Famous Homes: Villa Necchi Campiglio

If you saw director Luca Guadagnino's 2009 film "Io Sono Amore" ("I Am Love") starring Tilda Swinton (Guadagnino also directed the phenomenal "Call Me By Your Name" in 2017), you have seen our next home in our continuing Famous Homes series (previously here).

The Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan was designed by Piero Portaluppi and built between 1932 and 1935 for sisters Gigina and Nedda Necchi (heiresses to a sewing machine empire), and Gigina’s husband, Angelo Campiglio. The design of the house represented the world's expanding interest in Modernism. Keep in mind that the Modernist Bauhaus school closed in 1933 because of Nazi opposition, but on the other side of the coin, the Villa Necchi Campiglio was designed and built during the height of Italy's rising Fascism which of course greatly influenced architecture. The dedication to clean lines and severity led to unadorned monuments, like the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana on the outskirts of Rome, and the Santa Maria Novella train station in Florence. In fact, in 1943, the Villa became a headquarters for the Fascist Republican Party, while the family repaired to the countryside.

After the war, the family decided to refurbish the house and employed Tomaso Buzzi to bring in furniture and furnishings that reflected a resurgent interest in antiques from the 18th and 19th centuries. Unfortunately, this developed a schism in the spirit of the house. One of my design mottoes, seen to the right, is "Contrast brings interest," but contrast used judiciously and not haphazard. The Villa Necchi Campiglio does not feel like fertile ground for the kind of overwrought lighting fixtures and large, ornate fireplace surrounds that still burden the house. But one can still see the bones of the house in the marvelous steel doors, the geometric panels on the staircase, and the restrained use of inlaid rosewood. And a few pieces of original furniture by modernist designer Guglielmo Ulrich are peppered about.

Villa Necchi Campiglio has been open to the public as a museum since 2008. Gigina, who lived longer than her sister and husband and never had any children, died in 2001 at age 99 and bequeathed the house to Italy’s national trust for restoring and preserving historical buildings. The house is open for tours...if you are going to be in Milan, click here for information about the house and how to visit it!

And as I mentioned above, the film "I Am Love" was set at the Villa.

Happy designing!

The History of Furniture: Windsor

For this installation of The History of Furniture, let's look at a style of furniture that is such a part of our lives and the history of not only England but the United States as well, that we sometimes overlook this workhorse piece of furniture.

The Windsor chair is a classic piece of furniture that first appeared in the 16th century. The woodworking technique of steam bending in the 18th century allowed the advancement of rounded pieces of wood and these Windsor chairs were made in Windsor, Berkshire and shipped to London for sale. English settlers introduced the Windsor chair to North America, with the earliest known chairs being imported by Patrick Gordon who became lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania in 1726

Below we have what I think of as the classic version of this classic style. The host chair at this table is what is known as a "sack back" Windsor chair...the rounded top dies into a chair arm...while the guest chairs are known as a "hoop back" or "bow back" style.

Here is another room by Kate Maloney which utilizes the "sack back" and "bow back" chairs. The space references traditional design, supported by the chairs of course, but there is something light and breezy and even contemporary about the feel of this room.

As we can see by the chart below, there are several variations of Windsor chairs that were made in Europe and the United States.

The chair in the photo below is called a "comb back" Windsor chair, and I think we can see why. The piece that dies into the arm does indeed look like a hair comb!

Now we come to a simpler design of a Windsor chair with a continuous arm. Instead of the hoop or bow coming down to meet the seat, it curls up into arms.

And lest you think that the only things "Windsor" are chairs, there were also Windsor settees. The concept was to put two or more chairs together to make a longer seat deck.

Happy designing!

Fiorito Interior Design Press Update, February 2019

I am proud to announce that Fiorito Interior Design has once again won a 2019 Best of Houzz Award for service from Houzz, the leading platform for home remodeling and design.

I am grateful to have been chosen by the more than 40 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than one million active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals.

"Best of Houzz is a true badge of honor as it is awarded by our community of homeowners, those who are hiring design, remodeling and other home improvement professionals for their projects," said Liza Hausman, vice president of Industry Marketing for Houzz. "We are excited to celebrate the 2019 winners chosen by our community as their favorites for home design and customer experience, and to highlight those winners on the Houzz website and app."

