Luxury Home: Divine Design
March 1, 2008
Philip Nimmo Ironworks: While building an estate for a celebrity client 10 years ago, Los Angeles designer Philip Nimmo discovered there was not an appropriate fireplace screen to accent the massive hearth he had designed. Soon after, he created his eponymous company, which specializes in custom wrought iron furniture, lighting, fire screens, fire tools and andirons.
Artists such as Alberto Giacometti and Piet Mondrian have influenced Nimmo’s designs, clearly visible in the Goccia screen. His Fuocco screen—with big red letters spelling "FIRE"—is inspired by the verbiage written on an artwork by Ed Ruscha, which hangs on Nimmo’s office wall. $4,200 to $6,000. 323.653.1209, www.philipnimmoironworks.com - William Kissel
Tresserra: Influenced by the furniture of Déco luxury liners and intoxicated by the smell of leather recalled from cars he rode in as a child, Barcelona-based furniture designer Jaime Tresserra crafts and engineers all his pieces, such as the Casablanca chair and ottoman, with great complexity and imagination. "Almost all my furniture has secret compartments and mechanical tricks that establish complicity with their possessor," he says. "I am pretending to surprise people like a magician with his bag of tricks." +34.93.200.49.22, www.tresserra.com - Jorge S. Arango
Dorian Webb: She began her career in 1992 by creating jewelry from Venetian glass beads that she brought back from Italy. Nine years later, the designer turned her attention toward lighting. "At the time, I noticed that most lighting wasn’t very interesting. I wanted to do something that would be exuberant and fun," says Webb, who now counts 100 chandeliers and sconces in her Viaggio Home line. The Vita sconce is inspired by the glow created from sunlight shining through leaves. The five-bulb, gold-leaf sconce stands 62 by 34 inches and contains topaz, pearls and 24-karat gold Venetian glass flowers. $4,440. 212.239.2390, www.viaggiohome.com - Jessica Taylor
Elizabeth Polish: A nearly five-year tenure with Armani Casa helped inspire Elizabeth Polish’s collection of wall lights, suspended ceiling fixtures and lamps that combine couture fashion techniques with industrial materials. To create the 72-inch-high Tumultuosa, she collaborated with a fabric atelier, taking layers of airbrushed organza and diffusing them with 25-watt halogen bulbs. Available through Slate Gallery, 718.387.3921, www.slategallery.com - Skye Mayring
Seguso Viro: For hundreds of years, Seguso Viro has provided elegant art glass for the home, such as thin-rimmed glassware from which to sip the world’s finest wines. Building on this history of refined tastes, its furniture collection—a first for the venerable Venetian firm—includes Silo, a delicate glass table. Designer Pierpaolo Seguso, a direct descendent of the company’s 14th-century founder, draws on Seguso Viro’s fine-tuned art glass techniques, combining them with ebony, cherry or lacquered wood. $6,500. 212.696.1133, www.seguso.com. - Jorge S. ArangoKentfield Collection: Derived from the Latin word for "rising," designer Todd Rugee’s Oriana Luminaire recalls the shimmering gold hues of the morning sun. The 26-inch chandelier, which can be lengthened with additional 12-inch links, consists of an egg-shaped aluminum base and three multiangled halogen bulbs that reflect light off spiraling strands made from crystal, brass and nickel. The piece is Rugee’s latest addition to the Kentfield Collection, Boyd Lighting’s highest-end division, which also features designs by Clodagh and Thad Hayes. $8,675. 866.251.7777, www.kentfieldcollection.com - Jessica Taylor
DarrenChad: The DNA table manifested itself in a dream. "I fell asleep thinking of how furniture is the DNA of different eras and envisioned the table," says DarrenChad’s co-owner Chad Welch. A stand-alone piece in the Bella Vita line of carved wood furnishings, the DNA table features 26-inch chrome legs that loop in dizzying spirals. 678.206.2727, www.darrenchad.com - Skye Mayring
Mattia Bonetti: Known for his baroque, often fantastical designs combining influences that range from primitivism to the planetary, Swiss-born, Paris-based Mattia Bonetti has been a giant among contemporary designers for nearly three decades. His newest handcrafted collection consists of lamps, sofas and armoires, as well as tables. The Onde table is part of a limited edition of eight and made from French brushed oak with a base of polished nickel and inlaid brass. $6,700 to $49,000. Available at Paris’ Cat-Berro gallery, +33.1.43.25.58.10, www.catberro.com. - Andrew Myers
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