Your Custom Text Here

Batya Stepelman 7/31/18 Batya Stepelman 7/31/18

Spotlight: Studio DB

Studio DB is an esteemed NYC-based architecture and interior-design practice headed by Damian and Britt Zunino, a husband-and-wife team. I was familiar with the firm's name, but when a 2016 New York Times piece featured the couple's own personal construction project in Amenia, New York, I really fell in love with their philosophy and approach to designing unique spaces. I just can't get enough of their work!

As you'll see throughout this post, Studio DB's residential projects are extremely design-driven, but their spaces are also practical, warm and sensible. This is something that stems from the couple's own life at home, which includes four young children. Studio DB seems to answer two important questions: "Who actually lives here?" and "How does this space need to function?" - all without sacrificing great modern design. (As a mother of 2 very active boys, design-wants are always balanced against practical considerations, so this approach resonates with me.)

I've been pouring over the firm's recently completed projects. While they incorporate the work of some very high-end brands (like deGournay's hand-painted wallcovering, above), I've seen them use moderately priced pieces as well. They have the talent and ability to mix-and-match, and they place the work of independent makers at the forefront of their designs. That, plus the careful consideration of when to use tile, fabric, wallpaper, and color (or even a neutral backdrop), helps them create homes that don't feel like untouchable or staged showrooms; they read as spaces that you'd actually want to live in and entertain inside for years to come.

Thank you Studio DB for providing so much inspiration. Enjoy!

xx, Batya

For more Studio DB head over here.

Photography by Matthew WilliamsCopyright of Studio DB — Photography by Matthew Williams
Copyright of Studio DB

Photography by Alexandra Rowley Copyright of Studio DB — Photography by Alexandra Rowley
Copyright of Studio DB

Batya 5/1/16 Batya 5/1/16

modern monday: favorite modern (nouveau) toile wallpaper

About 4 years ago I came across some photos from the then-new Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg. The design was incredible, the anchoring restaurant looked terrific, but what really caught my eye was the custom wallpaper: a nouveau toile (designed by Dan Funderburgh) featuring illustrations that paid tribute to the industrial past of the historic hotel's structure. That was the beginning of my obsession with modern toile (and in case you're wondering how to say toile, it's pronounced twäl)…

Toile, or really Toile De Jouy, literally translates to a cloth from Jouy-en-Josas, the French town where the printed fabrics were first commercialized. The pattered style of linen or cotton, which became in vogue during the 18th century, usually featured a bucolic country setting, pastoral scene or contemporary mid-1700s life. The toile could have floral motifs, maidens or heroes in typical landscapes, and the colorways were often limited to red, blue, black or green.

Today the narrative of toile fabrics and prints has grown. While there are still many contemporary companies who favor a more traditional pattern, increasingly there are modern designers putting a twist on the classic look. In the modern toile, the landscapes have been updated, the colorways have expanded, prints incorporate more inclusive depictions of city life, and some have even woven powerful social commentary into their work.

Toile is even inspring digital installations at LACMA!

Here are some of my favorite toile, y'all!

xx,

Batya

Sheila Bridges' "Harlem Toile De Jouy" - a satirical piece that lampoons (some of) the stereotypes deeply woven into the African American experience.

Toile de Derby- Sandbagging by Flat Vernacular

Bay Area Toile by Matt Ritchie and JormaTaccone  featuring Too $hort, Humpty Hump and Mac Dre, Alice Waters, Joe Montana, and Angela Davis.

I FLIPPED out when I saw this custom wallpaper at the Henry Howard Hotel in New Orleans. I lived in the city for 6 years and fell in love with this design faster than beads fly off a float during Mardi Gras! Here, take a closer look:

It was designed by Kathleen Fitzgerald and Lauren Kolesinkas.

Cole & Sons Versaille Grand Paste the Wall

Kalahari Vignette by Over + Over for Anthropologie via Cup of Jo.

Brooklyn Toile by Mike D (Beastie Boys!) & Vincent J. Ficarra/Adela Qersaqi of Revolver New York

Toile mural by Surface View spotted on Elements of Style and House + Home (UK)

Folie Versaille by Cole & Sons

Wythe Toile by Dan Funderburgh for Flavor Paper

From Beekman 1802 via Lonny (House Tour)

Cloud Toile by Timorous Beasties

Balleroy in Rose by Manuel Canovas for Cowtan & Tout

Cities Toile by Rifle Paper through Hygge & West

Peacock Toile available through Anthropologie

London Toile from Timorous Beasties

And more toile-centric design here:

Hazelnut New Orleans offers New Orleans-centric fabrics like Magnolia and Cafe au Lait!

Spoonflower for more toile options at varying price points.

I enjoy traveling, photography, hiking, street art, design, architecture, food trucks, gardening, the cosmos, cooking with the seasons, political activism and wallpaper! I know my interests span a variety of categories, here's where they all come together.