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Left: Exterior of the Walker Tower. Right: Custom, modernized Art Deco friezes by SuperStrata top off the newly completed Walker Tower Lobby designed by Jarvis Studios.
Called the “architect of the century” by the New York Times early on in his career, the legendary architect Ralph Walker completed his Art Deco masterpiece, lower Manhattan’s Walker Tower, in 1929. With the Walker Tower and his other Art Deco skyscrapers he sought to humanize skyscrapers through both design and ornamentation.
Originally designed for the New York Telephone Company, today the Walker Tower has been converted into luxury residences with quite a pedigree . Walker’s original deco vision was painstakingly preserved during it’s conversion from office headquarters. This restored architectural masterpiece soars above its neighboring buildings, providing views of Manhattan that rival the beauty of the meticulously designed interior.
As part of that restoration SuperStrata was brought in to create the custom, hand-cast Art Deco inspired plaster panels that top the sleek, black marble lined lobby designed by Jarvis Studios. From design to fabrication and installation, creating the Walker Tower lobby friezes was an artistic pleasure at every stage.
Custom, handmade plaster friezes by SuperStrata provide Deco adornment in the Walker Tower lobby.
Deco flourishes – white custom plaster friezes by SuperStrata in the Walker Tower Lobby.
White cast plaster friezes designed by SuperStrata for the Walker Tower Lobby top lush, black stone walls.
Contemporary, custom plaster friezes by SuperStrata integrated into the Art Deco concept in the Walker Tower Lobby.
Cast plaster friezes by SuperStrata about to be installed in the Walker Tower Lobby.
It’s that day of the week again when we highlight an interior design or architecture must follow on Instagram. For this week’s #WallGramWednesday, we give you the Instagram account of Ashlina Kaposta aka @TheDecorista. The Decorista’s instagram feed satisfies our most glam interior design cravings with a well curated dose of inspirational interiors mixed with her own design endeavors.
Photo via @thedecorista on Instagram
Photo of interior designed by Dallas Shaw via @thedecorista on Instagram
Photo via @thedecorista on Instagram
You’ll find us on Instagram at @SuperStrataUSA!
Cy Twombly’s Roman Apartment photographed by Horst P. Horst for Vogue in 1966.
This Friday we’re stepping into the world of Cy Twombly. His Roman apartment, photographed in 1966 by Horst P. Horst for Vogue, was his creative oasis. Lined with his paintings and filled with objects that spoke deeply to his aesthetic, his home was a work of art itself.
This shot, with its close cropping and massive scale of the painting, makes it easy to think the walls themselves are marked by Twombly. Just imagine what it would be like to be enveloped by Twombly’s luminous composition, energetic marks, and palette!
Happy Wednesday! Today is the day we share a fabulous follow on Instagram who posts inspirational interiors and architecture with fantastic walls. For this week’s #WallGramWednesday post, we’re putting a spotlight on Alessandra Branca‘s always alluring instagrams.
You’ll find Alessandra on Instagram as @abranca. You’re bound to be inspired!
Photo of the Palazzo Colonna in Rome by Alessandra Branca.
Photo of architecture by Borromini in Rome by Alessandra Branca.
Photo of an elegant design moment, captured by Alessandra Branca
All images via Instagram.
TGIF! This is the first of our new series, Friday Focus. Every Friday we will feature a favorite single interior or product that we’ve discovered. This week it happens to be both.
We were first introduced to APPARATUS at IFDANY’s Rising Stars of Design. It’s founders, Gabriel Hendifar & Jeremy Anderson, were there to accept the IFDANY honor for APPARATUS. Their presentation was charming, and WOW, did we fall hard for APPARATUS’ refreshing fixtures replete with sumptuous materials (like matte black python!) and expert hand finishing.
