Tag: Interior Designer

I posted about Interior Designer Julie Hillman‘s modern warm interiors a few years ago and while visiting her site lately I realized how avant-garde her work is.  She is capable of creating modern but still warm interiors by juxtaposing classic furnishings of clean iconic lines with modern abstract work.  Exactly what I believe dreams are made of.  A home that is far from common and boring, a home that interprets its homeowner’s lifestyle, travels and tastes but manages to be collected, sophisticated and mostly comfortable and livable.  And, if the home decor happens to meet half way between traditional and modern a.k.a transitional Interior Design, sign me up because that right there is what Chic Comfortable Interiors are to me.

julie hillman design living kithchen via belle vivir blog

Julie Hillman spent 10 years as a fashion designer before moving to Interior Design and she also went to Parsons, I’d like to think that we share a lot of things in common, the same awesome name, pardon my lack of modesty, we went to the same school and we have a love for 1940’s French furniture.   Julie describes her style as Modern Eclectic. A mixture of collected antique and modern masterworks, balanced with sumptuous fabrics and comfortable furnishings, tailored to each client’s individual needs.  I love how Julie can keep the color palette to neutral, of course always warm neutrals, and still make her interiors look exciting and warm perhaps that is due to her abundant use of quality art.

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The Architect Daniel Romualdez is among the most celebrated Interior Designers due to his extraordinary talent of creating consistent stunning interiors.  After studying economics at Yale University, Romualdez decided to follow his heart and pursued a career in Interior Design.

Daniel Romualdez library via belle vivir blog

After completing a master in Architecture from Columbia’s School of Architecture, he worked for two internationally recognized Architectural Firm, Thierry Despont and Robert A.M.  Recently, Romualdez was in charge of designing the interiors and the 46 units of 70 Vestry in Tribeca, a luxury waterfront condominium by architect Robert A.M. Stern.  Romualdez’s ability to conceive sophisticated interiors in multitudinous of styles, from traditional to modern has granted him an A-list of clients such as Daphne Ghinnes, Ina Garten, Tory Burch, Aerin Lauder and many others.

tory burch home daniel romualdez via belle vivir blog

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A Sophisticated Ranch designed by Ernest de la Torre, Ranch interior design entryway via Belle vivir blog

Usually Ranch and sophisticated are two words we don’t find in the same sentence.  However Interior Design well planned and executed can do wonders as it’s proved in this Upstate New York ranch designed by Ernest de la Torre.  The home the designer renovated
from top to bottom for his family is full of designers furniture an element more associated with urban dwellers and a collection of art that is more than inspiring.  Ernest de la Torre shares the Hudson River ranch with his husband, Kris Haberman, and their son, Parker.  The couple lived eight years in the house before undertaking the renovation.  The combination of rusticity and modern elements make this ranch a perfect home for any self-proclaimed urbanite.
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It’s always inspirational to see home renovations resulting in unique stylish spaces, as is the case of Emma Jane Pilkington’s home in Greenwich, Connecticut which Emma shares with her family.  After living in Paris and New York, Emma, eager for more space, moved to Greenwich, Ct. with her family.  The house had major flaws that needed serious work.  Small rooms, low ceilings, and tiny windows were among those.  The massive undertaking took three years and the help of architect Joel Barkley, who also did an addition that serves as living and dining area.  The interior decor is composed of great antiques, cozy upholstered furniture and 17th and 18th-century marble fireplaces.  Some of the furniture pieces came for Emma’s previous apartment in New York, which I previously posted here.  The result of this new dream home is the right balance of European meet American style, worth enough to leave the City for.  Below, Emma Jane Pilkington Greenwich home.
Emma Jane Pilkington Greenwich home, Emma Jane Pilkington's home, living room with two blue sofasCustom sofas covered in mohair in the living room

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Many of you may have already seen this home in Houston designed by Bruce Budd in collaboration with Bute King Architects, previously featured in Architectural Digest.  The Georgian style home is redecorated portraying a quintessentially Bruce Budd style, elegant and classic with modern touches in the form of art.  The relaxed but elegant atmosphere of the decor throughout the home was the response to the homeowner’s request for a home with a welcoming environment to entertain his grown children and grandchildren.  The transitional style is timeless and up-to-date.  The home’s casual and relaxed but still formal decor is thankful to the mixture of expensive antiques, modern art and humble materials as woven straw, linen, cotton, materials that are usual staples of Budd’s design.  To give the formal home a sense of lightness, Budd limed the Louis XV boiserie paneling as well as the floors and millwork throughout the house.

I think Country interiors are underrated and overlooked while more polished decor take center stage.  One reason could be because country or rustic interiors look and feel better in person and pictures don’t do them justice.  Elements such as honed finish stones, matte finish woods creates a cozy environment that invites to stay and even walk barefoot.  And, when it comes to beautiful country decor no other place does it better than a European country side.  Case in point, his country home designed by Isabel Lopez Quesada located in Zegovia, Spain.  I posted about this kitchen designed by her a while ago and was trilled when recently found more images of the rest of the house and who can’t forget that popular shot of Isabel’s home library?