Design Inspiration

“Creating beautiful things and transforming spaces brings so much joy and happiness to our lives!” says Pauline Curtiss, one of the seven designers working in the Boston area profiled in this issue. Creating joy and happiness is a common theme among each of these unique visionaries—for themselves as artists but also especially for the people who live in the environments they design. Keeping an eye on emerging styles, each of these designers also expresses a strong desire to transcend trends, taking their cues rather from those they design for. As Duncan Hughes puts it, “Ultimately, I want my interiors to mirror my client’s best self.”

daneaustindesign.com

If you meet Dane Austin you’ll find he’s compassionate, talented and trustworthy right off the bat. His firm, Dane Austin Design, creates spaces that are deeply considerate of the tastes, lifestyles and backgrounds of the people who live there. The results are warm, personal environments that are special, interesting, unique and comfortable, since, after all, Austin believes “comfort is the ultimate luxury.”

Did anyone inspire you while growing up? I grew up on the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, Maryland, near my grandparents—stylish, gracious hosts who loved to entertain. They were also well-traveled, and their home reflected that. It was full of paintings, furniture and objects of art from their adventures abroad.

How did you get started in design? After attending college at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University and studying decorative art in London and Paris, I graduated with two fine arts degrees. I’ve been interested in design since I was a child flipping through the pages of design magazines, and I realize now, looking back, that movie sets and stage sets have always inspired me.

What do you think will happen in interior design in 2020? People are more conscious and appreciative of good design in their everyday lives. I think preserving our natural resources will be more evident in design with significant inspiration from nature. And, since the gray movement of the 2010s is on the way out, we’ll see a return to earthy tones—chocolate brown, pale pink, terra cotta, yellow ochre, olive green and cream.

What do you focus on while designing interiors? “Know thy client.” To easily connect with your clients, understand their family’s needs and be able to interpret the lifestyle they envision is imperative to providing the overall design. A great designer will extrapolate and develop a concept vision that reflects the client rather than imposing a cookie-cutter look. Make it fun to work with you. The experience should be easy, enjoyable, and efficient.

What gets your creativity flowing? I find a visit to the museum or a local art gallery provides the spark of inspiration when I need it. I may see a fabulous color combination or a pattern that becomes the jumping-off point to an incredible design.

Do you have a favorite trend? There is something so timeless and classic about the natureinspired motif of a good vineand-leaf-patterned fabric or wallcovering. I’m not a fan of trends, especially of the quatrefoil and chevron. Don’t allow mass marketing to dictate the way you approach design: if you buy what you love, you’ll always love and enjoy your surroundings.

Dane Austin. PHOTOJoyelle West [INTERIORS]PHOTOSStacy Zarin Goldberg

Kyle Caldwell Duncan Hughes. PHOTO

Duncan Hughes duncanhughes.com

After a career in advertising, Duncan Hughes revisited his interest in architecture and took a job at a furniture showroom that catered to the interior design community. That was 18 years ago, and now his Duncan Hughes Interiors has designed homes throughout New England and beyond. Designing furniture is something Hughes especially enjoys since it reminds him of that first showroom job, which introduced him to the design world and vendors and suppliers he interacts with now as a designer.

Where did you grow up? I’m a true New Englander. Proud to have grown up in the smallest state capital in the United States: Montpelier, Vermont. A fantastic and truly idyllic place to be a kid. Barefoot summers, tree forts and capture-the-flag in the warmer months, skiing, sledding and making snowmen in the winter. It took leaving my hometown for college that made me realize how wonderful the community is there, the natural beauty of it all, and the kind and friendly people around every corner.

What design elements do you love? I love modern interpretations of art deco, and mid-century, and I believe they are always in style if used in the correct balance with other elements. Also, I love installing wallpaper or a bold pattern on a ceiling—an area that is so often neglected in the design of a room.

What does the next year of design look like to you? I hope that we continue to see exciting, colorful palettes taking over lackluster greys and tans. I have always been a believer in mixing old and new, and I think we will be seeing more of that going forward as people become more interested in living in places with soul and meaning. What is the most important thing to keep in mind while designing interiors? The client. Yes, my name is on the finished product and the quality of the work is vitally important to me, but ultimately, I want my interiors to mirror my client’s very best self. We work very hard to understand how our clients live, and how they want to feel in their home. I have found this goal, this method, always yields the best and most beautiful results.

