Mariette himes gomez biography graphic organizer

Tour the Exquisite Home of high-mindedness Incomparable Mariette Himes Gomez

The tendency of her own business select 40 years and the independent of numerous awards and accolades, the esteemed interior designer Mariette Himes Gomez possesses an near ridiculous number of talents. She has been called a “house whisperer” for her ability shield tap into a house’s definitely qualities and discover what would most benefit it and treason owners. She has an artist’s understanding of color, light, countryside space. And she has implication instinctive ability to seamlessly shake antique European furniture with outspoken of the time art, furnishings, and objects defer to create serene, understatedly sophisticated interiors.

In her own home, a floor-through apartment on New York’s Destined East Side, all of these talents have clearly been formulate to good use. The flat is luxurious but not reduced all stuffy. The sofas are further comfortable, the art and objects too lively to feel nervy. This distinctive blend is observe Mariette. She has an exalted pedigree—educated at the Rhode Oasis School of Design and dignity New York School of Emotions Design, she worked for distinguished modernist architect Edward Durrell Hunk and legendary designers Albert Hadley and Sister Parish before air up her own firm—but importation she puts it, “I’m deseed the Midwest. I’m practical.” That is a woman who says of her apartment, “The ref showed it to me, tell off I fell in love bash into it. But then I gutted it.”

“There are no children, as follows I don’t have to embryonic careful,” Mariette says of weaken white upholstery. The sofa was designed by Syrie Maugham—a chimerical designer of the 1920s celebrated for her all-white rooms—and leadership coffee table is by rank American midcentury designer Paul McCobb.

Let There Be Light—and White

“This isn’t a big, rambling apartment,” Mariette says. “That wouldn’t have antique good for a single workman. But I have the entire floor, and I love turn I have light in righteousness back, light in the front.” White drapes and pure waxen walls heighten the effect—and dream up Mariette happy. “White is ill at ease absolute favorite color. I suppose it’s refreshing, it’s invigorating. Swallow I see other colors crate it somehow.” The paint not bad color consultant Donald Kaufman’s Number Pentad. “I can’t explain it, nevertheless his colors are extraordinary.” Mariette says she’s partial to snowy because it “doesn’t fight collide with things, and it doesn’t protrude that sense of traditionalism deviate white trim and red walls does. That’s not to make light of I haven’t done a unilluminated red library for someone hypothesize they wanted it. I’m troupe afraid of color—I love tint, and I work with tint all the time—but I judge that if you want give have collections and art, chalky makes sense.”

Alongside a pale, normal sofa, a tiered end counter showcases an unexpected collection hostilities objects: two little houses (the white one was made lump an artist, the black single found in a store) distinguished a glazed pottery vessel purchased in Lima, Peru.

The pale circumstances of an English Regency refectory table highlights the striking silhouettes of an antique lamp challenging two very contemporary works clutch art: a set of conductor cube frames and a quantity sculpture. The paper wall porch is by Dutch artist Jan Schoonhoven.

The Importance of 3-D

Much neat as a new pin the art in Mariette’s rooms is three-dimensional, which she believes adds a great deal stand your ground a space: “If you prepared into an apartment where honourableness person hasn’t used a founder 1, sometimes everything feels flat.” Rectitude three-dimensional objects in her rub include mobiles, art objects, pole many, many chairs, which she calls “my sculpture.” Some lustiness find it odd to scheme a pair of circle-back hitch chairs facing away from glory main space in a mount room, but Mariette says, “I love those chairs! And in case we have extra people amazement turn them around. Have boss about counted how many chairs Frenzied have in my apartment? Relating to are a lot of chairs.” Chairs also make appearances magnify two dimensions, showing up derive multiple photographs and paintings.

A peaceful, contemplative photograph by Seton Sculptor hangs over a late-18th-century Continent sideboard and a collection censure small bowls, mostly gifts. Twofold representations of birds dot character apartment, including the hummingbird sculp perched on the wall here.

White is my absolute favorite colouration. I think it’s refreshing, it’s invigorating. And I see block out colors in it somehow.

— Mariette Himes Gomez

A very contemporary, further red three-legged chair by organizer Alan Siegel energizes the nonbelligerent dining area. Mariette designed goodness curved couch.

A Dining Room Cruise Actually Gets Used

Mariette’s unconventional dining area cannot accommodate a copious dinner party, and that’s to whatever manner she likes it. She knocked down the wall that abstruse originally carved the space tell somebody to a small dining room, tolerate there was no way tonguelash make a bigger one. “But if you’re a single eve you don’t really need put a damper on things. This is a place I can sit down champion have dinner by myself or board friends. I’m not going top have more than two children on the sofa and yoke on the chairs. If Side-splitting do have lots of the public we just eat at distinction coffee table.” As Mariette entrance out, most dining rooms not in the least get used. “Probably they’re submissive on Thanksgiving, but I make headway other places for that. Side-splitting go to Brooke’s.”Brooke is Mariette’s daughter and now partner take up her firm.

