Charles Zana
photo by François Halard
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? Sicily.
What are three words to describe your style?
1. Generous
2. Cultivated
3. Timeless
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? My dad hired an architect to design our home. My bedroom walls were apple-green with built-in furniture.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? My first investment piece was a Murano vase bought from François Laffanour.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be? Ettore Sottsass.
No room is complete without family pictures.
People think that I’m lost in my thoughts, but I am really focused.
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: No flower arrangement
An hors d’oeuvre platter: Mixed plate
A song for:
Dinner at home: Tom Waits, Blue Valentine.
Working at your desk: All songs from Bob Dylan.
Going for a run: Bruce Springsteen, Born in the USA.
Biggest Vice? The collection.
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? Always. I've been wearing the same clothes and shoes for 40 years, I like clothes, not fashion.
Who is your star crush? David Bowie, for his music and what he stands for.
What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest when you see others do it? Decoration.
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be? Carlo Scarpa: Architecture and Design.
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? My Franck Bridge armchair.
photo by François Halard
A Few Favorites:
Movie: Barry Lyndon.
Book: All the novels by Philip Roth.
Scent: The jasmine of my childhood.
The fabric you always come back to: Bouratino by Dedar.
Dream project: A museum in the desert.
Meal: A good dish of zucchini pasta.
Drink: Green juice.
Hotel: La Colombe d’Or at Saint-Paul de Vence.
Travel Destination: Siwa, Egypt.
Artist: Lucas Arruda.
Thing to collect obsessively: Vases.
Era in the history of design: The 1930s.
Museum: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen.
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: François Halard.
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? Dogs, big not small ones.
