nordic light
Juan Montoya's training as a fine artist reveals itself in the light-filled space he designed for this year’s Kips Bay Decorator Show House. “When I walked into the room, everything was painted dark brown,” says Montoya. “Before I could begin, I needed to make sure that the oppressive paint, the dropped ceiling, and the track lighting could be stripped away—and never come back.”
Granted carte blanche, Montoya developed a luminescent canvas filled with cool color, reflective surfaces, and layers of texture and detail. The space originally served as the dining room of an Upper East Side mansion, “but that would be a waste of space for the way we live today,” says Montoya. In its place, he conjured a multitasking salon, arranging custom and antique furnishings—including the Swedish Deco paint-decorated console and chairs that inspired the room’s Scandinavian theme—into purpose-driven groupings intended for entertaining or quiet relaxation. A new wool rug (woven to the designer’s precise 24’ 1⁄8”-by-21’ 1⁄2” specifications) binds the assemblage together. “The feeling had been mortuarial,” Montoya recalls. “Now it is a room to live in.”
Resources:
Juan Montoya of Juan Montoya Design Corp., 330 E. 59th St., 2nd Fl., NYC 10022; 212.421.2400; info@juanmontoyadesign.com; juanmontoyadesign.com. For information on next year’s Kips Bay Decorator Show House please visit kipsbay.org. (pages 78–79) Painting of walls and ceiling were by Peter Tachkov, 914.844.1463; ptachkov@gmail.com. Sound was by Audio Command Systems, 694 Main St., Westbury, NY11590; 516.997.5800; audiocommand.com. Coffee table with frame pedestals is from C.A. Atelier, Inc., 110-10 91st Ave., Richmond Hills, NY 11418; 718.441.8911; ca-atelier.com. Custom sofa daybeds and window treatments were by Anthony Lawrence-Belfair, 53
W. 23rd St., NYC 10010; 212.206.8820; anthonylawrence-belfair.com. Coffee table with cerused oak was by Juan Montoya of Juan Montoya Design, 330 E. 59th St., NYC 10022; 212.421.2400; juanmontoyadesign.com. White sculpture is by Eva Hild, evahild.com. Fabric on the sofa and daybeds: Metro Collection by Juan Montoya for ALB International Fabrics
Inc., 53 W. 23rd St., NYC 10010; 212.367.7405. ALB International at Holland & Sherry, 979 Third Ave., Suite 1402, NYC 10022; 212.355.6241; hollandandsherry.com. Influenced by Diego Giacometti, the bench is by Ingrid Donat, ingriddonat.com. The 1965, Spanish leg-like sculpture was by Xavier Mascaro, xaviermascaro.com, and is part of designer Juan Montoya’s personal collection, as is the 18th century, Swedish Gilded/rams hed refectory table, and the Nautilus seashell sculpture, anonymous. The fiber and gilt box, was by Columbia-born sculptor (1932) and textile artist Olga de Amaral, artnet.com. Eva Hild, evahild.com. (pages 80–81) Stark Carpet, 979 Third Ave., Suite 1102, NYC 10022; 212.752.9000; starkcarpet.com. The Stark wool rug is bound in a 3-inch leather border. ALB International Fabrics Inc., 53 W. 23rd St., NYC 10010; 212.367.7405. Metal chandelier was by Metal Concepts LLC, 9 Hanna Lane, #12, Beacon, NY 12508; 845.592.1863; metalconcepts11c.com. Pair of giltwood console tables are from H.M. Luther, 61 E. 11th St., NYC 10003; 212.505.1485; hmluther.com. Mia E. Göransson, miagoransson.com. John Dickinson at 1stdibs, 1stdibs.com. Manolo Valdés at the Marlborough Gallery, 40 W. 57th St., NYC 10019; 212.541.4900; marlboroughgallery.com. Peter Clark, artnet.com. Edvin Öhrström, edvinohrstrom.com. Laura de Santillana at Barry Friedman, Ltd., 515 W. 26th St., NYC 10001; 212.239.8600; barryfriedmanltd.com.
