10 Down, 2 to Go

Cindy Allen -- Interior Design, 10/1/2007 12:00:00 AM

Welcome to 75th-Anniversary Issue Number 10. It's overflowing with design solutions disparate in size and nature and peripatetic in location. Somehow, they all coexist comfortably.

Our residential stories show how tangible needs meet clear, strong, original styles. "Authorship," you might pronounce on first impression. But look more closely. The thing that really puts the creative engine in overdrive is the easy exchange of information between designer and client. Take the living area of an L.A. house built by Bill Nicholas. The architect said, "Triple-height." The owners said, "No way." So now the space embraces two zones: a soaring sitting area and a cozy piano alcove. At a New York town house that Julie Hillman decorated for a collector, the conversation was about buying furniture like he buys art—think Royère and Warhol, Jansen and Schnabel. A renovation by Andersson-Wise was inspired by what an Austin doctor didn't need when her sons grew up: a wide-open floor plan and a Texas-size swimming pool.

Prefer retail or restaurants? The Future Systems alums at Sybarite UK take Marni to the next level with their Tokyo boutique, while Janson Goldstein burnishes the Holt Renfrew brand in Vancouver. And VOA serves up a little Hollywood intrigue at Bluprint in the Merchandise Mart. These three projects might seem quintessentially individual. In a nutshell, however, they all grapple with core concerns of perspective and scale in moving merchandise out the door or off the plate.

It's no coincidence that we're celebrating such a diverse, progressive cast of characters in our October rendezvous. Consider it a starting block in our race toward the final special issue of Interior Design's anniversary. In November, we'll be looking ahead to the next 75 years—our pledge of commitment to the future of design.