But something else caught our eyes too, and not surprisingly, it has to do with walls. They shared an image of a hand painted wall design based on geological strata in their former Los Angeles home that had the entire audience swooning. That design later inspired Strata Study, an APPARATUS linen wall covering collaboration with ZAK+FOX.
We’re in love.
If that weren’t enough, it seems that Gabriel Hendifar has some serious interior design chops. One only needs to see this Hendifar designed dining room to fall even harder. Sigh.
APPARATUS founder, Gabriel Hendifar, designed dining room features the hand painted inspiration for Strata Study on the walls as well as an APPARATUS chandelier. Photo via APPARATUS
A name after our own hearts! Available through ZAK+FOX, Strata Study linen by APPARATUS X ZAK+FOX. Photo via APPARATUS
Grade’s Personal Time room at Holiday House NYC 2011. Photo via Grade
Critical acclaim, top interior designers, jaw dropping interiors, a stunning venue and one amazing cause, breast cancer research. That’s Holiday House NYC in a beautiful nut shell that the Nut Cracker himself couldn’t break. After attending the star studded Opening Night Gala a couple of weeks ago, we couldn’t resist reliving some of our favorites from Holiday House Past.
In fact, we were involved in the very first Holiday House NYC in 2008. Back then SuperStrata was an eponymous design studio run by our founder Jonas Everets under the moniker Jonas Everets Design. Jonas was thrilled when interior designer Kathy Abbott approached JED to do a custom wall treatment for her Kwanza themed room. The answer was a resounding yes! Beyond having a passion for great design, Holiday House’s mission was near and dear to his heart.
That first year brought together top designers and participants under a theme that is hard not to rally around- celebrate life! Every designer was asked to choose an inspirational holiday to design his or her space around in the historic Upper East Side mansion that would become Holiday House NYC’s home, Academy Mansion. Over the next six years the showhouse has seen top talent from the New York City interior design scene transform the Academy Mansion into a glorious and often luxurious homage to the beauty of life itself.
James Rixner‘s Engagement room at Holiday House NYC 2008. Photo via The Quest for “It”
Kelley Proxmire‘s Bedroom for a Holiday room at Holiday House NYC 2008. Photo via Visual Vamp
Interior Designer Kathy Abbott’s Kwanza themed room with a subtle lime paint wall treatment by SuperStrata in the 2008 Holiday House. Photo via Kathy Abbott
Designer Barbara Ostrom‘s Festival of the Stag room at Holiday House NYC 2009. Photo via Habitually Chic
Diane Durocher‘s Winter Solstice room at Holiday House NYC 2009. Photo via Holiday House NYC
Timothy & Associates Interior Design’s New Year’s Eve room at Holiday House NYC 2009. Photo via Timothy & Associates Interior Design
Mark Epstein‘s Hanukkah in the Library room for Holiday House NYC 2010. Photo via Emily Evans Eerdmans
Debra Blair‘s Venetian Carnivale tabletop at Holiday House 2010. Photo via Holiday House NYC
Bradley Thiergartner‘s Boxing Day room at Holiday House 2010. Photo via Emily Evans Eerdmans
Irwin Feld Design’s Snow Day room at Holiday House NYC 2010. Photo via Irwin Feld Design
Charles Farruggio‘s Marriage Proposal room at Holiday House NYC 2011. Photo via The Countess
Avram Rusu’s New Year’s Eve room for Holiday House 2011. Photo via Avram Rusu
Ally Coulter‘s Mother’s Day room at Holiday House NYC 2011. Photo via The Countess.
