Experts share the design rules they live by
With years of projects under their belts, top designers have amassed a wealth of tips and tricks to make the spaces they create beautiful and livable. So we asked some of these talents to share their expertise and their go-to sources for everything from the perfect sheets to unexpected wall coverings. Learn how to pick the ideal dining table, light a room, and blend design styles from the masters including Victoria Hagan, Vicente Wolf, Miles Redd, and Bunny Williams. Whether you’re reimaging a room or just want to make a few improvements, these ideas will help you make the most of your space.
Victoria Hagan
“For dining tables, I prefer 72″ round models. They’re really versatile. You can easily seat 12 at a dinner party, but they also work nicely for six to eight.”
In the dining room of a Connecticut home, velvet-clad Victoria Hagan Home Collection chairs surround a table from the same line.
Muriel Brandolini
“I prefer table settings that are colorful and multilayered, like my interiors.”
A table setting at Muriel Brandolini’s Hamptons home.
Miles Redd
Photography by Roger Davies
“Everything I ever learned about lighting and lampshades was from Vincent Fourcade. His idea was that a room should have about 40 sources of light, each with a five-watt bulb.”
The antique chandelier in the dining room of this California home is from Florian Papp.
Bunny Williams
Photography by Pieter Estersohn
“I find linen sheets to be too hot, and I don’t like sateen because it’s slippery, but cotton percale has a crisp, cool feel to it that is really wonderful. Julia B. makes incredible percale sheets that are very soft, and their hand-stitched custom embroidery is extraordinary.”
A bedroom designed by Bunny Williams.
Rafael de Cárdenas
Photography by Simon Upton
“I prefer to use chandeliers that are slightly too large for small spaces—or just the opposite.”
A cascading light fixture by Hudson Furniture hangs in the entry hall of a London home.
Simon Rawlings
“At David Collins Studio, interiors very often start with the lighting. Inevitably it proves to be the most difficult element to get right, but the drama created by a unique chandelier really is not to be compromised.”
The Wolseley restaurant in London, designed by David Collins Studio.
Penny Drue Baird
Photography by Simon Upton
“Gracie wallpaper might look traditional, but it can be extremely versatile. I mix it with modern furniture and design elements to give an elegant old-world feeling to a contemporary setting.”
A Gracie wallpaper lines a dining room by Penny Drue Baird.
Thomas Pheasant
“I use Edelman Leather’s suede hides cut into blocks as an unexpected wall texture in classical rooms. It helps relax a formal atmosphere.”
An entry hall by Thomas Pheasant features suede walls.
Vicente Wolf
“A geometric carpet is a great way to bring pattern to a room with solid upholstery. If you have a small space, try combining lacquered walls and a carpet with two pile heights to give the room depth and make it seem larger.”
A library designed by Vicente Wolf, with a Stark carpet.
William Sofield
“P. E. Guerin, in Greenwich Village, is the quintessential artisan foundry. Creating extraordinary hardware and fittings is a highlight of my job, and I often start my projects with a door handle, as I find that the tactile elements in a home are the most memorable.”
P. E. Guerin fittings grace a bathroom by William Sofield.
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The interior, in terms of furniture, lighting, art and textiles, is the opportunity for the space to declare its character; to enhance the architecture while creating a statement in colour, form, flow and comfort. It is a subtle and skilled exercise to calibrate and curate the right pieces and to understand the dynamic of how choices best interact.
As a practice we seek out quality – designs with pedigree and longevity as well as inherent style.
While the architectural form is both the statement and the vessel, it is the choice of interior finishes, and the superior quality thereof, that defines the everyday. With an emphasis on materials that deliver a sensory experience – both visual and tactile – RMA favours the honesty and longevity of stone, wood, steel and brass, glass and stucco walls.
The right combination of materials, used wisely and well, lays the foundation for every decorating scheme.
