S T Y L E & D E S I G N
Familiar Meets Modern
By Nadia Mustafa
April 26, 2004
When the stylish but unsuspecting Briton Ilse Crawford, 42, set
out to design the popular club and hotel Soho House in New York
City's trendy meat-packing district, she drew from retro
archetypes and craftsmanship to stay loyal to the history of the
building and the neighborhood. Wedding the kitschy and luxurious
(picture 33 crystal chandeliers) to the sleek and modern (think
ceramic bathtubs but in a boudoir), she hung velvet curtains in
the rooms and draped the club in an Arts and Crafts palette of
peacock blue, teal and green. The result was a modern playground
for New York City's rich or connected and a hub for the
international media, art and film crowd. "I like spaces that plow
their own course, irrespective of the fashion," Crawford says. "I
wanted to make Soho House feel spontaneous, cozy, sexy, uplifting
and relaxed. The paradox I like to work with is combining
something extremely modern with something familiar."
Before she started designing spaces, Crawford wrote about them.
In 1989 she launched the British Elle Decoration and over the
next decade was credited with introducing contemporary design to
Britain in an unsnobbish way. "Then one day," she says, "I
thought, No more, I don't want to become part of the furniture."
So Crawford moved to New York City and spent two years as vice
president of Donna Karan Home, translating DKNY's identity on the
runway into products for the bathroom, bedroom, living room and
kitchen. These days she is overseeing the launch of the Marks &
Spencer Lifestore in Britain. "Ilse sees all that is out there
and is able to put it together in a way that makes it reachable
and touchable to real people," says Donna Karan. "She links the
design community and the consumer."
|
His life and death recalled in images
RETRO MODERNISM
IKEA MILESTONES 
TRAVEL STYLES
ABSOLUTELY PREFAB
Premium Content