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46 LEADING MAN British designer Tim Gosling gets in character with John Soane, Siegfried & Roy, and Sir Elton John at The Rug Company. By Rebecca Sherman. Photography Mark Nelson, Amanda Vogel. T im Gosling really ought to give a TED talk. But then again, that might be too tame a platform for this Brit, who is, underneath his Savile Row suit and polished oxfords, a performer born for the stage. In this case, his impromptu arena was The Rug Company, where he has several elegant Art Deco-inspired rugs, and where he delivered a rousing, 40-minute discourse on his second book, Classic Contemporary: The DNA of Furniture Design (Thames & Hudson). The DNA reference is a bit of insider information: Gosling's father, along with two other scientists, discovered the double helix. This apple fell a bit far from the tree, so young Tim pursued theater design at university, later orchestrating elaborate sets for the London stage, including Miss Saigon, Starlight Express, and a Siegfried & Roy production. The leap from theater to interior design might not seem obvious, but if you're Gosling, it comes naturally. Someone introduced him to Viscount David Linley, Princess Margaret's son, who has a custom furniture business specializing in elaborate, historic furnishings and bespoke accessories. He spent the next 18 years working for Linley before going out on his own. Now, Gosling spends his time creating meticulously detailed interiors for super-yachts, stately homes, and private libraries around the globe for the likes of Lord Browne and Sir Elton John. A single room of his design might contain an array of dying arts: straw marquetry, bone stringing, silver leaf, lacquer, embroidery, hand-cut marble inlay, verre églomisé, and tromp l'oeil. To relax, Gosling creates intricate, miniature architectural models. One commission, a six-inch tall Globe Theatre, was rendered in sycamore and leather and ornamented with a star sapphire. A miniature library, based on a pavilion at Kensington Palace, holds a tiny set of Shakespeare's plays from 1803. Gosling is frequently asked to give talks about historic figures in architecture and design, and he sometimes does so in period costume. Every three years in London, he organizes a pantomime based on a decorating theme with interior designers as performers, and enlisting fashion designers as costumiers — Zandra Rhodes and Valentino, to name two. At Christmas, he festoons his circa-1787 London townhouse inside and out with thousands of lights, trees, ornaments, and Santas, drawing gaping crowds. He drives a 1934 Rolls Royce, and his absolute favorite epoch is the English Regency period — a flamboyance that suits him perfectly. During this time, King George III was deemed unfit to rule, the Prince Regent stepped in as proxy, and the Napoleonic wars raged. In his talk at the Rug Company, Gosling deftly wove esoteric historic details together with the atmospheric paintings of William Turner, the neoclassic architecture of John Soane — another favorite — and the color Pompeii red, which was created when gases from Vesuvius erupted. Whether we could keep up with him was beside the point — he had us cheering in our seats by the end. Tim Gosling Gosling Deco Spiral rug for The Rug Company Ty Burks, Christopher Ridolfi Jennifer Klos Russell Webb Richard Gordon Marilyn Rolnick Tonkon Michelle Nussbaumer Tim Gosling Gosling-designed miniature Globe Theatre Leah Davis Gosling dinner Gosling Deco Spiral rug for The Rug Company Barry Williams Bernadette Schlaeffler Rob Brinkley