William Stubbs
What room inspires you most? Ralph Lauren’s office in his home in Bedford, NY: old world, old wealth, abundant, opulent, eclectic, luxurious, filled with interest, layers, textures and richness.
Why? A contemporary glass-top desk with chrome sawhorse legs, plaids, paisley, classic Persian rugs, paneling, books, photographs, paintings … you name it, this room has got it. My personal style is somewhat more restrained than this photograph, but not much. The inspiration I draw from this photograph is to provide interiors that provide comfort, function and interest, and that draw you in to be a part of this warm and safe place.
Design resolution? My resolution for 2010 is to be better. I want the homes that I design to feel more nurturing, to provide an environment that promotes great relationships. I find that as I mature in my design practice, creating beautiful spaces is not enough. I want spaces that are stunning and at the same time cherish and serve their occupants.
Image above: Ralph Lauren’s Bedford, New York home office, 2004.
From the book "Ralph Lauren" by Ralph Lauren (Rizzoli, 2007).
Jon Green
What room inspires you most? Dodie Rosekrans’ “winter dining room” in the 12th-century Palazzo Brandolini in Venice. Once home to an 18th-century Austrian princess, it is where Wagner resided when he wrote Lohengrin.
Why? The evidence of this room’s organic layers of decoration flow seamlessly from century to century, from the original coffered ceiling to the intricate gilded baroque appliqués to the wildly colorful malachite and coral details care of the most recent decorator, the late Tony Duquette. Each update has added more exuberance, excitement and stimulation taking precedence over subtle tastefulness. The mood of the room is at once deeply historical and brightly modern. I enjoy observing my fellow diners gawk at the room, being swallowed up in its ambiance — particularly my hostess, who cannot stay focused on a conversation, but rather gazes around from the ceiling to the portraits imbedded in the decayed mirrors, to the gold lamé drapery and antique Grecian kraters. I feel the way she does, every time.
Design resolution? Less subtlety and more color. Maybe I’m losing my eyesight, but I don’t see enough color in homes. I want my interiors to have a playful and carnival-like aesthetic.
Image above: Dodie Rosekrans’ 17th-century mirrored dining room at the Palazzo
Brandolini in Venice, designed by TonyDuquette in the 1990s. From the
book "Tony Duquette" by Wendy Goodman and Hutton Wilkinson (Abrams,
2007).The tea paper sitting room in Albert Hadley’s New York apartment,
1992. As seen in "Parish Hadley: Sixty Years of American Design" by
Sister Parish, Albert Hadley and Christopher Petkanas (Little, Brown
& Co., 1995).
Lisa Epley
What room inspires you most? The scene of Kelly Wearstler in her own kitchen.
Why? The kitchen buildout is contemporary, dark and sleek. She bothered with the details, mirroring the inside of the back of the cabinets and adding halogen lighting inside with glass shelves so the light travels all the way down to the bottom shelves, illuminating everything inside. Those details make her kitchen special and exciting. She’s filled the shelves inside with all her favorite antique china, silver, crystal, to display her treasures when she’s not using them. A lot of the prettiest things we all own are stored away for some future day that sometimes never comes. I say get that stuff out, use it and enjoy it everyday.
Design resolution? To continue my quest to eradicate hideous florescent lighting wherever I see it, encourage myself and my clients to be a little more daring in decorating and keep trying to make the world a prettier place, one house at a time!
Image above: Designer Kelly Wearstler’s kitchen, as photographed in her book "Domicilium Decoratus" (ReganBooks, 2006).
J. Randall Powers
What room inspires you most? Albert Hadley’s living room.
Why? It is all that is good in decoration.
Design resolution? To continue to do what I do best. Interesting design, a good sense of decoration and appropriateness, unerring attention to detail and never to follow trends or allow my clients to be influenced by fads.
Image above: The tea paper sitting room in Albert Hadley’s New York apartment, 1992.
As seen in "Parish Hadley: Sixty Years of American Design" by Sister
Parish, Albert Hadley and Christopher Petkanas (Little, Brown &
Co., 1995).
Ann Wolf
What room inspires you most? The gallery room at The Carlyle hotel designed by Renzo Mongiardino. It was inspired by the sultan’s room in Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace and is proof that truly inspired design never dates.
Why? The combination of color and pattern in this room is sublime. I am awed by the hand-painted wallpaper depicting vases of flowers and baskets of fruit intricately surrounded by stunning borders. The velvet banquettes with antique kilim appliqués and the red fringed-velvet chairs make me want to sit for hours dreaming of exotic and glamorous locales. The brass swing-arm lamps with patterned shades cast just the right amount of flattering light. It’s simply the most romantic room, ever.
Design resolution? No more relentless matching! I want to explore the infinite permutations of color. I yearn for a loden room with lavender accents. I will not succumb to beige! And I’m loving Danish mid-century furniture, all things brass, hand-printed fabrics and Scandinavian ceramics.
Image above: The gallery room at The Carlyle hotel in New York City designed by Renzo Mongiardino.
Renea Abbott
What room inspires you most? The ballroom of Quitandinha, a resort and casino outside Rio de Janeiro, designed by Dorothy Draper in the 1940s. Biographer Carleton Varney says, “It was [Draper’s] confidence, as much as her taste, that gave her the ability to take on such massive projects.”
Why? I love the bold black-and-white color schemes she frequently used and punctuated with jolts of color.
Design resolution? I’d like to decorate with more pattern on pattern. I also love the black-and-white contrast, especially in flooring or, next year, maybe on a ceiling.
Image above: Dorothy Draper’s trademark black-and-white floors, in the ballroom in Quitandinha, a resort and casino outside Rio de Janeiro. From "In The Pink: Dorothy Draper, America’s Most Fabulous Decorator" by Carleton Varney (Pointed Leaf Press, 2006)
John Kidd
What room inspires you most? The drawing room of designer John Saladino’s former New York apartment, pictured in his book Style by Saladino.
Why? I’ve been inspired by the work of Saladino for the past 15 years … I admire the restraint, the mix, the neutrality and the color, the old and the new, the yin and the yang represented in this room. A perfect mix that is timeless.
Design resolution? I want to be more about patina and less about paint.
Image above: John Saladino’s former New York drawing room. In "Style by Saladino," by John Saladino (Frances Lincoln Limited, 2000).
Ginger Barber
What room inspires you most? John Saladino’s media room in his California hills home as seen in his new book Villa.
Why? There is an instant calm and deep appreciation for the “mix” that is so important in any room. Everything should be wonderful and give the eye a place to call home. It’s not what you put in a room, but what you take out that really counts. That’s the biggest struggle in good design. A confidence in having enough even with very little.
Design resolution? To continue designing with a good sense of scale and simplicity of materials. To bring great energy to a room, but at the same time create a serene space, that feels as if it has been there a long time, not “decorated.”
Image above: John Saladino’s own media room, photographed in his book "Villa" (Frances Lincoln Limited, 2009).
Richard Holley
What room inspires you most? A photograph from an article entitled “Skrebneski Photographs Skrebneski,” published long ago in Architectural Digest.
Why? The contradictions of modern minimal architecture with the second-century B.C. torso. Also the tranquility of 18th-century furniture and the energetic bang of the 1932 Valmier painting.
Design resolution? To edit.
Image above: Skrebneski’s home as seen in Architectural Digest, date unknown.