Michael J. Lee PHOTO

Nat Rea PHOTO

How do you see the relationship between the design and LGBTQ communities? In my view, the design industry has been very supportive of the LGBTQ community, and visa versa. Going forward, as workplaces become even more diverse, the importance of acceptance, inclusion, speaking out about discrimination, and prevention of bullying in the workplace becomes increasingly more important. Young professionals need to be encouraged to reach out to the next generation to spread the message that the design community is diverse and inclusive. It is important that design professionals coming up in their career feel empowered and welcomed by this multicultural work environment. I have been wildly fortunate in my experience as a gay man who is also an interior designer, but my story is not necessarily typical of others in the community. There is so much still to be done, and as laws and public perceptions continue to be challenged, it is vital that the design community continue, on a grassroots level, to do the good work that is necessary to keep the doors of this inclusive industry open to all who wish to enter—and use our influence to make our communities better for everyone.

So, what’s next for you? I am so excited about the incredible response we are getting about the Duncan Hughes for Dowel furniture collection. It was such a labor of love for me to design these pieces, and shepherd them through the production process. Currently, I am also designing some furniture for Century that will available worldwide in the spring.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JARED KUZIA

Adam Detour Photography Pauline Curtiss. PHOTO

paulinecurtiss.com, patina-designs. com, patina-collections.com

Pauline Curtiss Evolve Residential Design. PHOTO

Pauline Curtiss, artist and founder of Patina Designs, is certainly multitalented. She works with designers as well as directly with homeowners for color consultations, decorative interior and exterior painting, murals, hand printed fabrics and fine art. Her custom patterns are “modern edgy spins on classical influences,” she say, and she’s currently interested in large layered patterns, environmental linework, and glazed mysterious surfaces. Oh, and she also has a line of porcelain dinnerware.

How did you get started in design? I managed an imaging services team that created digital images for highend fabric companies. I learned about pattern design and production and I realized I loved working with creative designers and getting to look at gorgeous things all day long.

Have you always been interested in art? Many members of my family are artistic. I grew up in Upton, Massachusetts, and I spent my whole childhood having plenty of space to do design projects in wood, sculpture, and paint…and building big structures and sculptures in the state forest adjacent to our property.

What do you think is coming next? Big bold colors! We have been doing a lot of jobs with interesting textures and abstract linework. Watercolory ombres, subtle venetian and high gloss. I’m obsessed lately with rich deep blues and greens and neon. Fearless colors of nature paired with modern interiors is where it’s at.

What do you suggest designers keep in mind? Be open to using all surfaces. Ceilings, floors and furniture can be awesome additions to kicking it up a notch with printing patterns on, not just walls. The unexpected makes the best drama.

Where do you find inspiration? I love looking through art books, but also Pinterest and Instagram! I find it really helpful for clients when they are thinking about a space to look through

Michael J Lee Photography

Embellish Designs. PHOTOAislinn Calabrese Michael J Lee an assortment of gorgeous saved images so they can get ideas. Then we can find what they like and narrow it down…finding one piece of one, one part of another, playing with scale and color changes to come up with something really unique to them.

How does design affect everyday life? Design is so important. It helps us to be invigorated and inspired. Creating beautiful things and transforming spaces brings so much joy and happiness to our lives! When a room is repainted or we create something decorative suddenly everyone in the house wants to spend all their time there. We just painted our sunroom walls and trim the deepest brightest green, filling it with bright colored accents and plants, and the whole family wants to be there all the time, including the dog. This is why I love being involved with exterior and public art projects. Everyone deserves to be around beauty.

bright ideas begin at lucía lighting. furniture. accessories.

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Meg Barnum Eric Haydel. PHOTO

Allan Barry

erichaydel.com

“Preppy and traditional mixed with bits of industrial contemporary,” is how Eric Haydel describes his style. But for him, each professional project starts with a focus on good design principles. His interior design firm, Eric Haydel Design, operates out of Haydel’s showroom in the Boston Design Center, where his team creates stunning spaces for clients, sells fabric, wallcovering, furniture and accessories, and also designs new collections of furniture, rugs and textiles.

