Designer QnA: Tori Golub Dreams of Italy
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Beaver Creek Getaway: a Colorado lodge with mountain views and tons of natural light was transformed by Tori from a dark, traditional lodge decor scheme to the serene stunner you see here. She created plush seating groups that mix custom pieces and iconic midcentury design classics. A three-arm floor lamp designed by Serge Mouile illuminates a window seat area, opposite a sculptural Fantasma floor lamp by Tobia Scarpa. The sconces were custom commissioned by Tori. A Warren Platner coffee table is the centerpiece of a quartet of voluptuous lounge chairs. The teak and rosewood credenza is by Kipp Stewart for Calvin Furniture, circa 1960. Photo: David O. Marlow |
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ori Golub has been involved in the New York design world for over twenty years, beginning her career as a fashion and set stylist, next joining Andrew Frank Interior Design, and finally launching her own residential design firm in 1995. Since that time, the firm has enjoyed great success and recognition, with work featured in design publications including Elle Decor, Metropolitan Home, HC & G, The New York Times and House Beautiful, in which she was listed among the top 100 designers. She received the Stars of Design Award in 2013. Currently, the firm is working on a ground up construction project in Sagaponack, New York, along with design projects in Amagansett and Manhattan.
Tori’s work is characterized by her trademark muted tones, and a distinctive combination of materials and textures resulting in serenely beautiful environments with a twist. Her firm's attention to detail, collaborative nature and custom design capabilities, which include a growing line of furnishings, always result in creative and unique solutions that meet the needs of the most discerning clients. Playful combinations of scale and a juxtaposition of styles make Tori Golub interiors unmistakable.
With her dream design project — her own Amalfi Coast villa — in mind, Tori shopped the offerings from Incollect’s dealers and assembled a collection that mirrors her unique aesthetic. Sensual upholstered curves abound in pieces from Mattia Bonetti, Jean Royére, Vladimir Kagan, Pierre Paulin and de Sede. Tori might then introduce a piquant counterpoint with the sculptural profile of James Anthony Bearden's Cavernous Side Table or Marcel Wanders lacy Knotted Chair. A pair of 18th century Roman console tables, a dash of Gio Ponti, and layers and layers of lighting. . . .
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 | Role model: Patricia Urquiola. She can translate her vision to any medium — that inspires me |
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 | Necessary extravagance: A wood burning fireplace with andirons |
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 | Secret vice: Eating my son's Nutella |
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 | Hidden talent totally unrelated to design: Parallel parking — it's a spatial thing |
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 | Go-to color scheme: I am into nude and yellow right now, but tomorrow I may have other ideas |
DISCOVER TORI GOLUB’S INCOLLECT FAVORITES
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PHILIP ARCTANDER Philip Arctander "Clam" Armchair JF Chen | STEPHEN ANTONSON The Earle Chandelier Liz O'Brien |
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ARMELLE BENOIT Adjustable Sconces Twenty First Gallery | IN THE STYLE OF ROGER CAPRON French Tile and Steel Coffee Table De Angelis |
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| Self-portrait with Monkey, 1938 by Frida Kahlo. Courtesy of www.FridaKahlo.org |
Tell us something about you that is not in your bio.
When I was a 12 year old girl, I decided I wanted to be an “interior decorator” and to have a pet monkey when I grew up. Some childhood fantasies do come true! (but I never got the monkey!)
What excites you most about the design process?
Everything! Each project is an opportunity to develop new ideas, bring them to life, and to express my creative dreams.
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Tori designed the leather puzzle-piece headboard in soothing tones of gray, mauve and taupe. A vintage 1970s Saporiti Italia lounge chair was a sentimental favorite of the family, and Tori gave it a new life with zingy citron velvet upholstery, pairing it with another piece from the 70s, Paul Evans’s iconic Cityscape side table. Photo by Adrian Wilson. |
SHOP TORI’S INCOLLECT FAVORITES
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PAAVO TYNELL 1950s A1957 Counterweight Pendant Two Enlighten | PAUL EVANS Paul Evans designed Chrome Cabinet 1970/p> Talisman London |
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PIERRE PAULIN Model 300 Lounge Chair for Artifort, 1960 Möbel von Wert | ROBERTO GIULIO RIDA Pair of Table Lamps, Italy, 2000 Fred Silberman |
How do clients push you to think outside of the box and challenge you?
I learn the particular tastes and wishes of my clients, whether it’s a favorite color, family heirloom, or a need for multifunctional spaces that really work for them (like a dining area/library/office, or an eat-in kitchen/family room or a dressing room/lounge) and then I bring them into existence in their homes. The problem solving that is an integral part of the design process is challenging and exhilarating. It's both an intellectual and creative exercise; an exploration of possibilities, and each time, I learn more about how people think and live, which makes me a better designer.
Name an architect, artist or designer, living or dead, you’d love to collaborate with and why?
Dries Van Noten, an innovative and gifted fashion designer from Antwerp. I’d love to design a collection of furnishings and work with him to do the textiles and seaming. And I’d love to design a restaurant or hotel with him. The way I think about interiors is linked to and inspired by fashion. It’s where I conjure a palette of color, texture and style, then I know when I’ve got it just right. It’s getting the perfect balance between practicality and fantasy that I love about fashion and the immediacy of it — that’s what I’d like to be able to learn from Dries. He is a master.
