5 Designers in 5 Cities Across the Globe Spill What Their Clients Want
Customization is key for design everywhere across the globe
Great design knows no boundaries. But star interior designers agree that geography, climate and culture are important factors in setting a city’s signature style.
We caught up with designers in five cities across the globe—Los Angeles, London, Miami, New York City and Sydney—to find out what their clients are requesting of late.
New York City
Blank, Modern Spaces Get Serious Customization
While New York’s luxury homes may have traditionally taken the form of large pre-war-style co-operatives, the city’s newest (and often most luxurious) developments often are “white boxes” with incredible views and plenty of room for design that reflects the unique personalities of the owners.
That’s where award-winning designers Jamie Drake and Caleb Anderson often come in.
The pair create bespoke interiors for New York City’s “it” buildings, including One57, the Baccarat Residences and Herzog & de Meuron’s 56 Leonard Street.
Sumptuous wall treatments, such as panels wrapped in parchment or shagreen or embedded with shiny mica, are used to create subtle, special spaces, they say. Patterned plaster treatments, as well as coverings of grass cloth, also are employed to produce exotic textures.
“The idea is to create a ‘wow’ factor,” Mr. Drake said. “We sometimes embed mica for shimmer in unexpected rooms such as the entry or the bedroom.”
Another ‘wow’ factor, he added, comes from one-of-a-kind statement lighting, including chandeliers and pendants in entryways, bedrooms and even bathrooms.
These treatments are part of a larger trend of customization.
“Our clients want something that nobody else has, something that makes the space special and personal, and they are willing to push the design envelop to get it,” Mr. Anderson said.
Mixed materials are another way clients add luxury. Drake/Anderson often include metal and glass inserts in wooden furniture or design or wrap sections of the piece with leather to add complexity.
Anderson said it’s part of a larger trend toward layering, mixing pieces from different time periods and even different price points, super high and rock-bottom low.
Bold color is also becoming popular again after a period when clients were requesting quiet neutral tones.
“We just presented a client with a design for a dining room that is peacock blue,” Mr. Drake said.
Jamie Drake, left, and Caleb Anderson of Drake/Anderson. (photo by Weston Wells)
A chandelier with circular globes makes an artistic statement in a dining room designed by Drake/Anderson. Photo by Marco Ricca
Drake/Anderson used wall panels covered with shagreen to create a stunning entry. Photo by Marco Ricca
In a bedroom designed by Drake/Anderson, a linear plaster wall treatment adds depth and rich texture. Photo by Trevor Tondro
London
Buyers Want Retro Glamour and Texture
Kelly Hoppen, MBE Photo: Nick Haddow
A mix of materials, notably silk drapes, shiny Kelly Hoppen coffee tables and a white Flax chandelier by Jeremy Cole give a luxurious feel to a London living room Hoppen designed. Photo: Mel Yates
A silver and grey London dining room by Kelly Hoppen gets a punch of fiery color from the built-in custom bookcase by Moissonnier. The seating – traditional chairs and communal upholstered benches – conveys a casual yet semi-formal feel, and the custom chandelier by Beau McClellan adds jaw-dropping elegance. Photo: Mel Yates
In the kitchen of a London house, Kelly Hoppen turns country style to luxurious contemporary with a marble-slab table and bench seating whose upholstery is a riff on the traditional red-and-white-checkered table cloth of picnics. Photo: Mel Yates
Kelly Hoppen uses calm turquoise accents to give a colorful contemporary flair to a neutral-toned London bedroom. Photo: Mel Yates
Britain’s Kelly Hoppen, who began her career at 16 with a commission to design a family friend’s kitchen some 40 years ago, doesn’t like to talk about “trends” because they “always fade.” However, the interior and product designer, author and TV personality pointed out that in London “using different shades of woods, especially darker wood tones to create retro glamour through furniture and finishes, is growing, as well as a focus on texture.”
Ms. Hoppen finds success pairing the eastern principles of simplicity with the western taste for sumptuous textures and luxurious finishes ideally suits the timelessness of the city’s residential architecture, which ranges from Georgian to Modern.
To construct a look that works with all of the city’s styles, Ms. Hoppen uses a neutral palette. Then she adds carefully chosen pops of bold color that speak to a contemporary audience. She also mixes textures—everything from metals and woods to chromes—to produce a seamless look.
Handmade materials, notably rattan and wicker, also are “irresistible” style components, she said, that fit in perfectly with the move toward eco-friendly, natural and organic products.
Miami
Bold Colors Reign Supreme
Although modern design has been a driving force in Miami for years, a transition back to more traditional architecture at the high end of the market is changing the style of interiors, too.
The different cultures of the city—Brazilian, Italian, Russian and French—also come into play, creating a variety of choices and chances to mix and match.
“All of this means that there’s lots of flavor and freedom when it comes to design,” said Todd Davis, of Brown Davis Interiors, who, along with Rob Brown, creates bespoke interiors, furnishings and exteriors. They have designed two houses for Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Regardless of their personal style and the type of space—main residence, retirement house or summer home—what every client wants, Mr. Brown said, is a more simple lifestyle.
That means having an open layout with the kitchen as the hub for family gatherings that include children and grandchildren.
