Paul Vincent Wiseman of The Wiseman Group

Paul Vincent Wiseman is highlighted as one of Architectural Digest's top 100 interior designers. “Trying to apply M.B.A.-style business plans to the decorating process is the biggest mistake a client can make,” Paul Vincent Wiseman is quoted in Architectural Digest . “It’s not linear, and it’s very emotional; it doesn’t fit a model!” The native Californian, who cites David Adler, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, John Saladino and Frank Lloyd Wright as muses, has run his own San Francisco-based, 32-person firm for 27 years. Wiseman“s approach is grounded in his belief in the importance of achieving harmony between objects in an interior, regardless of the style.
He recently finished a four-year collaboration with architect Ricardo Legorreta on a residence in Hawaii, and in the past year his projects have taken him from Santa Fe to New York to London. What he’s currently most excited about, however, is a Chinese pagoda-style party space he is working on stateside, which he describes as “a wonderful chinoiserie fantasy.”
To see more recent design projects by The Wiseman Group since this article was originally published, click here.

Karin Blake - Architectural Digest Top 100

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Minimalist and Americana and/or folk art aren't often paired - but designer Karin Blake has been combining them successfully for awhile. She's been on the "Architectural Digest Top 100 Interior Designers List" since its inception and she was a minamalist before there was even a word for it. Restraint is Karin Blake's signature.

The Malibu, California-based designer is a true believer in Mies van der Rohe’s philosophy that less is more. “I value negative space,” says Karin Blake, whose concise, highly edited interiors combine the whimsy of folk art with the precision of Modernism. The designer, who has many art collectors among her clientele, notes that there is a “gallery” feel to her interiors. “There’s not a lot of clutter,” she says. “Each piece stands out, even if it’s a table. I even avoid lamps whenever possible."

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Speaking of the Cape Cod summer home she purchased three years ago, ”My children were being raised in California, it was important to get them out, to get to know the East Coast.” Especially Maine. “Maine attracted me because it doesn’t have the crowding and commercialization that’s happened in other areas. I had a little farm on Martha’s Vineyard, which I stupidly sold. When I lived there, the island was so charming, making what has happened since so sad. Maine, however, filled that void.” She pauses, laughing, “No T-shirts.”
Though the original house sat lakeside on over 100 acres, “the place was in terrible condition. The floors were a mess, it needed painting inside and out, and we had to gut the kitchen. Beyond that, the two barns had to be completely salvaged.”
“I love strong, primary colors,” Blake says. “A little bit of red in every room really helps.”
A daunting task but one Blake jumped on, ultimately creating a 15-odd-room (tiny ones notwithstanding) summer vacation haven, a much-improved version of the original home, where she and her family spent “at least a month every summer.” Even more personally, its warren of rooms provided the perfect backdrop for the true passion of this decorator’s life—collecting folk art. Indeed, a walk through its cascade of spaces is a flight of the imagination, a merry jaunt through whimsical Americana.

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Karin Blake - Malibu, CA Phone: 310-456-8010 Fax: 310-456-1093

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The above article is part of an ongoing series Highlighting Top Interior Designers; other top designers recently highlighted include: Jennifer Post *** Lillian August *** Carol Bolton Hicks *** Geoffrey Bradfield *** Paul Vincent Wiseman *** Sills Huniford Associates ***

Karin Blake is one of many hugely talented designers listed in our Directory of Designers . Feel free to peruse the Directory for help with your design project.

Architectural Digest

Karin Blake - Architectural Digest Top 100 Interior Designers List

Minimalist and Americana and/or folk art aren't often paired - but designer Karin Blake has been combining them successfully for awhile. She's been on the "Architectural Digest Top 100 Interior Designers List" since its inception and she was a minamalist before there was even a word for it. Restraint is Karin Blake's signature.

The Malibu, California-based designer is a true believer in Mies van der Rohe’s philosophy that less is more. “I value negative space,” says Karin Blake, whose concise, highly edited interiors combine the whimsy of folk art with the precision of Modernism. The designer, who has many art collectors among her clientele, notes that there is a “gallery” feel to her interiors. “There’s not a lot of clutter,” she says. “Each piece stands out, even if it’s a table. I even avoid lamps whenever possible."

---

Speaking of the Cape Cod summer home she purchased three years ago, ”My children were being raised in California, it was important to get them out, to get to know the East Coast.” Especially Maine. “Maine attracted me because it doesn’t have the crowding and commercialization that’s happened in other areas. I had a little farm on Martha’s Vineyard, which I stupidly sold. When I lived there, the island was so charming, making what has happened since so sad. Maine, however, filled that void.” She pauses, laughing, “No T-shirts.”
Though the original house sat lakeside on over 100 acres, “the place was in terrible condition. The floors were a mess, it needed painting inside and out, and we had to gut the kitchen. Beyond that, the two barns had to be completely salvaged.”
“I love strong, primary colors,” Blake says. “A little bit of red in every room really helps.”
A daunting task but one Blake jumped on, ultimately creating a 15-odd-room (tiny ones notwithstanding) summer vacation haven, a much-improved version of the original home, where she and her family spent “at least a month every summer.” Even more personally, its warren of rooms provided the perfect backdrop for the true passion of this decorator’s life—collecting folk art. Indeed, a walk through its cascade of spaces is a flight of the imagination, a merry jaunt through whimsical Americana.

