Elite designer Richard Mishaan mixes authentic with lavish

Richard Mishaan, one of New York’s leading architectural/interior designers, is renowned for sumptuous interiors that combine carefully curated antiques, vintage pieces, and decorative objects with bold pattern and color. He is on the Elle Décor A list as well as the AD 100. Mishaan is the author of Modern Luxury and Artfully Modern.” released by The Monacelli Press at Random House. For the grand salon/library (above and below) he created for this year’s Kip’s Bay Boys & Girls Club Decorator Show House (through Tuesday, June 6 at 125 East 65th Street) Mishaan says, “My inspiration is a room that was collected over time. Much like the old families in Venice or Florence who coveted the workmanship of their artisans, and  bought silks and velvets when available and layered them with what they had. Treasured items were purchased over time, with the vision of a curator assembling a museum show. I have been as disciplined and academic in the selection of the contents of the room (having had a short time to do so) but feel I have achieved the eclecticism found in the rooms I speak of. In each of my homes I have a room such as this one we call the library although it is more than that, it is the room we most use to entertain in.”

Mishaan said he used Fortuny fabrics, animal prints in silk velvet and yards and of gimps, cords and woven tape to create a backdrop for the room’s layered decor . “A wall covering printed in London that depicts a room straight out of the Topkapi palace is layered upon with orientalist art and a contemporary Audubon painting by Walton Ford. The provenance and historic value of each item in the room makes it a journey through time, but the sum of the parts will be what is most memorable.”

Mishaan says what informs the soul and the mind is culture and travel. “Design based on heritage creates a legacy that transcends trends or styles, making it timeless and pure.” He also cites a love of craftsmanship as found in handmade artisanal textiles, porcelain and other decorative arts for providing him with the elements “that make an environment stand out.”