From the earliest age I can remember spending countless hours arranging and rearranging the furniture in my childhood bedroom. It was clear that a passion for creating experience was part of my make-up and that I was headed for a career in design. After studying architecture at Pratt Institute for a year, I went on to earn my degree in interior design from Parsons School of Design, I was lucky eno
ugh to work with one of the best design firms in New York City – B Five Studio. Over the course of five years with the firm, I learned to work with some of the best crafts people and contractors in the city and expanded my design skills and knowledge in developing a broad and deep foundation that allowed me to establish my own firm in 2000. My process begins with getting to know my clients through relaxed sessions of talking and looking so that I can develop an understanding of how, through design, I can enrich the way they experience their daily lives. Every one of my projects has my complete attention and total involvement from start to finish. I believe how one uses a space can only be enhanced by a play of juxtapositions, intelligent solutions to problems, sophisticated use of forms, and subtle use of materials. Over the years I have nurtured relationships with talented craftspeople whom I highly value as an essential extension of my firm. Their knowledge and skills allow me to experiment with materials and finishes and produce furnishings customized to a client’s space and needs. I am drawn to natural materials that reference the environment around them, whether city or country, and believe that the surfaces one lives with should always have a connection to the organic. To me, a serene interior is best achieved through the use of finishes that enhance a material’s innate quality, a palette derived as much from materials as from applied color, and a subtly stimulating variety of textures. An interior, no matter how richly appointed, should be comfortable, never stuffy. If I have done my job well, the space will speak to my client’s needs and delight them with beautiful details, moments, and ease. My goal is that every client feels that his or her interior is not only inspiring and original but also truly feels like home.
-Martin Raffone