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Karin Blake - Malibu, CA Phone: 310-456-8010 Fax: 310-456-1093

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The above article is part of an ongoing series Highlighting Top Interior Designers; other top designers recently highlighted include: Jennifer Post *** Lillian August *** Carol Bolton Hicks *** Geoffrey Bradfield *** Paul Vincent Wiseman *** Sills Huniford Associates ***

Karin Blake is one of many hugely talented designers listed in our Directory of Designers . Feel free to peruse the Directory for help with your design project.

Architectural Digest

Jacques Saint Dizier - Top 100 Architectural Digest Interior Designer

When you learn how to see ideal proportions, you feel great satisfaction. You can use your knowledge of proportion in every aspect of your life. Although there is a scientific standard for ideal proportions, your eye can be trained to see and envision proper proportions as well as to recognize ill proportion. To the untrained eye, proportion is abstract and complex, yet it is the most pervasive principle of seeing. The ancient Greeks called proportion the soul of what we see.

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Sometimes determining ideal proportions can be overwhelming. If you are in need of some professional interior design assistance, our Directory of Designers can help you locate a professional in your area. Working with an interior designer helps assure you get the look you desire while helping eliminate costly mistakes.

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He says that every person has a truely-unique feeling regarding his or her home. He believes it only makes sense that every home be unique. Perhaps cliche, this thinking may explain why Jacques Saint Dizier (1) earns accolades from the toughest critics designers can face - their own clients and (2) is on the list of Architectural Digest Top 100 Interior Designers .

Saint Dizier Design has completed outstanding projects both commercial and residential all across the globe. His design firm Saint Dizier Design is responsible for the exquisite interior design at the historic De Anza Hotel, the tallest hotel in the San Jose central business district. The De Anza is a 10-story concrete and steel-reinforced, high-rise building and is San Jose's most luxurious hotel. It is also significant for its architectural style; it is one of San Jose's few Zig Zag Moderne (Art Deco) buildings and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Saint Dizier also operates a San Francisco based home furnishings and design store called Saint Dizier Home. The highly successful shop carries numerous product lines including: * Hickory Chair * Henredon * Ralph Lauren Home - Saint Dizier's Shop has one of the largest collections of Ralph Lauren in the San Francisco area).

Saint Dizier started his design profession working 12-years in New York City for Angelo Donghia , who in the 70’s and early 80’s, enjoyed a client list that was a virtual who’s who of celebrities and design stars (including Halston, Liza Minelli, Donald and Ivana Trump, Mary Tyler Moore, Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren).
He currently splits his time between Healdsburg, Sonoma County with his design firm, Saint Dizier Design and San Francisco the location of his furniture and design store, Saint Dizier Home.

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The above article is part of an ongoing series Highlighting Top Interior Designers; other top designers recently highlighted include: Jennifer Post *** Karin Blake *** Lillian August *** Carol Bolton Hicks *** Geoffrey Bradfield *** Paul Vincent Wiseman *** ___ *** Sills Huniford Associates ***

Jacques Saint Dizier is also listed in our Directory Of Designers, click here.

Jennifer Post

Jennifer Post is one of Architectural Digest's Top 100 Interior Designers and we're intrigued and pleased to present her here.
Design project photographs shown here are from the designer's own website, http://www.jenniferpostdesign.com/ and represent a project in a pre-war building in New York, entitled "Apthorp," it is a High End Residential Landmark Building, consisting of some 2,000 sq. ft.

Known for her elegantly minimal approach to design, Jennifer Post creates “clean, sophisticated, modern interiors,” using light and volume like artists’ tools. An unabashed perfectionist, she believes firmly that beauty lies in the details, both in the interior design and in the architecture. “My number one goal is to achieve my client’s vision,” she points out. “I am highly disciplined and extremely focused on my work and my philosophy. I build around light and try to accentuate the natural source of light, and, if I have to, I alter the interior architecture to accomplish this. Furthermore, I will not compromise on a finish or a texture or a fabric, and my clients appreciate this.”

Far from severe, a typical Post interior is seamless, with a “feeling of freedom and an understated sense of luxury,” she maintains. “I believe one lives and feels best in an uncluttered environment. After all, the less you have, the more elegant a home looks, and you can then enjoy your finest things. My interiors are luscious and comfortable and extremely functional.”

For more information about Jennifer Post Design, click here.

Paul Vincent Wiseman

Paul Vincent Wiseman is highlighted as one of Architectural Digest's top 100 interior designers. “Trying to apply M.B.A.-style business plans to the decorating process is the biggest mistake a client can make,” Paul Vincent Wiseman is quoted in Architectural Digest . “It’s not linear, and it’s very emotional; it doesn’t fit a model!” The native Californian, who cites David Adler, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, John Saladino and Frank Lloyd Wright as muses, has run his own San Francisco-based, 32-person firm for 27 years. Wiseman“s approach is grounded in his belief in the importance of achieving harmony between objects in an interior, regardless of the style.

He recently finished a four-year collaboration with architect Ricardo Legorreta on a residence in Hawaii, and in the past year his projects have taken him from Santa Fe to New York to London. What he’s currently most excited about, however, is a Chinese pagoda-style party space he is working on stateside, which he describes as “a wonderful chinoiserie fantasy.”

For more information about Paul Vincent Wiseman, click here.