See Art in the Beauty of the Great OutdoorsWritten by Deborah L. Martin David Harber has spent the past 30 years creating art that enhances outdoor spaces, by working in concert with nature. He is a modern practitioner of a long tradition of creating ornaments for the garden in Britain and Europe that included objects like obelisks, sundials, and globes. Harber explains, “There is beauty and simple elegance in so many classical forms, and there is a touch of magic in those ornaments and objects, most notably for me, in the sphere. I was useless at school but particularly in mathematics, and yet the beauty in spherical geometry is essential and evident in the making of sundials and spherical objects. I’ve greatly enjoyed re-interpreting these forms in both contemporary and traditional materials for generations to come.” Harber’s work is inspired by the nature around it. “My goal has always been to create timeless pieces that transform spaces; inspiring, delighting, and even confounding the eye.” Gardens are designed to celebrate nature’s handiwork through the seasons, and adding art enhances that view. Designer David Scott says, “Art is a very important garden element as it can be placed prominently as a focal point or it can be hidden and discovered as you explore the landscape. Nature combined with the hand of humankind creates a juxtaposition that invites contemplation.” “My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece” —Claude Monet “In the creation of a garden, the architect invites the partnership of the kingdom of nature.” —Luis BarragánView
True StoryWritten by Kelsey Mulvey For the St. Louis–based True Residential, a new showroom in the A&D Building was over 75 years in the making. Founded by Bob Trulaske—alongside his father Frank and late brother Art—True Manufacturing got its start in 1945 by making commercial-grade refrigerators and freezers. The company is known for offering the first 40-cubic-feet, upright freezer on the market. After decades as a leading manufacturer of commercial appliances, they launched True Residential, a line of top-tier residential refrigerators. “As we moved into the residential space, we kept that legendary build quality and [those] robust materials, but we refined it for the residential consumer,” explains Andrew Shead, True’s sales and marketing manager. “You can’t drive your kid to school in a Mack truck.” Since its inception, True Residential has honed in on that careful mix of form and function, and its move into the A&D Building offers a fitting full-circle moment. “It’s something we always wanted to do,” Shead shares. “We knew we wanted to connect with what we consider one of the most important audiences: the design community in New York.” At 1,600 square feet, the new showroom shines a light on the brand’s celebrated past, present, and future, showcasing modern features and finishes that bring the company’s time-honored, commercial-grade craftsmanship to the 21st century. A gallery wall of custom color options greets the showroom’s design-minded clientele, and industry exclusive joining kits showcase a wide assortment of configuration options. “One thing you probably won’t see in any other […]View
A Style Icon Still Going Strong After 40 YearsWritten by Deborah L. Martin By any standard, 40 years in business is a milestone to celebrate. But it is even more noteworthy when the business is a firm that has made a lasting imprint on design, an influencer in the fullest sense of the word. It was founded in 1983 by designer Holly Hunt, who curated collections of luxury furniture and accessories, and presented them in a gallery-like setting in The Mart, in Chicago. She subsequently sold her eponymous company to Knoll, but has returned to collaborate on the new HH40 collection. “It was a joy to reunite with Holly Hunt for this collection,” the designer says. “When I opened the first showroom 40 years ago, I didn’t have a business plan, but I had a vision. This collection embodies that vision and pushes it further.” HH40 comprises 18 designs—including a sofa, lounge and dining chairs, tables, bedroom furniture, a chandelier, a pendant and sconces—designed by the Holly Hunt Studio team, led by Executive Creative Director Jo Annah Kornak. “This was an extraordinary collaboration,” says Kornak. “We worked closely with Holly to transform ideas and concepts into pieces that function as a perfectly articulated detail in the story of how our clients live. There is a level of freedom present, encouraging experimentation with contrasting design styles to create an unforgettable and authentic arrangement. From the organically shaped Petro Table to the more refined and architectural Tubac Lounge Chair, each piece is impactful on its own and harmonious when paired […]View
Join the Brownstone Boys for an Astonishing Brooklyn RenovationWritten by Kaitlin Clark Photography by Nick Glimenakis Finding a worn-down Brooklyn townhouse these days is rare; dilapidated structures were snatched up for a bargain and renovated when the Brooklyn real estate boom first began. Yet a few historic brownstones, though outdated and stale, are still out there, waiting for a new homeowner with vision, guts, and a whole lot of patience, to make them their own. Such was the case with Barry Bordelon and Jordan Slocum, better known as the Instagram-famous design duo the Brownstone Boys. They were tasked with reimagining an entire 4,000-square-foot, three-family historic townhouse with a generous dose of structural issues and desperately in need of good old-fashioned TLC as a single-family structure overflowing with an eclectic mix of colors, textures, and patterns—while still honoring the property’s historical design details. Like most gut renovations, particularly those involving homes built in 1890, their creative journey spanned a year and a half and endured twists and turns, starting with the addition of a basement, to give the tiny cellar an additional six feet of height. “After digging down so far under the house, we found this huge boulder that we physically couldn’t get out of the house,” says Slocum of the basement’s intense excavation process. “So, we had to dig down deeper to drop the boulder even lower.” Always up for a challenge, Slocum and Bordelon were excited to interpret their client’s idea of a dream home in this now five-story piece of history. “Our client is a […]View
