Incollect Magazine Issue 7

“ 40 www.incollect.com MAKING BIGGER BETTER SOUTHAMPTON, LONG ISLAND The mission was to bring charm and character to a very large 1980s Shingle Style house, by, as David wrote, “letting the McMansiony bits drain out.” After a series of significant architectural adjustments were addressed, the decoration decisions began to unfold. The living room was transformed into a warmly elegant space with some very special pieces. The imposing chimney breast was softened with a Venetian plaster finish. A mirror appears to magically levitate over the mantel, kept company in the upper atmosphere by a Noguchi Akari pendant lamp. The pair of striking armchairs are rare vintage 1940s pieces by French design luminary Jean-Michel Frank, created for the Llalo Llalo Hotel in Patagonia; original photos show them upholstered in spotted doehide. French architect and designer Charlotte Perriand's circa 195os stools were inspired by traditional French Alpine milking stools. The double-sided sofa is custom by David Netto. A salon- style arrangement of artwork includes antique maritime pieces, a work by Ed Ruscha, and a piece by Korean-born Minimalist artist Lee Ufan. Photo by Pieter Estersohn Interior design when it gets really interesting is not the pursuit of one-liners like the color red or a good piece of French furniture or a rug that ties the whole thing together. For me it must also include the sense of memory. A knowledge, visually embedded somehow, of what once was and what might still signify again in a new way. This is not to say at all that I only like rooms that are traditional or rooted in the past. But I know I respond to architecture and rooms as a means of storytelling as much as to their form.” — David Netto, from David Netto David Netto by David Netto Illustrations by Mita Bland © Vendome Press, 2023 vendomepress.com and Amazon