2026 AD100 Debut!
I was just seven years old when I received my first Architectural Digest subscription, catapulting me into worlds where my imagination would roam fearlessly among its pages, month after month. An avid reader even then, AD brought the far-flung into my own two hands, and its stories provided a tangiable vision of my future at such a young age.
To be recognized by that same premier publication years later — for giving a dose of those visions via homes, projects, and a successful AD YouTube series — feels like completing a circle which will only grow larger and bolder over time.
I have endless thanks for my AD family, including @amyastley@alevasseur1@samuelcochran@_h_mart_@madelineomalley_ who have believed in me since day one, and who have provided opportunity after opportunity to celebrate my work in front of larger and larger audiences.
It’s a privilege to work alongside the most talented people in the industry, to have mentors who have lifted me up, and to have the most fearless of clients become the closest of friends.
And exactly how AD influenced me when l was only seven years old, it’s an honor to now provide others with that same far-flung imagination, so that they can envision that a richly beautiful world can also be their own one day.
In the kitchen, we leaned into a more moody direction, taking cues from the verdant and wooded property surrounding the house.
Our clients wanted a place to sip their morning teas and to remind them of the English countryside, so our muralist painted the backyard drenched in an enveloping foggy mist, surrounded by new denim-colored cabinetry and copper fixtures. Hidden on the walls are little visitors my clients have named — various raccoons, beavers (which I’ve discovered are incredibly curious animals!) and the hawks that have nested in the magnolia and oak trees directly outside.
Photos 1, 3, 4, 5 @victorstonem
Styling and photo 2 @brooks__william
Florals @sweetblossomfloral
Story @sean_santiago@archdigest
Mural artist @artisanrooms
The primary suite in our latest SoHo project, featured in @archdigest
Mind churning, the designer set to work assembling an array of visual references, many of them cinematic (the 1986 erotic drama 9½ Weeks, the 1978 horror film Eyes of Laura Mars) and fashion-related (Halston’s town house). Folded into his collage-style presentations was a crash course in recent design history. Think: the carpeted built-ins of Bray-Schaible, the High-Tech innovations of Joe D’Urso, and the stainless-steel platforms of Gae Aulenti. “Darren was great about giving me options and knowing when to push me outside my comfort zone,” reflects the homeowner
Thank you @archdigest@amyastley@samuelcochran@alevasseur1@michaelsshome@chiouchris
Photography @hauisangela Styling @martinrbourne
Scenes from a Chicago mid-construction check-in, with a moody bedroom, a chili red lacquered salon, and a graphic tiled kitchen. More to come this summer!
Scenes from an install, featuring perhaps my favorite find so far this year… a pair of highly unusual nesting tables by German designer Lothar Klute with bronze forged legs and cast glass. COMING SOON.
My favorite room has long been Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé’s music room at 55 rue de Babylone. Conceived over nearly 10 years, the room was swathed with gilt bronze and cast flower mirrors by Claude Lalanne, her biggest commission to date in 1974. The room reflected candlelight across its lacquered walls, and laughter and gossip echoed from the likes of Betty Catroux, Liza Minnelli, and Andy Warhol, among others.
Long out of sight in storage, these are now on view at Sotheby’s New York, part of the special collection of Jean and Terry du Gunzburg which hits the auction block today. To experience them in person was a special moment.
The child’s nursery in our Bexley project is enveloped in a custom “Jungle Madness” wallpaper by @voutsa , with jungle animals hidden throughout. The Bunny Williams bed is a perfect place for the parents to nap with their new arrival, next to a vintage painted rattan desk by Grange. The bookcase features an assortment of objects found on buying trips including 1950s leather wrapped giraffes from Italy and tribal coconut masks from Timor.
Photos by @victorstonem
Styling by @brooks__william@artisans_and
Story @sean_santiago for @archdigest
The primary bathroom in our Bexley Tudor Revival project is centered around a custom free-floating copper and nickel tub. The mosaics were handmade in Morocco, and the medicine cabinet fronts were created by artisans in India. The lighting is Italian and French, completing a bathroom that mixes my clients heritage with their interests and travels.
Photo @victorstonem
Styling @brooks__william
Story @sean_santiago@archdigest
Weekend mood. The peacock-lacquered wet bar in this Tudor home was designed with my clients’ favorite hotel bars in mind, and it was made by local Amish builders. The brass planters are Egyptian, and the early 1800s wooden statue is from a temple in Gujarat, India.
Photo @victorstonem
Styling @brooks__william
Floral @sweetblossomfloral
Story @sean_santiago@archdigest
It’s no secret that I love a freestanding shower. I also love freestanding sinks. In a large bathroom within the guest wing, we were able to have both by studying North African references from my client’s travels and their desire for unique experiences in each part of their home. And on the occasion when they or their guests are feeling a bit less adventurous, a moody tub niche awaits in the corner.
Photo @victorstonem
Styling @brooks__william
Story @sean_santiago@archdigest
The daybed niche in our Tudor Revival home was inspired by European country estates. Formerly the wet bar (which we relocated to be more central to the action), this hidden spot with its gaufrage velvet is the perfect place for a weekend nap.
Photo @victorstonem
Styling @brooks__william
Story @sean_santiago@archdigest
