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Christian Siriano is known for making bold statements. But even for someone who dressed Billy Porter in a tuxedo ballgown for the Oscars and popularized the phrase fierce, his move from an antique Colonial house to a modernist dwelling with 11-foot-high windows is a rather dramatic one. “I was looking for a full refresh,” the fashion designer and Project Runway mentor says of his architectural 180. “I felt like my life was a little chaotic. The last year or two, I just haven’t stopped—doing shows, collections, collaborations. I was like, I need a break. I wanted something zen and easy.”
He found it in the form of a sleek, airy structure of wood and stucco boxes in the coastal Connecticut town of Westport—a stylistic anomaly in a region known for traditional shingle houses. Designed by architect Bolek Ryzinski in collaboration with RAAD Studio, its location near the beach was part of the draw. (The first such place Siriano bought eight years ago is further inland in Danbury.) “Full vacation mode,” he says of what was intended to be a weekend escape.
Christian Siriano in the kitchen of his Westport, Connecticut, home, where he’s been quarantining since March. He replaced the brushed nickel hardware originally on the cabinetry with matte black to connect it to the house’s oversized black window frames.
Of course, timing is everything. Siriano closed on the house in February, and less than a month later, as COVID-19 sent the country into lockdown, he and his partner, Kyle Smith, a menswear designer, were sheltering there full-time. In the five months since, Siriano has experienced an aha moment. “It’s like another world up here,” he says. “It’s quiet. We’re completely surrounded by nature.” He’s even taken up cooking. “We sit down at the dining table almost every night. It feels like more real life. New Yorkers order food all the time, and watch a show.” The commute to the city is so manageable that he’s now considering downsizing his Manhattan apartment and staying put.
When it came to furnishing, Siriano had already gotten a jump start. “I’m a pretty heavy weekend antiquer,” he says, noting that the garage of his Danbury home served as a storage unit for contemporary design treasures he had amassed over time but previously had no place for. Among them were a pair of teak Danish midcentury chairs and a Pierre Paulin sofa that “was torn to shreds, so I got it super cheap,” says Siriano. He raided his apartment and office, too. A glass coffee table that had spent five years in his atelier now serves as the centerpiece of his open living room alongside a pair of vintage Mario Bellini for Cassina chairs culled from his apartment.
The scene is set for a day of lounging. A bean-shaped gunite pool surrounded by park-like greenery unfolds just beyond the modernist home, which was designed by architect Bolek Ryzinski in collaboration with RAAD Studio.
The house’s white walls, lofty ceilings, and expansive spaces are the perfect backdrop for his ever-evolving collection. “This architecture just felt like a way to showcase all the things I love, kind of like a gallery space,” he says. “My office is an old 1800s building. I was in all these more period-like settings. I just became obsessed with the idea of light and being surrounded by nature.” So much so that he eschewed curtains throughout. “I want the light,” he declares. “We wake up to it. I was always nervous that modernism wasn’t livable. I’m trying to make sure it’s still comfortable, that we can still hang out.”
One hobby he’s taken up during quarantine is furniture design. His office plays host to his Lula settee, featuring circular back cushions and a bench base of white bouclé atop triangulated wood legs, and downstairs in the living area there’s a chair with similarly playful geometric proportions. “I like that they look like little dresses or people,” says Siriano. After sharing a glimpse of the settee on his Instagram, he recently received his first commission. “It was fabulous. I just posted a snippet and this interior designer reached out. They’re going to do it at the foot of a bed, which I love. It will be super chic.” His foray into interiors is gaining legs in more ways than one: He is also designing the penthouse suite for the upcoming London Hotel in West Hollywood, where, he says, all of the dining chairs will be his own.
Siriano’s office and art studio feature a CB2 desk, Oswald Haerdtl for Thonet chair, and a custom bouclé and wood settee of Siriano’s own design.
The main closet boasts a floor-to-ceiling window and custom cabinetry; 1950s Italian chair from Chairish.
Fashion designer and Project Runway mentor Christian Siriano has been quarantining in his modernist Westport, Connecticut, home since March. In the kitchen, natural wood cabinetry topped with Pietra Cardosa stone lends understated drama. The bar stools are 1950s Frederick Weinberg that Siriano had restored.
Muriel Coleman chairs surround an table in the dining room. The 1940s console displays a painting by Gee Gee Collins above and is flanked by a pair of 1970s Mackintosh for chairs. Through the glass doors to the right lies a wine cellar. Italian Fine Wine specialist Sara Maule helped Christian curate the assortment.
Siriano curated some of his favorite design treasures in the open living room, where a Pierre Paulin sofa and Mario Bellini for chairs mingle around a glass coffee table. He found the vintage 1970s settee on and reupholstered it in shearling. The large painting on the back wall is by artist Eser Gündüz.
Elsewhere in the living room, a painting by Josh Young floats above the black stone fireplace; Danish midcentury teak chairs sit in front of it.
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发表于 2020-8-24 19:02:26
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