Gil Melott
photo by Aimee Mazzenga
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? A pied a terre in Paris. I feel invigorated and oddly at home even with my poor French vocabulary.
What are three words to describe your style?
1. Emotional
2. Modern
3. Unapologetic
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? We moved a lot so the first time I made a statement it was loud. Pseudo-Billy Baldwin. Chocolate brown walls, a chrome parson’s desk, a borrowed McGuire chair from the dining room and dark brown corduroy bedding.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? I remember buying my first piece of art — it was a small, Lucian Freud self-portrait; a sketch. It was the late 80’s, I wasn’t as enamored by the provenance as by the the mystery of the face. It started my collection of men’s portraiture throughout the 1990s.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be? I have a two reactions to this question. I would love to see what David Hicks and I would conjure up considering our similar background - he was an advertising exec before he entered interiors like me. And I am currently smitten by the husband and wife team of AM Atelier.
No room is complete without ART and people.
People think of me as tough minded and serious, but I am really spirited, curious AND then I am tough minded and serious :)
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: excess greenery
An hors d’oeuvre platter: dips; double dipping, ew.
A bar cabinet : nothing; always be prepared
A song for:
Dinner at home: Try A Little Tenderness - Pip Millett
Working at your desk: Sweet Distraction - Sam Willis
Going for a run: Nobody’s Supposed To Be Here - Deborah Cox, Hex Hector
Biggest Vice? Ice Cream and things I keep private
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? I would buy the Legend Motor Co.’s Signature Series reimagined vehicle. I would be able to take it back home to Texas or through mountains in Wyoming or vibe any urban setting; feel all the feels. They have engineered rugged luxury; https://www.legendmotorco.com/signature-series
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? Definitely. My wardrobe tends to be layered, rugged and comfortable, yet tailored. A careful mix of designer pieces and heritage finds. Mindful, earth-inspired.
Who is your star crush? Pedro Pascal. Strong exclamation point. Unless Tom Hardy calls. And I want to just hang out with Julianne Moore and make pancakes.
What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest when you see others do it? It’s hard for me to say never because my clients and my design muscle push me to keep trying things — but you will not see a lot of ruffles in my spaces.
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be? AD at 100
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? I would love for people to think of me as a thoughtful person; someone who offered creative solutions and that I lived an inspired life.
photo yb Aimee Mazzanga
A Few Favorites:
Movie: Gladiator and Suddenly Last Summer - they both tell the story of how humans savagely use each other for their own gain but in very different ways.
Book: The Alienist
Scent: My mom — every time I smell Estee Lauder bath dew oil I am transported home
The fabric you always come back to: Mohair - elegant and resilient
Dream project: Neoclassical Townhouse, Upper 70s East, off the park, free reign
Meal: a cast-iron braised Ribeye, with garlic and thyme, medium rare; a large caesar salad and a bottle of Heitz Cellar Cabernet, with someone I like hopefully — this from a guy who lives a mostly pescatarian lifestyle
Drink: Old Fashioned
Hotel: Hotel Julien (Antwrep) and Peninsula (Paris)
Travel Destination: Europe — cliche and not definitive but would narrow it down to Paris and Barcelona (until they stopped giving back the love)
Artist: I have become enamored with Otis Jones https://www.otisjones.net/
A cause near and dear to me: Children’s Defense Fund - the well-being and racial justice of children and young adults
Thing to collect obsessively: anything that makes your heart skip a beat when you tell the story; I like books
Era in the history of design: 1930s; specifically Italian
Museum: The Met of course but the Biblioteco Vasconcelos in Mexico City takes the library experience to a whole other level architecturally
Paint Color that always looks great: Benjamin Moore’s Decorator’s White
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: @iamsorryforyourlost
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? Dogs — all day, all night. Papa to Rudy the Shop Dog