See a Refined Reno in Chelsea’s Exclusive Zaha Hadid BuildingWritten by Deborah L. Martin Photography by Tim Lenz When Alison Downey of Downey Interiors got the call to design the apartment of a “friend of a friend” in the now-iconic Zaha Hadid building that fronts the High Line, she didn’t know what kind of design challenge awaited her. “Our firm works mostly in the city and the Hamptons,” says Downey. “We get a lot of projects that are new developments. The Zaha Hadid building has great bones and it has a lot of trademark design elements, but it has some interior design flaws that we had to remedy.” And remedy they did, basically by doing a gut rehab on the space. Her client, a newly single mother of three boys, needed a new home, and she already loved the Chelsea vibe, as she lived only a couple of blocks away. The apartment, originally purchased as a pied-à-terre for the client’s Chicago-based father, was repurposed for her. “The building has lots of wonderful amenities. Her oldest son is an incredible artist, and the building has a kid’s lab, with a 3D printer and spaces to create art,” Downey explains. For the interiors, Downey went with a palette that straddles the line between warm and cool and has lots of texture and subtle color. Her client was inspired by London-based designer Sophie Paterson, whose work, Downey says, is very elevated and layered, with lots of custom millwork and rich finishes. “I don’t like following a trend. For a while there was […]View
Rio On The Hudson: Brazilian Inspiration In New York CityWritten by Nicole Haddad A mere reference to Brazil often evokes a vivid, sensorial panorama brimming with swaying palm trees, tropical beaches, soft winds and open air, ambient spaces, and, of course, samba. So, when a Brazilian client approached fellow countrywoman Cristiana Mascarenhas of In Plus to renovate his Upper West Side apartment to reflect the effervescent city of Rio de Janeiro, she knew exactly how to instill an undercurrent of Brazil into the space. The key, she found, was to create an open and airy space with fully integrated systems and natural materials, that makes the most of the unfiltered sunlight. To do so, Mascarenhas first opened up the floor plan between the living room and bedroom, creating a relaxed flow and a fresh sense of expansiveness. “When you have a small apartment,” explains the designer and architect, “establishing unity through materiality makes the space look bigger.” To that end, Mascarenhas outfitted the apartment in oak millwork, forming an easy elegance echoed in the bedrooms’ horizontal wood slats and the flooring throughout. Nearby, a closet was eliminated to add square footage to the bathroom—to keep to the breezy theme, walls came down in favor of a glass structure. Likewise, to avoid impeding the living room’s usable area, the entrance hall was shaved down to allow for a bigger kitchen. “When custom is an option, every inch of a space is used in the right way,” explains Mascarenhas. With that in mind, the designer incorporated custom and vintage furniture—almost all […]View
See 7 Amazing Kitchens with Style You’ll Want to DevourWritten by Charlotte Vale “What nicer thing can you do for somebody than make them breakfast?” —Anthony BourdainView
How One Architect Seeks Sexy Sophistication in New York CityWritten by Linda Sheridan Photography by Costas Picadas If you’re a fan of HGTV or Food Network, chances are you are familiar with interior architect Taniya Nayak. Her innovative sense of style and attention to functionality have been featured on shows including HGTV’s Build It Forward, now in its second season, as well as the network television circuit, including ABC’s primetime The Great Christmas Light Fight, and a new spin-off, The Great Halloween Fright Fight, which begins shooting in October. Nayak’s Boston–based firm focuses on high-end residential projects, as well as commercial properties. Her business passions reflect her personal ones; husband Brian O’Donnell is a restaurateur, and the two own numerous restaurants throughout the Boston area. For her most recent project, a 916-square-foot pied-à-terre on the Upper East Side for a West Coast couple that loves to travel and host parties, Nayak’s aesthetic brings together rich textures and custom finishes, with maximal functionality. The 1969 building offers stunning views 24 stories above Central Park and lots of natural sunlight. The clients were seeking something “modern, sexy, almost with a speakeasy library sophistication to it,” says Nayak. As with many New York City apartment designs, the square footage presented a challenge. “We wanted it to feel spacious and open, offering all the amenities of a high-end luxury hotel. They are very social, love to have friends over. Even though it’s small, it offers a lot of flexibility in terms of entertaining.” Over the course of a year, Nayak and her team […]View
Surprising Ways This Beautiful Swiss Chalet Is Like FondueWritten by Thomas Connors Photography by J. Wilson Fondue was taking America by storm when this Swiss chalet was built in the 1970s. And like that cheesy dish, this Alpine getaway wasn’t quite the latest thing when a Scandinavian family took possession years later. But working with designer Marianne Tiegen, they succeeded in taking a classic and giving it a fresh, utterly appetizing appeal. “Our clients had seen a chalet we did just next door to theirs and were seduced by the contemporary yet traditional style,” relates Tiegen, whose projects range from a bungalow in Venice Beach to a loft in Notting Hill. Teaming up with a regular collaborator, architect Sophie Morard, the founder of the Verbier-based architecture firm SHE, Tiegen re-envisioned the mountainside retreat, transforming a patchwork of small rooms into fewer but more expansive spaces and replacing tiny windows with larger openings to really bring in the natural light and the views. “Where architecture once protected the inhabitants from nature, it now welcomes it into their daily lives,” says Tiegen. In fashioning a home that rests comfortably between the traditional and the contemporary, Tiegen turned eagerly to local craftsmen and artisans. “We have long-standing relationships with many local craftsmen, and they really try hard to make our vision work,” she shares. “We are very lucky to work with people who grew up here and know the mountain culture but are also really eager to make Verbier new for an international clientele. These small ski resorts from the 70s […]View