Studio Saint Maur
photo by Damien de Medeiros
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? I often dream of having a house in Venice
What are three words to describe your style? I wish these words described my work:
1. Elegant 2. Timeless 3. Understated
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? My room was filled with books and Legos with a bunkbed that I used as a structure to build forts and create my own little safe heaven. My fondest memories are playing Legos with my cat bathing in the sun filtering through the window. I would build houses again and again, trying to find the right balance between them; I would barely ever “play” with the legos.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? I’m not sure I ever bought investment pieces as I only ever purchase things I love and don’t really look at the value but I could maybe say three photographs by Masao Yamamoto that I bought when I was twenty. His art resonates deep within me both for its “simplicity” and the universes it evokes.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be? If I could be so pretentious I would probably hire Francesco Borromini, Andrea Palladio and Edwin Lutyens as my project managers. But you never know, maybe I will hire the next one ;)
No room is complete without a beautiful light; I spend hours looking for the right one to fit a room.
People think of me as stern, but I am really just often in my head and trying to think about what people said or what I see.
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement? Flowers that look too perfect, they don’t sing in a space and look stiff
An hors d’oeuvre platter? I don’t ever omit food, I’m always curious to try
A bar cabinet? Only the empty bottles
A song for:
Dinner at home? Stabat mater by Marco Rosano, it brings a contemplative mood immediately
Working at your desk? A Nils Frahm playlist
Going for a run? Dvorak’s ninth symphony
Biggest Vice? Being too immersed in details and making craftsmen go crazy when really no one would see the difference
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? An Italian palazzo but unfortunately I don’t have the means.
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? They reflect aspects of my sensibility but I don’t know enough about fashion so I’m unable to find all the clothes that could express more. In the meantime they express an appeal for simple elegance and an appetite for fine materials.
Who is your star crush? Maybe Daniel Day-Lewis for his beautiful portrayals of a variety of characters but my only crush is my fiancée who is a constant source of inspiration.
What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest when you see others do it?
Spaces filled to the brim are something I couldn’t do because I love to have uncluttered spaces to let the mind wander. However, when a master does it I can easily picture myself in them.
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be?
A limited edition book about Venetian Palazzi I inherited from my grandpa. All the interiors are so inspiring and the printing as well as the pictures are of such beautiful quality, it is the most inspiring book to me.
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? I wish I could be known to have managed balancing historical and contemporary idioms. I would love for my work to be viewed as a link to the past and not so distanced from it like so many contemporary interiors influenced but the 20th century.
photo by Sarah de Beaumont
A Few Favorites:
Movie: Dersu Uzala
Book: Rabindranath Tagore’s poetry
Scent: My fiancée’s
The fabric you always come back to: A beautiful Natté by Manufacture Royale de Bonvallet
Dream project: An Italian palazzo with missing elements like panellings and ceilings
Meal: Charcoal grilled eel coated with a sweet soy marinade with a dash of sancho
Drink: light Red Bourgogne such as Aloxe Corton
Hotel: I often dream of Aman hotels like Amangiri or Amankora
Travel Destination: Italy, Venice or Florence for their architecture otherwise some remote location like Bhutan for the calm and nature
Artist: Kang-Hyo Lee
A cause near and dear to me: Bringing beauty to the masses, I deeply believe that beauty can make people more mindful of others and loving
Thing to collect obsessively: Lights, they can go everywhere and allow you to change the atmosphere to your heart’s content
Era in the history of design: Renaissance for its reinvention of historical designs
Museum: Musée Bourdelle, a charming respite from the bustle of Paris
Paint Color that always looks great: An historical off-white coherent with the building
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: Marco Mansi
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? I love all animals