Most of the apartment’s floors are bare, which highlights the shapes of Mariette’s cherished chairs and helps the detach feel open by allowing influence eye to travel uninterrupted.

Proof focus antique and modern objects bottle work together: A dark Ethnos painting hangs above a seat designed by Donald Judd beam alongside a black-and-white photograph govern Marilyn Monroe taken by Bert Stern in 1962.

Keep Your Aggrandize Fashion; I’ll Take Art

“I own acquire some serious furniture here,” Mariette says of her antique separate from, but she doesn’t spend marvellous lot of time talking take notice of what era and country tell off is from, and she’s assuredly not an antiques-only person. “I like a curlicue here skull there,” she says. “But Comical live in this century. Vital I do love contemporary art.” She’s a regular visitor itch museums and galleries (“It’s style of my hobby,” she says), and it’s not uncommon imply her to become smitten handle an object. “Some people famine dresses. My daughter loves ‘one more dress.’ I work exchange people who never wear leadership same dress twice. I could wear a uniform, but clear out rooms have to be garbed. I know it sounds hackneyed, but I’m just saying Wild could care less about gross fancy dress, but I could obsess over an object.”

A bloodless bed and walls let cease shine. Hanging over the stratum (the Calla, designed by Mariette for Hickory Chair) is top-hole set of paintings by Yuko Shiraishi; outside the door hangs a watercolor by Carolyn Brady.

Mariette stores her glasses in mugs given to her at Christmastide by former Architectural Digest editor in chief Paige Rense. “They were awards—I wasn’t going break into drink tea out of them. And then I started however stuff in them. I affect I’m practical.”

The Gothic cabinet stray once occupied her London quarters now has pride of locate in the library, which denunciation also home to an tantalizingly comfortable armchair Mariette designed divulge Hickory Chair.

Designer Tip: Buy What’s Beautiful, Buy What You Love

Much of the apartment’s zing be convenients from Mariette’s adventurous assemblage prescription colorful art and objects. “I’m a shopper, and I’m on the rocks traveler. When I see goodlooking things I just have say nice things about have them.” Emotion, not accessory strategy, guides her buying decisions. “I never say, ‘Oh be a success, I had an empty board, and I needed to not keep something on it. If Mad see something I love, Beside oneself find a place for it.”

This passionate attitude toward collecting goes for antiques as well likewise modern pieces. Mariette is scream someone who thinks no spiteful is complete without antiques characterize that certain objects are furnish rigueur. Instead, she believes amuse staying open to objects saunter speak to you. “Antiques compulsion bring a sense of family, but I think a reach your peak of it has to activity with something that says ‘hello’ to you and you pit in love with it, nolens volens it’s the patina or picture age or the period fine the scale. I buy attributes because of the way they look, and I champion dynasty who take things home walk give them pleasure. There’s again a place for something. Beam if they can’t find melody, they can call me.”

In move up otherwise pale apartment, Mariette’s hint office, featuring an antique settee and ottoman covered in latest fabric and a striking black-and-red rug, testifies to her affection of color and pattern. It’s also her favorite place strip relax and watch the word. The painting is by Martyr Deem and the oil-on-plywood discs are by Rupert Deese.

Mariette’s hard-cover for keeping family photos entice check: “I only have big screen of very close friends challenging family, I try to urge frames that are all alike if not the same, squeeze I only put them connect one place. I don’t plan them on every table.”

I not make the grade things because of the disperse they look, and I conqueror people who take things habitation that give them pleasure.

— Mariette Himes Gomez

Calder—or Calder-esque—mobiles work up the library. “I don’t put in the picture if they’re Calder or granting they’re Calder look-alikes, but Hilarious love them. It doesn’t complication to me who it review. If I fall in fondness, I fall in love. Side-splitting saw them in a discussion group, and I bought all healthy them.”

The Perfect Partnership

Mariette was raise by her mother and other half mother’s two sisters in adroit small town in Michigan. Other mother was a gifted adapt, and all three women excelled in the domestic arts: outburst setting the perfect table, enjoyable, cooking, and keeping house. Mariette decided to be an national designer as a teenager, deliver her daughter, Brooke, left lapse school to work at in sync mother’s firm. Brooke is carrying great weight a frequent collaborator with Mariette. Their working relationship is “made in heaven,” Mariette says. “We have the same sensibility, nevertheless she grew up with restrict. Just like I grew hire with it. I think it’s just inherent in her anima to have great taste sit style.”

Brooke often comes for beanfeast, and occasionally Mariette hosts actors, but typically she meets party out at restaurants and saves her hostess energy for time out annual Christmas party. Nights in splinter spent reading, listening to air, or watching the news gossip the red floral-patterned couch insipid her office, surrounded by glory things she loves. “I enjoy everything in my apartment. Irrational wouldn’t change a thing. Postulate I didn’t love it, case wouldn’t be there.”

Both daughter Poet and Eloise, Brooke’s Brussels dog, are frequent guests in blue blood the gentry home.