111 West 57th Street Residence

Design Matters with…Rafael de Cárdenas

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Inspired by atmosphere, the 1980s and Andrée Putman, the award-winning New York-based designer Rafael de Cárdenas shares his home-design principles and study must-haves.

What role does design play in your life?

My approach to design has always been inspired by creating a cinematic atmosphere and imagining myself in a situation. It’s never been about one object or theme. If I ever fetishized an object, it was perhaps in the Royalton Hotel when I was 12 years old – Philippe Stark blew my mind. Or if we’re talking genre, it would be Andrée Putman’s work in the 1980s. That era looms large in my life because it's when I became aware of things that were aspirational to me and weren't familiar. I didn't see them in my house, I didn't see them in friends’ houses, but I saw them in movies, and I was like, ‘I want to live like that’. So, I think that I've approached design that way.

What role does craft play in your life?

Craft is an interesting thing because it’s only started playing a role fairly recently as I've really been into discovering how things are made, who's making it, and wanting specific crafts to survive. For example, we’ve been working on a project involving Lesage embroidery on chairs which has been super fun and makes you grateful these skills still exist. Instead of wallpaper, I now want to do hand-painted wall surfaces, and I want the imperfection and the artistry to be seen. But, you know, that's also probably got a lot to do with turning 50.

David Valner Aquarelle Hand-Blown Glass Round Vase

$2,020
David Valner - Aquarelle Hand-Blown Glass Round Vase -  - ABASK

David Valner Aquarelle Hand-Blown Glass Round Vase

$2,020

Frenckenberger Hamza Cashmere Colour-Block Sweater

$935
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Frenckenberger Hamza Cashmere Colour-Block Sweater

$935

Mun Deluxe Brand Venezia Hand-Blown Glass Lantern

$555
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Mun Deluxe Brand Venezia Hand-Blown Glass Lantern

$555

Venini Gio Ponti Pezzente Hand-Blown Murano Glass Tumblers (Set of 6)

$1,255
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Venini Gio Ponti Pezzente Hand-Blown Murano Glass Tumblers (Set of 6)

$1,255
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Bollenglass Hand-Blown Glass Jug

$152
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Bollenglass Hand-Blown Glass Jug

$152

Loretta Caponi Palm Tree Hand-Embroidered Linen Round Tablecloth

$7,575
Loretta Caponi - Palm Tree Hand-Embroidered Linen Round Tablecloth -  - ABASK

Loretta Caponi Palm Tree Hand-Embroidered Linen Round Tablecloth

$7,575
Lee Song-am - Black Clay Vase -  - ABASK -
Lee Song-am - Black Clay Vase -  - ABASK

Lee Song-am Black Clay Vase

$3,615
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Lee Song-am - Black Clay Vase -  - ABASK

Lee Song-am Black Clay Vase

$3,615
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Astier de Villatte Gisele Hand-Glazed Ceramic Candlestick

$220
Astier de Villatte - Gisele Hand-Glazed Ceramic Candlestick -  - ABASK

Astier de Villatte Gisele Hand-Glazed Ceramic Candlestick

$220

Montauk Residence

How would you describe your interiors style?

I wouldn't. I don't think I have a style in part because I didn't have a big plan or 50 tear sheets of [inspiration] as this is my third career. If anything, to work like Andrée Putman, who I think was very successful in being both contemporary and sampling from history, is an aspiration. But I don't think we would claim a style; we wouldn't want to, as we like to approach each project as a new set of opportunities.

111 West 57th Street Residence & Glebe Place Residence
111 West 57th Street Residence
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Ginori 1735 Arcadia Porcelain Charger Plate

$400
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Ginori 1735 Arcadia Porcelain Charger Plate

$400

David Valner Polypore Hand-Blown Glass Large Bowl

$1,365
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David Valner Polypore Hand-Blown Glass Large Bowl

$1,365

Bodman Blades Weru Burl Gyuto Knife

$825
Bodman Blades - Weru Burl Gyuto Knife -  - ABASK

Bodman Blades Weru Burl Gyuto Knife

$825

J. Hill's Standard Martino Gamper Furrow Cut Crystal Whiskey Glass

$182
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J. Hill's Standard Martino Gamper Furrow Cut Crystal Whiskey Glass

$182
Linley - Marquetry Wood Playing Cards Set -  - ABASK
Linley - Marquetry Wood Playing Cards Set -  - ABASK -

Linley Marquetry Wood Playing Cards Set

$630
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Linley - Marquetry Wood Playing Cards Set -  - ABASK -

Linley Marquetry Wood Playing Cards Set

$630
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La Gallina Matta Playing Cards Embroidered Linen Cocktail Napkins (Set of 4)

$112
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La Gallina Matta Playing Cards Embroidered Linen Cocktail Napkins (Set of 4)

$112

Astier de Villatte Serena Hand-Glazed Ceramic Incense Holder

$370
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Astier de Villatte Serena Hand-Glazed Ceramic Incense Holder

$370

Lobmeyr Patrician Hand-Blown Crystal Stemmed Water Glass

$124
Lobmeyr - Patrician Hand-Blown Crystal Stemmed Water Glass -  - ABASK

Lobmeyr Patrician Hand-Blown Crystal Stemmed Water Glass

$124
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What is the best craft or design gift you’ve ever received?