Vicente Wolf‘s Winter White room at Holiday House NYC 2012. Photo via Our Empty Nest
Inson Wood‘s Chinese New Year room at Holiday House NYC 2012. Photo via Ecomanta
Suzanne Eason‘s “Origins of Life” room at Holiday House NYC 2012. Photo via Simplified Bee
Suzanne Eason‘s “Origins of Life” room at Holiday House NYC 2012. Photo via Suzanne Eason
Tobi Fairley’s Spring Forward room at Holiday House NYC 2012. Photo via Tobi Fairley
Claudia Giselle’s Vanity room at Holiday House NYC 2012. Photo via Claudia Giselle
Brett Design’s Valentine’s Day room at Holiday House NYC 2012. Photo via Brett Design
Charlotte Moss‘s Everyday is a Holiday room at Holiday House 2012. Photo via Simplified Bee
Support a great cause and see some truly jaw dropping interior design through December 18th in Holiday House NYC 2013 with interiors by Ally Coulter Designs, Campion Platt, Christopher Hyland, Cullman and Kravis, CW Design, Darrin Varden Design, Décor by Guillaume Gentet, Deb Landis Design, Deborah Martin Designs, Donghia, Franklin Eighth, Gregory Allan Cramer, J + G Design, J Cohler Mason Design, James Rixner, Joseph Parisi Interiors, Kelley Jackson , Mario Buatta, Michael McKinnon , Patrick J Hamilton, Patrik Lönn Design, Rachel Laxer Interiors, Scott Formby, Stephen Bastone, Studio Tim Campbell, Susanna Salk, Tinatin Kilaberidze Design, and Weitzman-Halpern Interior Design. Find more information here.
As we begin designing our own line of customizable mirrored tiles and panels, naturally we’ve been obsessing over mirrors in interiors. Although we haven’t seen anything like what we are cooking up in the studio, we have been drooling over some stellar examples of interiors with antique mirrored walls by some of our favorite designers. Whether the real old deal or newly minted, antique mirrored tiles add not only undeniable glamour, but also a touch of nostalgia and romance to the equation. Coupled with the fact that mirrored walls bring light, depth and visual variation to a space, it’s no wonder that this classic decor tactic has made a big come back.
An antiqued mirror wall becomes an architectural detail and the perfect frame for both credenza and chandelier in this elegant dining room designed by Studio William Hefner. via Houzz
Antiqued Mirror Panels are inlaid to striking effect by Christina Murphy Interiors. via La Dolce Vita Blog
Antiqued mirror tiles are the perfect sleek complement to an ornate chest. Coupled with the gold, graphic wallpaper it’s downright refreshing. We’d love to know the designer! Photo via SS Photos
The ever talented Benjamin Dhong added glamour and visual pop with kitchen cabinets faced in heavily antiqued mirror. Photo via La Dolce Vita Blog
Another Benjamin Dhong stunner. The designer tore out cabinets in the living room of this San Francisco Row House and added a little “relaxed elegance” by way of built in banquette and antiqued mirrored wall. Photo via House Beautiful
This vignette is grounded in symmetry and saved by asymmetry. From the different types of objects to the organic and unpredictable pattern of the antiqued mirror tiles, this is one example we couldn’t leave out. We aren’t sure of the original source or designer. If you know, we’d love to hear from you, so that we might give them credit where credit is due! Photo via Haus Design Blog
A brilliant mirrored mix by designer Todd Alexander Romano in his own Manhattan home. Photo via Elle Decor
The man has glamour down! Antique mercury glass mirror panels also set the stage for this sophisticated seating area in Interior Designer Todd Alexander Romano’s NYC apartment. Photo via Elle Decor
Who doesn’t love the now storied tropical couture feel of Lyford Cay Club? Tom Scheerer designed a classic, that’s for sure. The hearth is enveloped in antique glass tiles that only add to the overall island mystique. Photo via TomScheerer.com
The green patina and unusually small tile size of the mirrors make this little number a standout. If anyone has the details – designer and product – we’d love to know. Photo via Panda’s House
Second to last, but certainly not least! This Veere Grenney dining room is a well crafted treasure. The solid bones of this grand 19th century London home received the royal treatment from the designer. The antiqued mirror tiles lining the hearth soar to a glorious fifteen feet. Photo via Veranda
Custom mirror panels along with custom just about everything else adorn the living room of Interior Designer Veere Grenney’s London “discovery”. We’re thrilled we discovered it, too! Photo via Veranda
Formal lavender dining room By Nicole Fuller wears “Boucle”, a custom textured plaster wall treatment by SuperStrata that was inspired by the iconic fabric that Chanel brought to fame
Interior, Furniture, and Accessories Designer Nicole Fuller is a lot like her interiors. At once exuberant, enchanting, and cosmopolitan, this hip sophisticate creates fresh, glamorous environments with just enough edge to surprise and captivate. And we should know, Nicole has been a favorite client of ours for many years. Beyond being a joy to work with, she is an innovative designer who always requests imaginative new bespoke wall and ceiling treatments from us and other artisans she works with. Never one to overlook or downplay any element in her interiors, she’ll often incorporate bold wallpaper or design something completely new for those surfaces; whether custom plaster finishes, bespoke wallpaper, fabric, leather or metal, yes metal, the walls in her interiors are an integral component that never disappoint. We asked Nicole to share her design process, idols, and favorite wall treatments with us.
