Tufted Inspiration: Vicente Wolf

Interior Design by Vicente Wolf

Decor Two Ways

I love a good before and after. I especially love it when it's the work of a designer in their own home, or a home designed by one designer and then redesigned by another. As you all know, I get in the mood to change things often. VERY OFTEN. Sometimes I think I'm crazy, and other times I think it's just part of the creative process. It's difficult to live with the same arrangements, the same things, the same space even if you love it, especially when your mind operates endlessly about different decor. When I don't have a client to live these ideas through, I have to experiment in my own space. 

Indeed, it seems that the home of a designer is really a creative laboratory, and I'm NOT the only one who changes things that are absolutely beautiful and perfect as they are just to get a different look going. 

I've pulled a few of my favorite before and afters by designers (many in their own homes) and hope you enjoy studying the differences, some of them so minor yet so amazing, as I did. Enjoy! 

Kathryn Ireland

Reese Witherspoon

Dan Marty (1)

Dan Marty (2)

Mark D. Sikes (1) 

Mark D. Sikes (2) 

 Martyn Lawrence Bullard (1) 

Martyn Lawrence Bullard (2)

Michelle Niday (1) 

 Michelle Niday (2)

Darryl Carter (1)

Darryl Carter (2)

Mary McDonald (1)

Mary McDonald (2)

Jeffrey Bilhuber (1)

Jeffrey Bilhuber (2)

Martyn Lawrence Bullard (1) 

Martyn Lawrence Bullard (2) 

Martyn Lawrence Bullard (3)

Mark D. Sikes (1) 

Mark D. Sikes (2)

Mary McDonald (1)

Mary McDonald (2)

Windsor Smith (1)

Windsor Smith (2)

Vicente Wolf (1) 

Vicente Wolf (2)

 Amanda Nisbet (1)

Amanda Nisbet (2)

Sheila Bridges (1)

Sheila Bridges (2)

Mark D. Sikes (1)

Mark D. Sikes (2)

Timothy Corrigan (1) 

Timothy Corrigan (2)

Eddie Lee (1)

Eddie Lee (2)

Inspired by Vicente Wolf

As you know, well - you may know, Arlo and I are moving to a new apartment. It's more dog-friendly, in a more walkable neighborhood. It's not as nice as this apartment, the rooms are less formal and the floors are carpeted with a moderately neutral wall-to-wall (giving up these hardwood floors is going to be tough). But when you're renting ... how's the song go? You can't always get what you want, but sometimes, you get what you need?

Anyway - last night, I worked on upholstering some chairs I bought in Lancaster, PA this summer, and found myself in a bit of a pickle. The fabric I chose, a wool suiting fabric in the most gorgeous of mushroom/gray/brown, did not work at all with the finish on the chair, a French bergere chair with a Louis XVI rounded back, and beautiful carved detail. I was in the car, on my way back to the fabric store to pick something else, when Vicente Wolf rescued me (metaphorically) and I headed to Home Depot instead!

Vicente Wolf's Manhattan Apartment

 

 

There are times when a room will stick with me. I'm sure it happens to all of you, too. A room that you can recall the fabric, the layout, the art, the floor, the windows - even more minute details, like the orchids, or the art on chairs, the gilt wood furniture with that gorgeous mushroom upholstery. You see where I'm going with this?

 

So, yes - instead of changing the upholstery, I changed the finish of the chair. Up all night, starting the gilding process. Here's where I left it:

 

 

Sorta looks like a scene from Dexter in my dining room right now, but the chair is dry and I think all that's left to do is a little waxing, and the upholstery can start. Now, back to Vicente. The apartment is amazing, and has been done and redone a lot - so, because I'm totally inspired by it again, and I was going to research all of this for myself anyway - here's a mass of photos of the apartment in its various design stages, all very beautiful, very neutral, very layered, very Wolf. Enjoy!

 

I believe (and I could totally be wrong, feel free to correct me) that the infatuation with Vicente Wolf and his Garment District loft in NYC came after an Elle Décor feature in 2008. Vicente has been creating rooms since 1988, and has published three books, one in 2002, one in 2006, and another in 2010, but the Elle Décor article is where I seem to be able to start the initial photography:

 

 

I think these may be some of the most circulated pictures on the net. But in 2009, things had already started to change. The Wall Street Journal did a feature on Twin Lofts, and we start to see things move from room to room, and upholstery changing colors:

 

 

Veranda magazine came in shortly after and did a feature as well:

 

 

Not too much had changed. But in 2010, Vicente shared this pic of his apartment on his blog, and we see the daybed is no longer in the living room:

 

 

New York Social Diary did an interview here, and got these photos of his apartment in 2011:

 

 

In 2013, Rue Mag, an online publication did a tour and interview with Wolf, and in just those 2 years, you already see the apartment start to change a bit:

 

 



 

In 2014, Vicente had his home featured in NYC's NBC4, and their Open House feature:

 





These professional photos of the Loft were taken by One Kings Lane in April of 2015, during a tour they did as part of a sale of similar furnishings curated by Vicente:

 

 



But perhaps the most current photos of the loft, were from July of 2015, taken by Paloma of La Dolce Vita blog fame. She only shared photos of the bedroom, but they were beautiful: