About Thomas Schoos
Artist, designer, developer and entrepreneur, Thomas Schoos has brought his unique brand of creative expression to a wide range of design projects, from distinctive private residences to award-winning hotels and restaurants. Drawing on his roots as a sculptor and painter, Schoos continues to re-imagine and explore the possibilities of art and design, combining styles, textures and influences from many cultures and media to create new experiences that are as vibrant and original as they are successful.
Thomas Schoos was born in Neuerburg, Germany and educated in Düsseldorf. After graduation, the young Schoos apprenticed as a stone sculptor, although painting was his true passion. His early success painting backgrounds for fashion designers convinced him that he should pursue this passion as a career, leading the artist to pursue new opportunities in Los Angeles. Schoos adapted quickly to the city’s artistic diversity and opened his own studio/boutique with business partner Michael Berman. Berman was instrumental in getting Schoos’ talents recognized in the local art scene and Schoos quickly developed a wide following, including celebrities like Sharon Stone and Laurence Fishburne. Schoos continued exploring and branching out into new areas such as landscape and interior design. In 1997, he designed a home for Will Smith and Jada Pinkett, which was soon followed by more residential projects for celebrities like Ashley Simpson, Courtney Cox-Arquette, Ellen DeGeneres, Tommy Motolla and Jessica Simpson.
From his breakthrough commercial restaurant project TAO Asian Bistro in Manhattan to the celebrity-packed Koi in Los Angeles, Schoos has left his mark on many of the most talked-about restaurants worldwide. In 2003, Schoos and Berman opened O-Bar in West Hollywood, not only designed by Schoos but also owned and operated by the partners. The seductive venue won widespread acclaim for both cuisine and design, earning “Best Restaurant Design” from Angeleno magazine in 2004. In 2006, Schoos transformed Santa Monica’s Huntley Hotel into one of L.A.’s most chic and sophisticated boutique hostelries, which was named by Condé Nast Traveler in its 10th Annual “Hot List” of the World’s Top New Hotels, featured in Architectural Digest and named one of the Top Ten New Hotels in the Americas by Tablet 10 Magazine.
Soon after, Schoos designed what has become the nation’s most successful restaurant/nightclub, Tao at the Venetian in Las Vegas. Numerous other restaurant, hotel and commercial projects followed including recent additions like Searsucker Restaurant for Top Chef Brian Malarkey in San Diego, two restaurants for Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto in Hawaii and the Napa Valley, Hotel Frank and The Vertigo Hotel in San Francisco, and other projects in Miami, Mexico City, Taipei, Hong Kong, Beijing and Mumbai.
However, Schoos does not limit himself, continuing to expand the Schoos Corporation into new areas. After the success of O-Bar, Schoos will soon become the owner, operator and designer of a new coffee shop in Los Angeles called Café Beach. O-Bar will also be transformed into a new restaurant venue called Senses, which will be connected to a new Schoos retail store, Schoos Night, an outlet for Schoos designed products. The public will soon be able to purchase a variety of Schoos products such as furniture, fixtures, accessories and artwork online.
The uniquely imaginative and creative spirit of Thomas Schoos continues to explore new ideas and new opportunities in unpredictable ways. With his endearing accent and undeniable charisma, Schoos has positioned himself as the iconic go-to designer for innovative and globally inspired works of art.
