"Good design is about reflecting clients’ desires of how they want to live and how they want to feel.” With this quote, I started my talk with celebrated interior designer David Scott this morning at the Center for Architecture/AIA. Because this line perfectly captures the DNA of his vision when it comes to crafting spaces. His clients know that, and thus they keep coming back to him over and over again.
Based in New York City, Scott opened his practice three decades ago before graduating from design school (NYSID). Within the territory of interior design, he has devoted his career to residential projects, mainly urban and beach homes in the New York and Miami areas.
Scott's interiors are filled with light, air, comfort, softness, making you want to live in them. They are filled with luxurious, often hand-crafted fabrics and rugs made to site specific, and are largely dominated by the choice of furniture and objects. He has mastered the art of synthesis: combining 20th-century vintage with contemporary; highly valuable objects with re-editions; furniture by design legends with anonymous pieces. While the mix is usually unexpected and often daring, there is no drama, no extravagance, no excess, as Scott proposes surprises which are subtle and understated. He is well versed in the decorative arts, and highly involved in every aspect of the design process.
His interiors are complex and multifaceted, yet they look effortless and always harmonious. His spaces never look like museums, even when they contain blue-chip art. While they are sophisticated, they are first of all pleasant, accommodating, and livable, reminding us that comfort is attractive, that living with great art and with the finest design is not contradictory to living comfortable. I think that this aspect captures David Scott's contribution to the New Interior.
Above: Bedroom in Midtown East.
Based in New York City, Scott opened his practice three decades ago before graduating from design school (NYSID). Within the territory of interior design, he has devoted his career to residential projects, mainly urban and beach homes in the New York and Miami areas.
Scott's interiors are filled with light, air, comfort, softness, making you want to live in them. They are filled with luxurious, often hand-crafted fabrics and rugs made to site specific, and are largely dominated by the choice of furniture and objects. He has mastered the art of synthesis: combining 20th-century vintage with contemporary; highly valuable objects with re-editions; furniture by design legends with anonymous pieces. While the mix is usually unexpected and often daring, there is no drama, no extravagance, no excess, as Scott proposes surprises which are subtle and understated. He is well versed in the decorative arts, and highly involved in every aspect of the design process.
His interiors are complex and multifaceted, yet they look effortless and always harmonious. His spaces never look like museums, even when they contain blue-chip art. While they are sophisticated, they are first of all pleasant, accommodating, and livable, reminding us that comfort is attractive, that living with great art and with the finest design is not contradictory to living comfortable. I think that this aspect captures David Scott's contribution to the New Interior.
Above: Bedroom in Midtown East.
Walker Tower
Midtown East
Midtown East
Southampton
Southampton
Meadow Lane
East Hampton