Where are you from and how did you get started in design? I grew up in Louisiana and moved to Boston in 2008. Most people assume this was a huge departure for me, but the two places are both rooted in such history of design. Interior design sort of fell into my lap. I had the chance to take a hard look at my career choice when the market crashed in 2008. A dear friend suggested design classes. I’ve never looked back.

What are your favorite paint colors? Benjamin Moore is always my go-to! I often use Bleeker Beige HC-80, French Canvas OC-41 or Penthouse CSP35 as my neutral base and bring in colors like Georgian Brick HC-50, Prussian Blue CW-625 or Shadow AF-650 for a dramatic contrast.

When you find yourself in need of inspiration, what do you do? I need to be outside in nature. From the beach to the mountains, nature offers a massive amount of solitude to the soul and is good for finding inspiration.

Michael J. Lee

Any trends you hope to never see again? I think trends are more for retail clients and stores. I don’t find myself being influenced or even having conversation with clients about trends. I would just suggest shiplap would die and that the red accent wall never comes back!

What is challenging about being a designer you don’t think many people know about? We are in a specialty business, which means nothing we work with is sitting on a shelf waiting to be loved. I think a challenging part of the job is explaining how much time it takes to make something— to design, commission or order it, and then the hands to make it. Every piece of furniture, lighting, wallpaper, fabrics…you name it…it is all made to order, which means there are lead times.

What does design mean to you? Design impacts lives, plain and simple. It is in all that we do or don’t do. People forget that every time you get into your car or on a train or a bus… there was an interior designer in that project to make sure you have places to sit, space to stand, places to store your luggage or even a way to access getting in or getting on.

What do you think will be big in 2020? I think we will see a resurgence of powerful and jaw dropping lighting fixtures!

Lori Hamilton Photography

theoandisabella.com

Scott Bell and Susan Schaub are cofounders of Theo & Isabella Design Group (Theo is his cat and Isabella is her dog), which they formed in 2011 after working together for 10 years. Even though their lives are very different (Schaub has been married to the same man for 36 years) they realized their shared love of antiques, art history, preservation and museums early on. They design the same way and meet their clients’ needs with timeless looks, interesting contrasts and warm comforting touches.

Where are each of you from and how did your design careers merge? I came to the world of interior design via a museum background. Growing up in Fishkill, New York, my family often visited many of the historic house museums sprinkled up and down the Hudson River Valley. Houses range from 18th-century Huguenout stone houses to many gilded age mansions. These houses instilled in me a curiosity about the people who lived in them and about the origins of their vastly different design elements. My love of design grew out of my infatuation with material culture—the stories that objects tell about the people who owned them, the people who designed them and what was happening in the world that led to these design decisions. In 1999, after working for several museums, I moved to Boston and worked for Bierly Drake Associates and then for a designer in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where Susan and I met. I am from Bay Village, Ohio. I spent a great deal of time at my best friend’s house. The family owned a few Ethan Allen stores and their home was a beautiful mix of fine antiques and new pieces. I admired the warmth of their design style and neutral colors. I moved to Boston to attend Northeastern as an art history major and my first and only co-op job over four years was at the Longfellow National Historic Site on Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The house is full of original antiques—fine arts, decorative arts, furnishings, books and textiles. As the curatorial assistant, my favorite part of the job was correcting the point drawings when reproducing fabrics and carpets to match exactly the 19th-century originals. Then, as a stay-at-home mom, I designed retail bakeries in the Fenway and Brookline, Massachusetts, for the Wheatstone Baking Co. I was hired by a designer as an assistant and when Scott joined the firm two years later, we quickly realized our common backgrounds of art history, historic preservation, museum studies and love of design made it easy to work together and collaborate on shared projects.

One word to describe design in 2020? Simplicity! I think everyone is looking for ways to simplify their life so that they have more time, so materials that are easy to maintain are sought after.