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| Dries Van Noten and his Airedale Harry in his Antwerp studio. Photo courtesy of Habitually Chic. |
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| Tori created her atmospheric “Winter Solstice” parlor for Incollect at Holiday House NYC, with pieces sourced from Incollect dealers. Left: Carlo Bugatti’s rare “Mosque” chair, courtesy Milord Antiques, with a drop leaf cabinet by Jacques Jarrige, courtesy Valerie Goodman Gallery and an Ellen Carey photo-silkscreen from Ro Gallery. Right: Fontana Arte’s Dahlia chandelier from Donzella oversees a seating group composed of a resin coffee table by Jean-Claude Dresse from Milord Antiques, with a blue vase by Pino Esposito from Lost City Arts, and Marco Zanuso lounge chairs circa 1959 from Donzella. On a back-lit panel, hangs a pair of gilt metal sculpted doors by William Bowie, sourced from Newel. Photos: Francesco Lagnese |
SHOP TORI’S INCOLLECT FAVORITES
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MARCO ZANUSO Pair of Armchairs for Arflex, Italy, 1960s Original in Berlin | Indo-Portuguese Bone-Inlaid Fall Front Cabinet, Solomon Treasure |
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MARCIN RUSAK Flora Low Table Twenty First Gallery | PUCCI DE ROSSI Porte Manteau Twenty First Gallery |
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What is your favorite object in your home, and how and when did you acquire it?
A miniature bronze African boy sculpture by Karl Hagenauer from Austria. He was made somewhere between 1930-40. I began collecting them shortly before I became pregnant with my son, who’s now 14, and they are quite difficult to find. The simple form has so much expression while being nearly featureless; he’s very precious to me.
How does a design project start for you? Is there a particular element that you always start with that inspires the whole project?
Talking to the people I design for, that’s how I discover what’s important for their lives and I start there. Whether it’s entertaining, cooking and family, books, art, serenity, music. I want each space to be useful to the people I’m designing it for so they don’t end up with rooms that look beautiful, but sit empty.
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| Spare and sculptural with a controlled palette, a Landmark loft living/dining area features midcentury classics: a pair of Eero Saarinen’s 1948-designed Womb chairs with ottomans, and a 1950 design from Poul Kjærholm, the PK-33 stool, surrounding a live-edge slab coffee table. Photo by Aaron Fedor. |
SHOP TORI’S INCOLLECT FAVORITES
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GEORGE NAKASHIMA Special Bench/Coffee Table, 1957 Moderne Gallery | SERGIO RODRIGUES Cabinet Peter Blake Gallery |
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GUILLERME ET CHAMBRON Grand repos French oak lounge chairs made for Votre Maison Pavilion Antiques | POUL VOLTHER Daybed Orange Los Angeles |
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Photo: Mike Lester |
What is your dream project?
One where I’m presented with a fabulous empty space, preferably an old building or home with beautiful architectural details and a patina of its own. Maybe a rustic villa on the Amalfi Coast of Italy that I would transform into an eclectic and natural mix of haute style and casual, with beautiful textiles, furniture pieces both modern and antique, and lighting, art and design from all over the world! Oh — and one more thing — it would be mine!
What is your favorite part of the install process?
Finishing touches!
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Left: The dining area in a Landmark loft illuminated by a pair of tiered vintage Venetian glass chandeliers. The table was custom commissioned by Tori and artisan crafted. The bowl sculpture is by Dan Pollock, created from a recycled cottonwood tree stump. Photo by Aaron Fedor. Right: A playful yet sophisticated combination of shape and scale that is a hallmark of Tori's aesthetic: Hans Wegner’s 1960-designed Ox Chair and ottoman with a sculptural floor lamp by Ingo Maurer and a cast bronze side table. |
SHOP TORI’S INCOLLECT FAVORITES
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GREGORY NANGLE Cleaving Stool Wexler Gallery | ILMARI TAPIOVAARA Maija the Bee Floor Lamp Studio Schalling |
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DIEGO MATTHAI Set of Six Sillas Mexico "Mexican Chairs" Tishu | AYALA SERFATY 'Once, 2018' - Soma Collection Galerie BSL |
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Do you have a signature element — something you always include when styling an interior?
Lots of amazing lighting: chandeliers, table and floor lamps, sconces. Layers of light to create ambiance, to evoke a mood and of course, for functionality. I’m interested in lighting from many different design periods, from super-minimal new designs including my own signature lighting, to Italian mid-century and Venetian glass, Viennese blown glass and Weiner Werkstadtt lighting. '60s Mod. French — Pierre Guariche and Chareau, and midcentury ceramic lamps by Jacques Blin and Georges Jouve. The simplicity of Scandinavian and American designs. Light is very important to me. It brings life and its warmth inhabits the space. I love lighting that disappears, I love lighting that makes a statement, but truly, there is nothing like sunlight!
Tell us what you love about Incollect and what one can expect sourcing with us.
I was fortunate to work with Incollect on a designer showhouse called Holiday House in New York. I found EVERYTHING for my space on the site. I connected directly with the vendors, and Incollect made the process seamless.
They have great relationships with the very best vendors and a fabulous collection of high end new designs along with antiques, art and jewels.
I had an amazing time selecting these picks for my dream projects!!
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| A skylight and a bank of windows along with a sleek banquette frame the dining area in a penthouse duplex. Verner Panton’s distinctive swiveling Cone Chairs, originally designed for a restaurant, surround a live-edge dining table. |
SHOP TORI’S INCOLLECT FAVORITES
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DAN CHRISTENSEN Pollux Berry Campbell | PRESCOLITE Large Scale Cylindrical Pendants Gallery L7 |
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JACQUES ADNET Pair of 60s Brushed Steel and Leather Side Chairs Galerie Andre Hayat | GIO PONTI 1940s Bucchero Vase White Court Art |
