• Shinola Hotel Gachot Studios

    Scale Up / Scale Down

    Symmetry, balance and proportion are key tenets of how I develop an interior; I was trained in classical architecture.  Yet, when I get to the decorating portion of the design process, I throw Palladio’s rules out the window – especially scale.  Playing with scale (blowing things up, sizing them down) is a way for me to change the vibe in a space, and therefore, how its experienced.  

    Go Big

    There are times when you just need to go big or go home. An oversized mirror can completely change a room. And a chandelier or pendant that outsizes a dining table is pure drama. Scaling up disrupts the status quo – it wakes us up and brings a room alive.

    Thom Filicia foyer

    Featured image: Shinola Hotel by Gachot Studios; Middle 4 clockwise: Bjorn Wallender, Moooi, Steven Gambrel, Huntley & Co.; Bottom: Thom Filicia

    Stay Small

    Sometimes making a statement means staying small. A diminutive artwork on a large wall will draw you to it. A low sofa beside tall windows will create elegant volume. A tiny light fixture over a table creates intimacy. Design isn’t always about knocking someone’s socks off. At times, it’s about creating a serene environment or eliciting an emotion.

    Raji RM
    Laura Santos home

    Top: Raji RM; Middle 4 clockwise: Workstead, Billy Cotton, Huntley & Co., Rose Uniacke (?); Bottom: Laura Santos

    Happy election week America. See you on the other side!
    tricia huntley
  • East Wing Inspiration

    I was hungry for some inspiration this past week and decided to break from my routine, play hooky and hit a local museum.  I walked through the National Gallery’s East Wing on Wednesday – one of the many world class museums that just happen to be in my ‘hood – and soaked up the amazing collection of modern sculpture they have on display.  Giacometti, Calder, Bertoia … delicious.

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    An enormous mobile by Calder hovers above the light filled central space.

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    Artist Richard Long assembled rough cut blocks of slate to form an elegant circle on the main floor.  A guard stands watch for those visitors tempted to disturb the work.

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    Diana and a Hound realized in bronze by Paul Manship in 1925.

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    A view of Ursula von Rydingsvard’s work Five Cones from afar … and up close.

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    A massive, seemingly lightweight sculpture perched on a ledge.

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    The Invisible Object (Hands Holding the Void) by Giacometti.  Brilliant, always.

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    Basalt sculpture by Isamu Noguchi.

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    Bertoia – the famous furniture designer started as a sculptor.

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    An installation creates drama through the repetition of hundreds of photograph-like plaster pieces.

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    Moisture as sculpture.  Incredible.

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    Three Motives Against Wall, Number 1

    Henry Moore, 1958

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    Capricorn by Max Ernst

    A massive, somewhat monstrous interpretation of family and sexual politics by the German artist.

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    Another Giacometti takes stride on the mezzanine.

     

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    tunnel_multiverse - leo villareal

    The perfect departure from the east wing — via moving walkway surrounded by a complex, pulsating light sculpture.

    Multiverse, by American Artist Leo Villareal

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    Tricia xo

    * Please note, the East Wing is currently under renovation and sections of the museum are closed to the public.