But I am most grateful to my clients--past and present--who allow me to come into their homes and trust me to partner with them in shaping their surroundings and their personal lives. Thank you so much! I look forward to creating a lot of wonderful work with all of you in 2019!

Happy designing!

Legends of Design: Philippe Starck

We've looked at a few designers from the past but for our continuing Legends of Design series, let's look at a living legend: Philippe Starck.

A man of many talents, Starck's career has bounced around the design world, from commercial (restaurants and hotels) to residential to product design to architecture--even naval design. He started his career in 1969. He was named artistic director of Pierre Cardin's publishing house, he opened his own industrial design company Starck Product, and in 1983, he designed the private rooms of President François Mitterrand at the Élysée Palace in Paris.

With former Studio 54 owner and hotelier extraordinaire Ian Schrager, Starck pioneered the idea of the boutique hotel by creating The Royalton in New York City, where guests checking in had to traverse a veritable fashion runway of blue carpet to reach the reception desk at the far end...

...and a very unique men's room with a stainless steel waterfall urinal, a pedal-operated, round communal sink in the middle of the space, and hidden stall doors. When I visited The Royalton in the early 90s, just a few years after it opened, it was quite the hot spot, and I can indeed attest to the uniqueness of the rest room--it seemed like something out of a science fiction film with nothing resembling what I knew of as a men's room.

Starck went on to design a slew of unique hotels, each a true work of art. Just look at his work in the lobby of The Paramount: a checkerboard rug upon which is arranged, like game pieces, a collection of designer seating that includes sofas by Jean-Michel Frank, upholstered chairs by Marco Zanuso, a wooden chair by Antoni Gaudi and Marc Newson’s chaise lounge. A grand staircase to the mezzanine level is backed with a canted wall covered in silver leaf.

One of my favorite hotel spaces Starck created is the wildly imaginative bar at The Hudson. The lighted floor and Louis XVI furniture deliberately recalls the final set where Dave Bowman ages in Kubrick's masterpiece "2001: A Space Odyssey." I especially love the log bench with chair backs attached to the top.

Starck also worked successfully in the world of product design. In addition to mineral-water bottles for Glacier, watches for Fossil, and luggage for Samsonite, he created the iconic Juicy Salif citrus squeezer (it looks like an alien pod from "War of the Worlds") for Italian houseware brand Alessi.

But I think Starck is best known for designing hundreds and hundreds of pieces of furniture and lighting, and the best known of those pieces must be the Louis Ghost chair for Kartell. The classic incarnation is clear acrylic but it also comes in tinted colors and opaque black as well.

Happy designing!

SALE! Alternatives by Burton James

From now until the end of this month, you can save an additional 20% off my already discounted trade pricing when you purchase an upholstered piece from the Alternatives series by Burton James, a company who has been creating quality, bench-made upholstered furniture for over three decades.

The Alternatives series is one of my best selling options for sofas and sectionals. With thousands of fabrics to choose from as well as the combination of myriad details below, we can create custom pieces like no other.

Choose from:
* 10 arm options
* 4 back shape options
* 5 base options
* 9 leg options
* 7 nail head options
* 10 Standard wood finish options
* 6 Premium wood finish options

If you've been wanting to buy new upholstered pieces for your home, now is a great opportunity to save. Call or email to get started--visit my website for contact information!
This sale is for a limited time only! Orders must be paid for and placed by 5 PM, January 31, 2019.

Happy designing!

Engaging Entries, Part 7

Since we are "entering" a new year, it seems like a good time to check in on our ongoing series of "entries" and foyers...

Happy designing and Happy New Year!

Happy New Year's Eve! Welcome 2019!

Happy New Year to all my followers and regular readers. May 2019 be a healing, peaceful, and prosperous year for the planet.

See you next week for the first post of 2019. Until then, Happy Designing!

Happy Winter Solstice and Happy Holidays 2018!

It's Christmas Eve and I want to wish all my followers and regular readers a Happy Solstice--the shortest day and longest night of the year was 3 days ago--and Happy Holidays!