;s the small bits of playful punctuation that bring a room from a yawn to a wow. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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