Doug and Gene Meyer: Mastering Design through Unabashed Displays of Colour

In most design circles, the names Doug and Gene Meyer tend to dispense introductions. The Louisville, Kentucky natives and New York based designers have been renowned for producing highly accomplished colourful manifestations of interior and accessories design for decades, having cemented their reputation amongst other designers, clients, editors, and museum curators.

Brothers Doug and Gene Meyer opened their design studio in 2004 after having acquired solid experience in the design arena as separate entities over the years. Since joining creative forces, the duo have gained a reputation for their unique and colourful range of products with shapes that seem inspired by Russian Constructivist graphic design and yet feel at home in a Richard Neutra house in California or in a contemporary penthouse in New York City. Their rugs, fabrics, interiors and fashion accessories combine unexpected colour combinations with an obsessive fascination with geometry and shape with very successful results.

Both Meyer brothers attended Parsons School of Design in New York City. Gene studied Fashion Design while Doug opted for Fine Arts. Between them, they worked for numerous personalities and brands such as Holly Solomon, Donna Karan, Anne Klein, and Geoffrey Beene. Gene went on to launch eponymous women's and men's collections for which he won two CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) Awards, whereas Doug became a private dealer specializing in mid twentieth century furniture and also an acclaimed interior designer.

Doug Meyer’s first Miami house featuring Andy Warhol’s Marilyn, Billy Haines chairs, Pierre Cardin table and Gene Meyer Try-Angular Hand knotted Rug

Doug Meyer’s Miami Beach living room featuring the Mod Pod Rug

Doug Meyer interior featured in Architectural Digest Germany May 2011

Known collectively and individually as master colourists, each brother brings his singular perspective and visual references to each interior or product designed by the studio. Their designs are based on a shared logic of geometry that incorporates historical design references from the eighteenth century to modern times. Even if Doug and Gene Meyer start their design process by referencing subtle and classic forms, their final products are invariably mixed with bold and graphic shapes, revealing the brothers’ obsession with bold hues and colour mixing. If the design structure that influences their work is clearly Modernist, it is the confident and playful mastery of colour that makes Doug and Gene Meyer’s work not only coveted by buyers but also admired by their creative peers.

To see more of Doug and Gene Meyer’s work and history as designers of fashion, accessories, rugs, fabrics, interiors, furniture, and special projects, visit www.dougandgenemeyer.com. 

Printed leather wallet

'Crossroads' hand knotted rug

Doug and Gene Meyer fabric for Link Outdoor

Gene Meyer socks

Gene Meyer ties