Many homes include great rooms that are used as a family room for watching TV, entertaining and relaxing. “This is more important than a living room and often replaces it,” Mr. Davis said. “It’s the heart of the house.”
Great rooms, which often are connected to the kitchen, include a family dining area complete with a counter and bar stools, as well as big-screen TVs and comfy furniture that encourages lounging.
Customization—of architecture, landscapes and furnishings—is of utmost importance, because, Mr. Davis said, “our clientele want things that nobody else has.”
Bright colors used as accents also are popular because they show up so well in the city’s bright light.
Brown Davis Interiors recently designed a modern-style stucco house in the Sunset Islands that tipped the color charts: The exterior is painted pink with white trim and pale gray-greenish shutters. The inside is soft pinks, blues and greens with black accents. “The color scheme got a lot of comments,” Mr. Brown said, adding that white spaces with black accents is another popular color combination.
Miami residences are loaded with smart-home technology, too. Electric window shades, low-energy LED lights, elevators, induction cooktops, motorized cabinets, hands-free faucets, toilets that perform multiple functions and garage lifts are some of the devices that Brown Davis Interiors routinely installs.
Todd Davis, left and Rob Brown make creative, bespoke comfort their mantra. Photo: Brett Hufziger
The offices of Brown Davis Interiors are at the Herzog & de Meuron 1111 Lincoln Road parking lot complex. The color scheme – white with black accents and a dash of color – is a popular choice for Miami. Photo: Moris Moreno
A Miami Beach waterfront home on the Venetian Islands, designed by Brown Davis Interiors, is light and airy to bring the beach in. Photo: Ken Hayden
In a Miami Beach penthouse with a rooftop pool, Brown Davis Interiors created a clean contemporary space and added traditional accents. Photo: Moris Moreno
Los Angeles
Creativity, Boldness Are Coveted
Jeff Andrews
LA residents like to entertain at home, and this vaulted-ceiling living room, designed by Jeff Andrews, provides a formal yet inviting setting for gatherings. Photo: Grey Crawford
Jeff Andrews used wallpaper inspired by handmade pottery and a trio of vintage crystal chandeliers to give a luxurious yet livable look to a formal dining room in a family home. Photos: Laura Hall
Interior design in Los Angeles, the home of Hollywood, tends to be very imaginative and daring, said Jeff Andrews, a Southern California-native who has created interiors for celebrities including Kaley Cuoco, Ryan Seacrest, Michael C. Hall, Kris Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian.
“I work with a lot of people who are creative in their own right, who are willing to push the design envelope,” he said.
Space, the ultimate luxury, is abundant in the city, allowing big, bold ideas to be put into play.
Mr. Andrews typically works with clients who have new houses that are 6,000 to 15,000 square feet and follow an open floor plan.
They want a mix of distinctive rooms for entertaining and private areas that are used as personal destinations.
“I use a lot of big-panel glass or steel sliding doors or barn-style doors to create this open, yet private feeling,” he said.
At-home entertaining, which is popular, also dictates the design of the living spaces: Formal dining and living rooms, as well as casual spaces like media or family rooms, are highly sought after.
Although the rooms defy the open-layout concept, Mr. Andrews still unifies them with the same color palettes, textures, patterns and finishes of those in the rest of the house.
“It’s all about the big picture,” he said.
To create timelessness, he mixes different styles and finishes that range from show-stopping to fade-into-the-background quiet.
A cozy, cocooning feeling comes from warm colors, including taupes, dark greys and browns, and sophisticated furnishings and finishes.
“Subtle is the new ‘in’ look,” Mr. Andrews said. The shiny surfaces of previous seasons are becoming muted; Mr. Andrews is, for instance, using weathered wood and limestone with a matte finish instead of polished marble and granite for flooring.
The look creates a blank canvas for adventurous artwork.
“We’re installing everything on the walls from bold graphic wallpapers to custom wood panels,” he said.
Sydney
Indoor-Outdoor Spaces Are Always in Demand
In Sydney, the eclectic, centuries-spanning architecture and desire for an indoor/outdoor lifestyle inform residential interior design.
“We open our internal spaces as much as possible, as heating in winter is less of a concern than in most places,” said Darren Palmer, of Darren Palmer Designed, which is based in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra. “We have large openings to external spaces, whether that be balconies or backyards, so that light and air stream in,” said the interior designer, TV personality and columnist for Australian House & Garden Magazine.
The variety of house styles, Mr. Palmer said, sets the stage for interiors that are individualistic and that embrace the use of natural textures and colors.
He points out that there are four interrelated luxuries that clients crave: They want spaces large enough to entertain inside and outside, health-centric appliances like air purifiers and steam ovens that promote wellness, smart-home features ranging from automation to sophisticated audio-visual systems, and, most of all, the convenience of living in a tightly packed city where everything is close to home or a short walk away.
Darren Palmer
In a renovated 1900s Federation-style home, a sleek white kitchen, designed by Darren Palmer, becomes a blank canvas that blurs the lines between indoors and outdoors and between the styles of two centuries. Photo: Felix Forest
Clean, contemporary lines and chic industrial accents, notably the brick wall, define this warehouse bathroom designed by Darren Palmer. Photo: Felix Forest
