Justin Timberlake found his latest gig, as designer and curator of the new site HomeMint, a breeze. The ease had a lot to do with his partner, Estee Stanley, who is a fashion stylist, an interior designer (who worked on Timberlake's homes in New York and Los Angeles) and a friend. "We’ve known each other for a long time and we just started sort of working on my homes," Timberlake said, sitting in a suite at New York City hotel The Mercer as he walked me through the fruits of their labor, a home collection consisting of everything from rugs to pillows. "As to how the two partnered with HomeMint, Timberlake laughed, "I don’t know how this happened."
"It was at gun point, I think." Stanley added.
"There was a tornado, a witch..." said Timberlake.
"I'm the witch," She joked.
Their casual, charming dynamic is reflected in the pieces, which look as if they could make a statement in any home. It does not, however, demonstrate the amount of work that went into each piece. "We sent those bowls back and forth to each other through Fed Ex like five times," Timberlake explained, "Just literally having a conversation about the brush effect on the paint. So I’m a nerd."
The pieces, which are limited to accessories for the moment, are inspired by Stanley and Timberlake's mutual interest in neutral colors ("I mean, look at how we're both dressed," Stanley said, pointing at their white, beige and light blue outfits), "making a house very cozy" and European design. Timberlake credits his "really freakishly weird life thus far" with the fusion of European countries he cites as his inspiration, like Italy and France. "My design taste and my food taste kind of live in the same places," he added.
Italy, France, Belgium, Germany and more countries have influenced the pop star-turned-actor, "I spent time in Scandinavia, we went everywhere when I was in *Nsync." While the experience didn't directly encourage Timberlake to pursue design, it has influenced his future path, "I think that [getting to see different cultures] probably had a real effect on why I lean more towards [European] design because you just don’t find cobblestones that easily in Memphis Tennessee. There’s a bunch of dirt roads still."
Dirt roads or not, friends and family have influenced Timberlake and Stanley's collection for HomeMint. "When I buy things, or when I buy things for my clients, I want them to still have it in 10, 15, 20 years," Stanley explained, "Like my grandma’s china. I think it’s still fantastic. It is just a beautiful china set, and I have it and hopefully my daughter will love it."
Same goes for Timberlake, who loves heirlooms and pieces with a historical element, "Home décor lends itself to that... it has more of a foundation to it," he explained, admitting that Stanley helped him to really decorate his own homes using some pieces he already owned. "That’s really curating in my opinion, to come in and take what you already have and show you how to utilize it in a way that A) The aesthetic is more inviting, and B) Makes it more homey."
Take a peek in our gallery below for some pieces from HomeMint:
