Elle Décor June '10, "A-lst"
pages 67-76 by the editors of Elle Décor
Coming up with our first A-List of 25 interior designers wasn’t easy. The editors of ELLE DÉCOR spent weeks sifting, sorting, discussing, and examining. We studied photographs, paged through back issues, and navigated websites. We argued – correction: make that conversed in lively fashion – late into the night. The goal was to produce a list of authentic tastemakers in the U.S. whose rooms reflect the passions of ELLE DÉCOR – high style, serious comfort, snappy ideas – and whose innovative approach to the art of decoration will be studied for generations. We’ve also included a shortlist of five up-and-coming interior designers we think are on their way to influencing the way you live, emerging talents you might not have heard of yet but whose intriguing spaces promise bright futures.
These lists are only the beginning, however. At elledecor.com you will soon find more information on each of these 30 in our new Designer Registry, as well as our selection of design’s Grand Masters, those talents whose work is already so prominent and influential that their status is unquestioned.
Each year ELLE DÉCOR’s A-List will grow richer and more diverse. Because if there’s one thing we know, it’s that design never stops getting better. So without further ado, welcome to our magazine’s inaugural salute to the rising stars. And if you think we’ve overlooked an inspiring designer or design team, let us know. On ELLE DÉCOR’s A-List, there’s always room for more. Upholstered pieces designed by Fox-Nahem blend with antique lighting, vintage French chairs, and a worldly mix of period and contemporary art and objects. And the firm’s patient electrician made sure that every antique and mid-century lamp and light fixture introduced to the house worked perfectly. In the end, the adventurous transformation garnered the praise Nahem most values: “It looks like the people that live here.”
JOE NAHEM
A creator of restrained and elegant rooms with a modern attitude. Nahem is a master at using sculptural vintage furnishings (French designers of the 1940s and George Nakashima are favorites, as are more quirky, colorful pieces by Karl Springer and Verner Panton), which he mixes with custom-made items, glittering accessories, and bold contemporary artworks. The results are dynamic and quietly dramatic rooms – highly textured spaces where history meets the future. foxnahem.com