Designer Spotlight: Scott Fazzini's Decor Tips and Favorite Project

You loved his home in House Tour: Scott's Airy Simplicity, now read Scott's design tips and see photos of his favorite decor project, a luxurious cream-colored bedroom. His tips include keeping things simple and not buying into trends.

The World According to Scott:
• We often talk about what makes a house a home at Apartment Therapy. What makes your house a home? I’m most at home when things are simple. I only bring things into my house that I love and have a space for (which isn’t much in my tiny place!).

• What is your signature style and how do you incorporate it into your projects? I think that my style is pretty classic. Working in DC it’s not that difficult to infuse a bit of tradition into a project.

• AT readers always looking for resourceful ways to incorporate great design into their spaces. What are your best design tips on a budget? No matter what budget is attached to a project it is, in my opinion, most important to buy well. Prioritize your project to determine what the essentials are, and try to focus wholly on those pieces. After you’ve collected the staples then you can add the layers of accessories.

• What are the most common design mistakes you see and what tips would you offer to improve them?
- Bland space planning... Pull your furniture away from the walls. And, add a little something
unexpected.
- Art hung too high... When hanging art above a chest, mantle, bed, etc. consider it part of the
composition. Hang art approximately 4” - 6” above said chest, mangle, bed, etc.

• What's your opinion on home design trends for 2009? What else do you think we can expect this year? It’s hard for me to predict design trends... I’m just not trendy enough! But, if I could dictate a trend for 2009 it would be overindulgent 80’s inspired more is more; gold leather, shimmery textiles, sequins,
lacquered finishes, mirrors, etc. We’ve been recessed long enough.

• What has been the most influential place you've visited? Sugar Tree Farm, West Virginia beautiful brick gothic revival house situated on 500 acres. I’ve been going there since I was a kid, and it always sparked inspiration. The farm was owned by a close family friend who had traveled the world, and settled in Sugar Tree Farm. This grand old 1850’s structure had been lovingly restored and fill with all of Carmella’s treasures from around the world.

• What are your tips for creating a room that will last through the years?
Don’t buy into trends... There is such a fine line between appreciating design trends and falling into the trend-trap.

Comments (14)

Lord gracious....!!!! and people was making a big fuzz about the armani interiors being too generic on a past post?

This place looks worse by miles!!!!! This place looks right out of a "rooms to go" display!!!!

I find this much more interesting and attractive than the Armani Casa interiors we've seen here - yet very restful and soothing.

(Or were you looking at the Arthaus Furniture ad, Manupty?)
;-)

I will say that Scott's apartment (which I loved) had a lot more character than this project. It does feel, for lack of a better word, generic.

It feels "purchased all at once" and lacks the attention to detail that his apartment had. Thats okay if it were a corporate apartment or a traditional hotel, but not for a home. I don't see the individual in here anywhere.

andrew1978 --

Considering most high-end design projects truly are
"Purchased all at once"...
...and photos of completed professional interior design projects are often taken after the place is staged but before the client has been back their space for very long - Yes, this probably isn't as personal as a home that someone has collected furnishings for and lived in for several years.

bepsf,

I certainly realize this, but what I love about Scott's apartment is that he has sourced things in a way that feels organic and personal. Great designers do this for their clients as well. You misunderstood what I was referring to! To quote designer Rose Tarlow--
"There are those who spend lifetimes in houses that have nothing to do with who they really are. They may be perfectly designed, yet if they fail to reflect the personalities of those who live in them, the very essence of intimacy is missing..." for more of what I am talking about, I recommend reading her famous book, A Private House.

PS, bepsf, triptychs ARE often hinged together. See my comment. Seems we can never agree!
:)

This is nice - nothing wrong with it really but at the same time; its kind of boring.

The bench and bedding needs to go, it's making me nervous.

And what's with all the chairs.

I'm digging that glass lamp.
I only see two chairs, wait I'll cross my eyes.

I count three chairs and a bench.

You know, the more I see regular folk's rooms on AT the less I like these professionally designed rooms. I used to love them, but now I see that they lack the personality that tells you that acutal people live here and enjoy doing so. This is a little boring and cliche to me.

I see a lot of the furniture in the room is made by Baker. Nothing wrong with that, but I would have expected a professional designer to source furniture from a variety of manufacturers. Of course if your client prefers a certain manufacturer, that effort ends up short-circuited.

This looks like the most elegant wonderful hotel room. I don't mean that as an insult. I used to work on hotels and they rarely have the elegance of this room, though they should. I agree that this room looks unlived in because it probably hasn't been yet. Also, designers have to go with their clients wishes. You can't fault a designer for designing an apartment that does not look like his own home. I always tell my clients, "I'm not going to live there, you are!" A designer's job is to help the client avoid design mistakes, infuse the space with the client's personalty, be beautiful and function well. This succeeds.