SS: You are a very detailed and involved interior designer and as you take every element of a room into consideration, at what point do the walls and ceiling come into your process?
NF: I consider them right from the beginning. The walls and ceiling envelope a space and are what initially inspire my creative process. They play a crucial role in the creation and direction of my designs. Walls and ceilings have the ability to either develop the pre-existing features in a space or even change the space entirely. You can also really play with spatial perception of a room just by referring to its walls and ceiling.
A gold leaf ceiling and wallpaper by Cole & Sons in a foyer by Nicole Fuller Interiors
“Farrah”, a custom striped venetian plaster wall finish by SuperStrata with beeswax drawing designed by Nicole in her own home. Photo via Livingect
SS: Walls and ceilings in your designs are always an integral component. Beyond that, they are often really dynamic surfaces- fresh, inventive, and bold. Considering that wall finishes and treatments in contemporary design offer innumerable possibilities, what is your process in arriving at the final treatment for those surfaces?
NF: I like to learn and understand the age and character of the building that I am designing within. The intended emotion and ambiance in a specific space helps to define and clarify the creative process. My wall and ceiling creations often go hand in hand with the furnishings I am thinking of putting in the space, and building that initial relationship between actual pieces of furniture and what is either going on the wall or ceiling is vital.
Custom ceiling treatment in a dining room designed by Nicole Fuller Interiors
Custom tile mosaic by Sicis adorns the hearth with flanking wall murals in this sitting room by Nicole Fuller Interiors
SS: What challenges have you faced when designing for walls?
NF: More often than not, the issue is technical versus creative: uneven walls, poorly constructed buildings, and of course, low ceilings, are always a challenge that we look forward to finding a novel solution. I don’t really see any barriers as a negative but more as a challenge, and even the toughest situations excite me and push me to be more aggressive creatively.
It’s funny – clients typically resist wall covering at first. They only think about their grandmother’s flower paper. I have always used wallpaper and treatments in all my interiors. Wallpapers and treatments can reference history while simultaneously providing a compelling modern flair.
Personalized, custom pink graffiti wall mural by Eric Elms
Ink Blot wallpaper in an Nicole Fuller Interior
The perfect color of this high gloss lacquer sets the tone. Interior Design by Nicole Fuller Interiors
SS: What would you say has been your favorite wall treatment in one of your own projects? (Other than one of ours, of course!)
NF: I guess I would have to say Vampire’s Garden. It’s one that I designed. It’s distressed leather wall panels with abstract floral tattooed in pure mineral pigments. As with all our creations this treatment is fully customizable.
Vampire’s Garden, a custom tattooed leather wallcovering by Nicole Fuller Interiors
SS: What about in another designer’s project?
