Principal Designer, Casa Concept Inc.

 

My favorite city to go recharge my artistic energy- a toss up between New York and London

 

My favorite artist- Robert Motherwell, Miro, Jeff Koonz

 

My favorite City Hotel- I love the environmental edge of the Kimpton Hotels, the courtyard entry of the New York Palace, and Las Ventanas in Cabo. My favorite country hotel is Cadran Solaire in Provence.

 

State of Design- 20th Century modern has become generic. I continue to espouse eclectic design that has been pared down to elegance, airiness, and comfort, with personal  touches

 

Spaces that touch my heart- urban small scale streets that double as cafes at night; a cozy modern and elegant bathroom with a balcony and lounge chair to take in vitamin D; a prayer chapel in Patmos Greece, the mineral baths of Bath Ragaz, Swiss Alps, the jagged peaks of the Andes.

 

Elements that permeate my design- views, air and light; healthy and environmentally friendly finishes and materials; a cadence of small and large spaces, romance, and a keen sense of perfect proportions

 

My favorite music- Coldplay, The National, Arctic Monkeys among many of the indie bands that my teenage son introduces me to, opera, classical violin and guitar.

 

Favorite family outing- Austin City Limits in the fall, river tour and Art Insitute visit in Chicago, best restaurants in NYC, Serpentine gallery in Hyde Park, London, hiking the Alps

 

Magazines I read regularly- Dwell, Architectural Digest, New York Times magazine

 

Materials I favor- 100% recycled glass tile, natural stone, stained concrete, large format and rectangular floor and wall porcelain tiles preferably rectified for the most minute of grout lines, leather, the earthiness of saltillo tile. A house is like an empty canvas, and it is in the juxtaposition of the honest materials that I find the evolution of personal style.

 

Favorite colors- white, coral red, bright salmon, the colors of the aquamarine Caribbean waters, the color of limestone

 

Favorite places- world patrimony sites like Antigua Guatemala, Las Joyas del Ceren ( El Salvador), Prague, Bath (England); they connect me to deep time and force the thought that the present is the future.

 

Next trip- overdue to understand the vastness of the Chinese soil, people and traditions

 

 

 

 

 

 

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