I recently met up with a fellow interior designer who had reached out to me as an enthusiast of colour, personality and layered design in interiors and we became fast friends over a caffè at La Tana. We were exchanging stories of how we started our own companies and, reaching even further back, how we started in design and I found it an interesting exercise to encapsulate my [origin] story for her - so here it is:

Whether inside our out and however plentiful or modest, a dose of floral in your surroundings is a balm for the soul. Flowers can soften the hard-edges of a room (think bathrooms and kitchens) as well as brighten darker spaces with colour and pattern. They can add colour, pattern, freshness, whimsy, nostalgia or echo other places in the world - they offer a layer of interest and can reflect an aspect of your personality.

We emerged into the light of the city via Penn Station, received by refracted sunlight, massive columns, yellow cabs immediately in my way, boom-box music, colourful voices, throngs of people…wonderful chaos. We walked past a line up for a Billy Joel concert - “New York state of mind…” how appropriate (was this a planned reception? If so, thank you).

In its 49th year, the Kips Bay Decorator Show House is considered a harbinger of spring in the city and on the day I visited the flowering trees and freshness in the air seemed fitting to what I was met with indoors. The mission of The Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club is to ‘enrich and enhance the quality of life for young people’, nurturing kids aged 6-18 in the Bronx to reach their full potential through arts, education, sports and life skill programs. With 24 designers, countless vendors, trades and sponsors, the 5-floor Lenox Hill (Upper East Side) neo-Georgian townhouse was bedecked with beautiful expressions of enrichment.

It’s a thrill that never gets old: connecting people with artwork that they love - and I mean capital L.O.V.E. It sounds simple enough but when working with a client it can be challenging to tap into what resonates with them and make suggestions they will be drawn to. I often joke that it’s easier to buy someone underwear than it is to buy them art!

‘Tomatoes on a plate drizzled with olive oil…’ this is what one client used to describe to me her vision for her home. Concept is not about identifying what the finished product is going to look like but what it’s going to feel like. ‘Tomatoes on a plate’ made me feel something: inviting, relaxed, classic, space for life’s mess, and enjoyment.

Like the ingredients on our plates, the materials that make up our indoor spaces are just as important to our health.

Like a well set table, a well wrapped gift tells the recipient they are about to experience something wonderful. A few ideas I enjoy (and, as we are tasked with wrapping gifts this time of year, why not make it a little fun?)

I grew up in a house with tiles everywhere. They were on all the usual surfaces: floors, bathroom walls and the kitchen splash but they were also in unusual places: the kitchen countertop, window sills, table tops and wall decor. For Italians, tile has been a go-to surfacing product since ancient Rome (timeless decor anyone?). Personally, growing up Italian and with a tile-setter father, this meant tile is quite literally in my blood and under my fingernails.

Creating spaces that are personal, built on the client’s story and designed for a life well lived. A look back at our Chancellor Boulevard project and the details that went into bringing charm and personality into a town home in the University District.

I adore setting the table. Each plate, napkin, glass and fork is like paint on a canvas, creating a composition unique to my personal taste and what it is that I wish my guests to experience. We start eating with our eyes, beginning the the enjoyment of the meal that is to come with the expectation set by a well-laid table.

19 Questions with Francesca Albertazzi, founder and creative director of Studio Albertazzi. Find out what inspires her, what she collects in Italy and what she just has to do with chopstick wrappers!

My kitchen was always going to be green. The kitchen looks out on to our beloved garden, one we’ve been tending to my whole life. The green of the kitchen is an echo - perhaps ode - to this garden and the joy that it brings.

I often say that if a house plant is happy in a space, us humans will be too.

The kitchen table has always been where everything happens in my house and in most houses I love.

Design with romance.

I want your home to be seductive, something you fall in love with.

Lighting Tells a Story.

Any light fixture, like everything else in your home, is an opportunity to tell a little something about yourself

My Holiday Table - created with love.

A love affair with arches.

Italian ingredients.