Nicola Fontanella, the British inside designer, whose glittering consumer roster contains names comparable to Madonna, Man Ritchie, and Naomi Campbell, finds herself spending extra time in Miami today. As founder and CEO of Argent Design, Fontanella is the driving power behind a 50-person studio that designs ultra-luxe personal houses, personal jets, and yachts for its prosperous and movie star shoppers, in addition to retail and hospitality areas, and whole high-rise mixed-use developments for business actual property funding corporations.
Argent tasks, throughout all inside verticals, have a tendency to combine basic European aptitude with Artwork Deco, leading to areas which are directly modern and timeless. The studio’s tasks could be discovered on each continent, together with in New York, Miami, London, St. Tropez, Melbourne, Beijing, and Hong Kong.
The studio doesn’t have a home type. Every undertaking is impressed by its particular consumer temporary. Nevertheless, what all of them share is impeccable house planning, unimaginable detailing, lavish craftsmanship, and customization of all the pieces from ceilings and flooring to bespoke, one-of-a-kind, specifically commissioned items, like Lalique vintage crystal chandeliers and Lalique customized lighting.
Argent Design tasks are troublesome to copy due to the studio’s in depth use of uncommon and particular supplies – not out there in any catalog – which Fontanella sources from around the globe.
In Miami, the place Fontanella’s observe has grown to rival her authentic London base, the designer is understood for end-to-end turnkey tasks – ultra-luxurious, move-in-ready mansions. With tasks like 2000 North Bay Street in Miami Seashore, presently listed for $15 million, Fontanella sometimes oversees not solely the inside adorning and closing styling, however the exterior structure and landscaping as nicely.
Earlier in April, Fontanella spoke with Upscale Residing, giving us an inside take a look at what it takes to create the areas of timeless magnificence and class that preserve her ultra-high-net-worth and distinguished shoppers beating a path to her door 12 months after 12 months.
When designing ultra-luxe mansions, how do you do what you do?
A classy, seamless, easy look truly requires a number of effort, with many components going into the tip end result. In any other case, everybody might do it. Fads and fashions come and go. The secret is to rigorously take into account the structure of the constructing, the situation, and the varied areas of the house, and juxtapose that with the “personas” of who will dwell there, how they’ll dwell there, and the way versatile an area will should be.
How do you select the artwork that goes right into a consumer’s dwelling?
Artwork is a journey and one’s relationship with artwork is usually private and emotional. My shoppers have a tendency to gather items all through their lives. Parts of the interiors we fee on behalf of shoppers, just like the lighting, and even intricate flooring, are supposed to each complement a consumer’s artwork assortment and to face alone in its means to create visible curiosity.
When individuals describe your tasks as having a European essence, what do they imply?
Europe has spectacular previous buildings, palaces, castles, you identify it. I discover myself influenced by European heritage websites – not simply those in the UK the place I’m from, but in addition these in Italy, France, and as far afield as St. Petersburg, Russia. On an Argent undertaking, that affect can translate to cornice detailing or wall paneling.
Folks usually discover the ceilings on the tasks we full in the US as a result of it’s a notable attribute of conventional European structure to concentrate to ceilings. Ceilings are usually not an afterthought. Consider the Sistine Chapel.
Our method to ceiling design ensures that the entire ceiling is coordinated with the furnishings structure, with an emphasis on aesthetics. No unpleasant entry panels or grills. By adopting a forward-thinking method and progressive methods, we ensure that smart-home options and even air con installations are included within the ceiling however are fully hidden. We regularly specifically fee our chandeliers, which change into collectible items, in addition to Lalique wall lighting, that capabilities as the jewellery of the house. The entire ceiling turns into a murals.
We’ve talked about ceilings. Inform me about your method to flooring.
We take inspiration for our flooring from the outside detailing of buildings, ceilings, and different components. This method ensures that every one the small print throughout the constructing work collectively, with the outside at all times related to the inside. Certainly one of Argent Design’s specialties is our bespoke flooring. We create intricate flooring patterns by combining quite a lot of supplies like wooden, marble onyx, and bronze insets. The craftsmanship required to make an Argent flooring is what makes it unique and one-of-a-kind. No two flooring are ever the identical.
Seamlessly built-in indoor-outdoor dwelling is de rigueur in Miami structure and design. Inform me about your method to this idea.
Sure, there’s an emphasis positioned on this idea in South Florida, however we take this method, on a extra summary stage, on all our tasks. Buildings have exteriors and interiors, they usually should make a logical entire.
On a sensible stage, objects inside the house have to be positioned strategically to maximise views, considering the place individuals will stand probably the most, sit probably the most, look out probably the most, and the way sure areas and views will look throughout totally different instances of day.
Argent Design additionally designs the interiors of yachts and jets, the place environment friendly house planning is paramount. Inform me the way you apply house planning to your observe as a complete, and the way you design dressing rooms particularly.
All of it comes all the way down to a fragile steadiness of hiding what must be hidden and performance, even when the house itself is extraordinarily spacious. The houses I design for my HNW shoppers usually have separate dressing rooms, with personalized storage for fits, sneakers, watches, jewellery, purses, sun shades, and extra. Along with being useful, stand-out areas, Argent Design dressing rooms have bespoke joinery, drawers, and shelving, to verify all the pieces has a spot, and all the pieces is as a substitute, in a method that appropriately matches the consumer’s way of life. Designing is all about making an attempt to unravel paradoxes. Argent houses with all their personalized craftsmanship rise to the extent of artworks – that’s what we attempt for. On the identical time, we at all times keep in mind that these areas are usually not galleries. They’re working houses the place individuals will truly dwell, so designing for performance is crucial, and storage is a key instrument for attaining performance.