How would you describe your design style? Our design style is traditional with a twist—juxtaposing antiques with clean, modern elements brings a bit of history and patina, layering rich textures with neutral palettes gives a sense of tranquility and timelessness, and blending contrasting finishes— rustic and refined, elegant and relaxed, feminine and masculine—creates warm inviting spaces focused on family living.

What is the most important thing about designing interiors? Above all else, listen to your client. We are creating spaces for them, their lifestyle and taste and how they will ultimately use these spaces. But that doesn’t mean you can’t challenge them by offering ideas that are bold and forward-thinking, that push their ideas of what could be, that’s why they hire us.

How do you like to start projects? Ideally, we like to start from the beginning with the architect to insure the house will meet the clients’ needs and desires. It’s important to have conversations with the clients to see if there are elements they haven’t even thought of that can be incorporated into their dream home.

What trends you love currently or are happy to see come back in style? A trend we love is ceiling treatments, from applied moldings, to shiplap, to exposed beams, wallpaper, gilding and beyond. We are glad to see brass fixtures are back in style, this time un-lacquered.

When you need some inspiration, you… Travel! Anywhere! It could be across town or across the globe.

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Tiffany Von Steven Favreau. PHOTO

favreaulousfactory.com

“Design is art. Art transforms, inspires and elevates.” Before being an interior designer, or a “creator of experiences” as he calls it, Steven Favreau’s career was in theater. That background gives his projects a bold yet cohesive point of view with unexpected colors and textures and funky accents. His firm, Steven Favreau Design, works out of Favreaulous Factory, an 11,000-square-foot loft in Boston’s Seaport that Favreau and his fiancé, Dennis Wyrzykowski, opened in 2018.

What do you think of design trends? I do not follow trends, which I believe hinder the design industry. I approach each project as a completely different exploration from previous works. Designing tells a story—getting to the heart of possibility, while revealing to the client what they never could have imagined. I pair antique with contemporary, refined and irregular, soft and hard, feminine and masculine.

How did you get started in design? My first career was as a Broadway dancer, performing on cruise ships and on Dutch television in Amsterdam. Thereafter, I was a soloist at the Moulin Rouge in Paris. Moving back to New York City in the mid ’90s, I no longer felt driven to pursue theatre. Switching careers, I enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology as a commercial art major. Shortly after the semester began, I discovered interior design—quickly changing my major. Pursuing interior design in 2006, I haven’t stopped since…don’t think I ever will.

Where are you from? I am originally from Milford, Massachusetts. I attended The Boston Conservatory and then left town. Since then I’ve been a bit of a nomad living in New York City, Amsterdam, Paris, Phoenix, Honolulu, and San Francisco, returning to Boston about six years ago.

Greg Premru

What do you think will be popular in design this year? I don’t know. I pay little attention to trends. While it is important to keep up on what is new and exciting in the industry, I am drawn to “thought leaders” and “magic makers” outside the interior design world. It is a delicate balance, yet essential to who I am. I have never been a “follower.”

What are your thoughts about the design industry and its relationship to the LGBTQ community? The LGBTQ community has always been at the forefront of art and design. Most often, there is an inclusivity fostering creativity. Persecution and exclusion of the LGBTQ community indirectly forced

Morgan Ione Photography

Steven Favreau

us to pave our own path, encouraging a free spirit, innovative thinking and a creative soul. For me, I wanted to get out of my town as fast as I could. I developed a thirst for adventure and having a singular voice, which I use every day in my career. In high school I was bullied. While I wouldn’t want to relive the daily nightmare, I am grateful to have emerged as a strong, outspoken gay man. What advice do you have for designing interiors? You are an artist—a “designer”—not a “decorator.” Create don’t replicate! Encourage your clients to consider what they never imagined. Urge them forward with respect. By understanding your authentic identity, you inevitably develop a voice distinctive to you. Eventually, people will hire you for your aesthetic, providing you with greater creative freedom. It is a daily dedicated effort. Know your authentic identity and stay true to your vision.

How can design help to change the world, even if just a little bit? Design is art. Art transforms, inspires and elevates. Good design, like a fine painting, can inspire the intellect, unite people and cultures, while ending wars. I guess that is more than “just a little bit.”

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