A "Modern Medieval" Dining Room by Fiorito Interior Design

My clients for this project wanted to erase from their newly purchased home the style choices of the previous owners. I was lucky they were eager to make their own impression, because that meant they were open to a lot of unique and special design elements. So we decided to turn the dining room into more of a statement space with elegant wood paneling, a grand carved wooden dining table, and a sense that a feast was about to take place. I thought of it as Modern Medieval!

The custom-made guest dining chairs are covered in a tapestry-like material of paisley and leopard while the custom-made host chairs, bigger and more luxuriously scaled, are covered in a soft olive green leather. Hanging above is a modern lighting fixture with clean lines but whose overall sense recalls ancient round candelabras from castles of yore. Below it all is a rug in camel and gold with an organic pattern of branches and leaves. Torch-like wall sconces, a mirrored buffet with hefty iron rings, and custom draperies in a gold-green harlequin texture finish the look. And the most special element of all: at night during dinner parties, the metallic gold ceiling reflects the chandelier and sconces, giving the room a glamorous, warm glow.

All photos by Bernardo Grijalva

If you have a dining room that needs that special something extra, give me a call!

Happy designing!

Vivienne Westwood Squiggle Wallpaper

There always was, is now--and I'm certain always will be--a huge link between the worlds of fashion and interiors. One of my all-time favorite fashion designers is the amazing, incomparable Dame Vivienne Westwood. If you don't know her work, I suggest you take a Google trip and ogle her phenomenal creations. And one of the things you will find when you research her and her work is a pattern she created for her 1981 Pirates Collection that shows up time and again on shoes, bags, shirts, and now on wallpaper!

Her classic Squiggle pattern is a sinuous yet orderly progression of a jagged rope coiling back and forth...and venerable wallcovering manufacturer Cole & Son makes, in conjunction with Westwood herself, a Squiggle wallpaper which comes in many different colorways. Available through Lee Jofa/Kravet.

In this sitting room below, not only are the walls clad in the Westwood Squiggle but the furniture is graced with the Squiggle as well! Photo by Paul Costello.

Gen and Ben Sohr of the design firm Pencil and Paper used the Westwood Squiggle wallcovering in the entry of their Nashville home.

And here is an outfit from Dame Westwood's original Pirates Collection featuring a yellow and orange squiggle shirt with matching tasseled waist sash.

I had wanted a pair of Westwood signature Squiggle Pirate boots since I first saw them in 1981...and finally in 2008, I made a pilgrimage to World's End, her original boutique in Chelsea, to take home a coveted pair (it's not an impulse buy if one has wanted something for over 30 years!). And here they are:

Dame Westwood, still fashionable at 74...

Dame Vivienne Westwood, DBE

If you are a fashionista who would love a bit of Westwood in your home, please contact me! I would so love to spread the Squiggle!
To learn more about Westwood, click here and visit her fashion website here.

Happy designing!

Sconces: Your Second And Third Layer of Lighting

If you look to the right, I have an ever-growing list of what I like to call my "Design Mantras," things I find myself saying often to clients...or to anyone nearby! And #4 deals with a subject I covered in a past post here called "Lighting Basics: How To Illuminate A Space."

For a successfully illuminated room, there are three basic layers of light: ambient, task, and accent. Ambient light generally means a light that will blanket a space, brightening the room. This layer includes recessed ceiling lights placed so that a room receives an even wash of light.

For the remaining two layers, task and accent, sconces can be a marvelously versatile lighting fixture. When used in a bathroom, and placed so the lighting source falls evenly at face level, they can function as task lighting, illuminating your face and eliminating shadows so tasks light applying make-up and shaving are made much easier. I am always irked when, for example, I'm staying at a hotel, and the bathroom only has an overhead light so that my brow, nose, and jaw cast heavy shadows on my face and neck! And a simple, well-placed sconce can erase those shadows.

I love to use sconces for that reason. Take a look at some bathrooms I've designed which incorporate the versatile and decorative sconce:

For maximum impact both in terms of light and style, I often like to use a very large scale mirror in a bathroom and mount the sconce on the surface, doubling the amount of light!

Sconces can be excellent task lighting for the bedside. Because there is no need for the foot of a table lamp to take up valuable real estate, a wall mounted fixture allows the entire surface of a night table to be used.

Sconces on a fireplace breast add an extra, alluring layer of glow and warmth!

And dinner parties in well-appointed dining rooms always benefit from an additional source of sparkling, accent light...

And most importantly, remember to put all of your lights on dimmers for flexibility.
Happy designing!

Engaging Entries, Part 3

These Engaging Entries are a continuation of previous posts, here and here, in which I remarked that every house should have an entryway that announces the personality of the homeowner... an entryway that is playful, engaging, welcoming, or dazzling.

And here is visual proof that you don't have to have an enormous entryway to create an engaging entry; an inviting tableau on a console table accompanied by an interesting lighting fixture, some art, and of course some fresh cut flowers announces that you are stepping into the home of someone intriguing...

As usual, I hope this has inspired you to create your own engaging entry!
Happy designing!

Ege Carpet Atelier

Ege Carpet, designed in New York and made in Denmark have been making floor coverings for 78 years now, so they know a thing or two about it. They even have a wonderful program called Atelier that allows you to design your own bespoke product. If you can imagine it, they can probably put it on a carpet or rug. Look at some of these marvelous examples below like the sand dunes or aerial map that add interest, whimsy...creating a custom rug makes a space truly memorable.

And French fashion designer Christian Lacroix created these amazing carpets for fashion museum Musée Galliera in Paris and art museum Musée Réattu in Arles.

It is vital to incorporate pattern, color, and interest into a room with furnishings but often a floor is overlooked. Even though these photos show carpets in commercial applications, they could work beautifully in any residential setting.
Are you considering adding a special touch to your floors? Give me a call!
Happy designing!

Like Jewelry For Your Cabinetry

As a designer, I am always on the lookout for the unusual, unexpected, special little details that can take a room from being just nice to being jaw-droppingly beautiful. Especially in kitchens and bathrooms where the opportunity for furnishings is diminished, it is important to pick elements judiciously. I like to tell clients that these kinds of finishing touches are like jewelry: fine silver cuff links on a tuxedo or a beautiful pair of diamond ear rings and necklace on an evening gown. Spaces benefit from such accessories.

Enter Hardware Renaissance, a high end company that handcrafts gorgeous door and drawer handles and pulls. Started by Anagha Dandekar in 2002, the company offers an original line of hand forged iron completely hand made by master blacksmiths. In 2004, the company introduced solid cast silicon bronze hardware with a commitment to environmental responsibility. The bronze hardware is made from at least 90% recycled material.

But the thing that puts these stunning products over the top is their new line of hardware inset with semi-precious stones such as chrysocolla, rotile, and black or red jade stone. These pulls would certainly give your interior doors and cabinet drawers a special sense of exquisite modern luxury!

Happy designing!