Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 42
Occupation: Interior designer.
Instagram: @parisforino
Hometown: Sydney.
Studio location: New York.
Describe what you make: We design spaces. We work on everything from private residences to doing all of the interiors for 50-story buildings. Everything you see when you’re inside a room, we design, draw, or specify it; walls, trim, furniture, faucets, hardware, kitchens, etc.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: On one hand we’re doing a 450,000-square-foot condominium building in Miami, Missoni Baia, which is one of the biggest buildings we’ve ever done, branded with the iconic fashion label. The client is a very sophisticated developer and it’s such an exciting project. On the other hand, I helped a friend design his home in TriBeCa. He has great taste and it turned out beautifully. I love those more intimate projects, too.
Describe the problem your work solves: We spend most of our life inside spaces. Having a well-designed room—from spatial flow, the quality of furniture you’re sitting on, the wall finishes, the aesthetics, ergonomics, etc.—improves your quality of life.
Describe the project you are working on now: We have a full team and handle up to 15 projects at once. We’re working on two huge residential rental buildings in San Francisco right now for Tishman Speyer. We’re also designing a fantastic townhouse in the West Village for a private client. The same client just hired us to do their other residence in Austin as well.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: VU is a beautiful condominium building at the center of four of Manhattan’s most dynamic neighborhoods—NoMad, Flatiron, Gramercy, and Kips Bay—that will launch in the coming months. Another condo building launching is 300 West 122nd Street. We’re really happy with how both turned out.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: A great layout space! We’re constantly putting together palettes and need a lot of space to develop them. We also have a great library to draw all of our samples from.
What you do when you’re not working: Chasing after my three-year-old son; cooking (I love cooking); working out (don’t really love it but it’s important); going to the ballet (when we all could); and reading ballet reviews.
Sources of creative envy: Coco Chanel, Rudolf Nureyev, Andree Putman, Pierre Yovanovitch.
The distraction you want to eliminate: Mindless web trawling.
Concrete or marble? Marble.
High-rise or townhouse? High-rise.
Remember or forget? Depends.
Aliens or ghosts? Neither.
Dark or light? Light.
