Juan Montoya
If I could have am additional home it would be? Stockholm, Sweden. Love the city and the people there.
What are three words to describe your style? Comfortable, unique, and high quality.
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? With my mother’s approval, I decorated my room with an orange wool fabric (curtains, bedcovers and tablecloth). The chair was upholstered in a black and orange plaid with a black wool fabric as contrast.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? I bought an 18th Century marble urn with carved ram handles.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be? Ward Bennett.
No room is complete without art.
People think of me as minimalistic, but I am really a maximalist.
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement - Overly arranged and cluttered arrangements.
An hors d’oeuvre platter - If it’s larger than just a bite size.
A bar cabinet - I don’t like bar cabinets. I prefer a tray on a console or a table.
A song for:
Dinner at home - Classical music
Working at your desk - Swedish music. Eva Dahlgren is one of my favorites.
Going for a run - I don’t like to run to music.
Biggest Vice? Gelato
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? Limited editions of sneakers and watches.
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility? If so, how? Yes, comfortable, unique and high quality.
Who is your star crush? Lady Gaga
What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest when you see others do it? When everything is matching in color…
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be? High-Tech: The Industrial Style and Source Book for the Home [Joan Kron, Suzanne Slesin]
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? Unexpected, brilliant and cohesive.
A Few Favorites:
Movie: Gone with the Wind
Book: The Bible
Scent: Silver Iris Mist by Serge Lutens
The fabric you always come back to: Cashmere
Dream project: A project where the client won’t interfere!
Meal: Anything with white truffles
Drink: Bombay Gin Martini (up with 2 olives), very dry!
Hotel: Ett Hem in Stockholm designed by Ilse Crawford
Travel Destination: The Seychelles
Artist: Lucio Fontana
Thing to collect obsessively: Watches
Era in the history of design: Art Deco
Museum: Hallwylska in Stockholm
Paint color that always look great: Matchstick from Farrow and Ball
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: Cindy Allen
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? DOGS!
