Texas Design Week Houston — In the Mind of Richard Mishaan

Richard Mishaan Appears at Texas Design Week Houston Tuesday, May 2 at CASA

BY Caitlin Hsu // 04.28.23

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In a room designed by Richard Mishaan at Kips Bay Decorator Show House New York, ornately embroidered fabric transforms modernist slipper chairs from groovy into stately. The curtain fabric is dip-dyed, and the tassels from Samuel & Sons make the window treatments wonderfully over-the-top. (Photo by George Ross)

Richard Mishaan is at CASA Houston, Tuesday May 2, as part of Texas Design Week Houston (Photo Frank Louis)

In a room designed by Richard Mishaan at Kips Bay Decorator Show House New York, a mix of Art Deco-inspired cabinets handmade in Brooklyn, a Mattia Bonetti chair, mirror by Bill Willis from Maison Gerard, and Hervé Van der Straeten sconces create a playful conversation about style and taste. (Photo by George Ross)

A cocktail table by India Mahdavi
plays off the colors in a work by Caio Fonseca hung on a wall covered in hand-painted Fromental grasscloth. (Photo by Thomas Loof)

On a horse farm dating to 1870 in Westchester County, New York, Richard Mishaan redesigned a formal dining room as the media room, with walls covered in Ultrasuede and a metallic-papered ceiling. (Photo by George Ross)

Designed by Richard Mishaan, an open kitchen in an apartment in Tribeca’s Herzog & de Meuron tower has a monumental hood by Anish Kapoor. (Photo by Thomas Loof)

Richard Mishaan designed a space for Galerie magazine's first-ever show house. A painting by Jane Freilicher hangs above the bed, which is dressed in Schumacher fabrics for Matouk. The striped fabric is also by Schumacher; the swing-arm lamps are from Circa. (Photo by Genevieve Garruppo)

In an apartment in Tribeca’s Herzog & De Meuron tower, book-matched marble on the walls and floors of a primary bath (Photo by Thomas Loof)

Hung between the windows of an art lover's Soho loft designed by Richard Mishaan, rare carvings by Keith Haring are just a few of the standout pieces in the owner’s collection. A freestanding bar separates the kitchen from the rest of the living area. (Photo by Max Kim-Bee)

In a room designed by Richard Mishaan at Kips Bay Decorator Show House New York, ornately embroidered fabric transforms modernist slipper chairs from groovy into stately. The curtain fabric is dip-dyed, and the tassels from Samuel & Sons make the window treatments wonderfully over-the-top. (Photo by George Ross)

In a room designed by Richard Mishaan at Kips Bay Decorator Show House New York, a mix of Art Deco-inspired cabinets handmade in Brooklyn, a Mattia Bonetti chair, mirror by Bill Willis from Maison Gerard, and Hervé Van der Straeten sconces create a playful conversation about style and taste. (Photo by George Ross)

Colombian-born designer Richard Mishaan has been exposed to design his entire life. He grew up in a house designed by a protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright then began his own design career apprenticing for Philip Johnson. Mishaan’s expertise spans architecture, interior design, and landscape, and his latest book, Richard Mishaan Design: Architecture and Interiors (Vendome Press, October 2022), written with Galerie magazine editor in chief Jacqueline Terrebonne, delves into his process and working methods.

These include mood boards, for residential interiors in country and seaside homes and city apartments, as well as bespoke hotels, a restaurant, and show houses, which Mishaan describes as his laboratory for experimenting with new design concepts. From a 400-year-old barn in the Hamptons to his unforgettably layered room at Kips Bay Decorator Show House New York, the book is a fascinating tour through Mishaan’s deep knowledge of the fine and decorative arts and his idiosyncratic perspective.

Design Advice

“In addition to collectible design, my passion for fine art drives my entire creative process. . . I often use trips to museums to spark new ideas for this. . . I’m informing my eye and taking in details such as how a piece is hung and lit or the fascinating color combinations in a period room. As I study the works and their settings, design ideas bubble up.”
— Richard Mishaan

What, When, Where

Cocktails, illustrated talk, and book signings with Richard Mishaan and Alex Papachristidis, Tuesday, May 2, at CASA Houston at 2800 Kirby Drive at Westheimer. Texas Design Week is a ticketed event. For tickets and information go to TexasDesignWeek.com.