NF: I’m obsessed with Coco Chanel’s famous apartment in Paris, France. Not only was she brilliantly talented transforming the fashion industry, but also her interior design skills were perfection. She continues to be a true inspiration. I also adore Hotel Costes, designed by Jacques Garcia in Paris. It displays such imagination brought together by beautiful wall treatments and textures. Also Yves Saint Laurent’s apartment in Paris, designed by Jean-Michel Frank is a favorite. The apartment is masterfully designed with the perfect pairing of new and old pieces.
Coco Chanel’s Paris Home. Photo via NPR
Hotel Costes in Paris designed by Jacques Garcia. Photo via Keylee Sanders
Yves St Laurent’s Paris home by Jean Michel Frank
SS: As a style trend-setter, are there any new products or processes that you’ve begun using recently? What trends are you seeing with regards to wall treatments more generally?
NF: I think metal on the wall is going to be the next big thing – applied, inlayed, and painted. Metal is inherently dimensional – you can’t go wrong. We have recently started designing a burnished bronze geometric design on large panels for a client. I can’t wait to see them in place! I’m mixing in all different metal leaves (gold leaf, silver leaf, etc.) as well in my treatments. Stay tuned… I’ll be sending out sneak peek pictures through twitter at @NicoleFullerInt.
SS: As a designer, you create not only interiors, but also design individual elements that make up those interiors, such as furniture, lighting, and bespoke wall treatments. Where do you find your inspiration?
NF: Lately I’ve been inspired by vintage Van Cleef and Arpels jewelry. I recently went to a private showing and the shapes and color interacting just-so with the precious metals immediately made me think of a whole new concept for pieces of furniture.
Interior Design by Nicole Fuller Interiors
It’s not surprising that Nicole is inspired by the baubles of the Van Cleef and Arpels. Just like those jewels juxtaposed just-so within their precious settings, the elements in one of her interiors are perfectly paired with their surroundings.
For more interior design inspiration see check out Nicole’s work on her Website.
To see Nicole’s furniture and accessories, check out her collection, Isabella Wolfe.
All photos courtesy of Nicole Fuller Interiors unless otherwise stated.
After a raucously fun Labor Day weekend on Nantucket, we are back, refreshed, and enjoying today’s Wall Pin Wednesday. We hope you are, too! The last two week’s contributions proved to be quite diverse. From vintage suzani panels, to Venetian Plaster, to walls studded with golden sea-urchin like protrusions, to classic white bead-board, we traversed the interior design wall treatment gamut. See all of the pins here.
As a result, the round-up this week is completely biased. I won’t lie. Gallery or salon style walls were not only amongst our favorites, but made the tops of the lists for many of our interior designer and blogger friends as well. This is surely in part because salon style walls are an art form unto themselves. They are also really challenging to pull off well. Walls of framed or unframed art, photographs, and objects grouped together offer a chance to personalize a space; display a collection; add texture, color, or theme; or all of the above. While this look may not be for everybody, from a design perspective, what’s not to love?
“Good Bones” and an inspired salon style wall featuring a colloection of nude studies in William Frawley’s Manhattan apartment. via Elle Decor and repinned via Lynda Quintero-Davids.
Another view of William Frawley’s NYC apartment with a collection of nude studies hung over a pair of 1970s English club chairs. via Elle Decor
This classic Ralph Lauren style includes a cluster of of black and white photos on alligator textured walls. Martini anyone? via Courtney Price Design
A Midcentury Modern interior by Kelly Wearstler Design includes a gallery wall to great effect.- via ELLE DECOR and repinned via Lisa League
Lighter in both character and style, this grouping on beige and white stripes is offers both character and contrast. via NYCLQ
Designer Amanda Lindroth’s house in Lyford Cay. Along with her fresh aesthetic came this “fabulous wall of seemingly casually assembled art.” via Quintessence | House Beautiful
As this collection of interiors shows, the possibilities are endless when including salon style walls. Now that you’ve seen some Wall Pin Wednesday favorites, what are yours?