The first Christmas that my partner and I spent together in 2015, he gave me a vintage Baccarat decanter with tiny glasses. I don't even know what you drink out of them, but we put Mezcal in ours. I've never had anything like that and it’s so precious. It was probably the greatest gift because I didn't know that I wanted it.

What room in your home do you do your best thinking?

In my apartment in the city, it’s in my living room at around 5.30am when I wake up. It's still kind of dark out and I have an interesting vantage point of the city with floor-to-ceiling glass. It feels like a very contemplative moment where the city does feel still. We’ve recently bought a 300-year-old house in the Berkshires, and when I’m there it’s always sitting outside. I have a transcendental meditation practice where I close my eyes, but when I’m in the garden I leave my eyes open and it's incredibly healing.

Exploration Yacht

What is the first and last item you bought for your home?

I bought two Michel Boyer fibreglass chairs around 2014 or 2015 from Demisch Danant, my favourite gallery-meets-project space in NYC, and likely anywhere. They were designed by Boyer for the Rothschild bank cafeteria in 1968. I never had a space for them until I moved recently to my new-ish apartment in the city. The building is from the late 70s and both the building and the chairs speak to some futurist mid-century ambition that I enjoy and seems to have been lost. The most recent thing I’ve purchased is a quilt from Eight Million Gods, near Taos, New Mexico. I think it’s a contemporary version of an Indian Kantha quilt. 

Which item in your home brings you the most joy?

There's an artist and chef in New Mexico named Johnny Ortiz-Concha who has a food project called The Shed Project and he makes these clay pots. He grew up on a Native American reservation and he makes pots out of micaceous clay that he finds on his property and fires it in the traditional local way they have always fired ceramics. I have many already but I got one for my 50th birthday gift and it was the largest thing he's ever made. I've been touching it for about 20 minutes every time I get home.

Objet Luxe Silver-Plated and Shell Oval Serving Plate

$2,055
Objet Luxe - Silver-Plated and Shell Oval Serving Plate -  - ABASK

Objet Luxe Silver-Plated and Shell Oval Serving Plate

$2,055
Saved NY - Constellation Cashmere King-Size Bedspread -  - ABASK
Saved NY - Constellation Cashmere King-Size Bedspread -  - ABASK

Saved NY Constellation Cashmere King-Size Bedspread

$5,120
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Saved NY - Constellation Cashmere King-Size Bedspread -  - ABASK

Saved NY Constellation Cashmere King-Size Bedspread

$5,120
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Yali Glass Fine Hand-Blown Murano Glass Gelato Spoons (Set of 6)

$220
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Yali Glass Fine Hand-Blown Murano Glass Gelato Spoons (Set of 6)

$220

Wiener Silber Manufactur Josef Hoffmann Sterling Silver Coffee Set

$35,555
Wiener Silber Manufactur - Josef Hoffmann Sterling Silver Coffee Set -  - ABASK

Wiener Silber Manufactur Josef Hoffmann Sterling Silver Coffee Set

$35,555

Antique and Vintage 1900 Silver and Crystal Inkwell

$1,015
Antique and Vintage - 1900 Silver and Crystal Inkwell -  - ABASK -

Antique and Vintage 1900 Silver and Crystal Inkwell

$1,015

Lobmeyr BV39 III Hand-Blown Crystal Bud Vase

$215
Lobmeyr - BV39 III Hand-Blown Crystal Bud Vase -  - ABASK -

Lobmeyr BV39 III Hand-Blown Crystal Bud Vase

$215

Osanna Visconti Melted Hand-Cast Bronze Candle Holder

$1,750
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Osanna Visconti Melted Hand-Cast Bronze Candle Holder

$1,750
What do you – or what would you like to – collect?

The only thing that I that I collect pretty voraciously is periodicals like vintage magazines. Some of them are normal ones and then some of them are super rare and hard to find. One of them is The Picture Newspaper that was printed between the late 60s to mid 70s. And magazines from the 1980s. I just love looking at like what was in style and what was aspirational then.

What item in your home can’t you bear to part with?

That Baccarat decanter has a little more power than it should, but it has a lot of emotional meaning to me.

What’s the greatest heirloom you’re most proud to pass on?

The arc in breaking down design and artistic principles or principles of beauty happened to me when I read A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful by Edmund Burke in grad school and I was very inspired by it. Then about 10 years later I found a first edition of it at a flea market and saw it as a sign. I guess it’s not worth anything, but it’s the only heirloom I think I have that’s really important to me.

Parc Monceau Residence

What is your go-to gift for a host?

When I was in Milan two years ago, I found Pietro Romanengo’s chocolate store and these caraway seeds that are dipped in pink and blue candied ginger. I bought like 20 packets because they’re beautiful if you put them in a little bowl, everyone asks about them – and they’re also a natural breath freshener. They seemed like a good hostess gift to bring to dinner. I sort of almost never stay in someone's house, because I don't want someone to ask me to stay in mine – I know that's terrible, but it’s true. 

Can you describe your ideal workspace - is it busy or is it a blank canvas?

I prefer it not to be a blank canvas, but I do want it to be orderly. My desk at the office is very different from my desk at home, which is my dining table. I enjoy working there, and it does have things that are not work-related on it that just look good and I feel like give me some sort of magic.

What objects are on your desk?

Right now, there is a plastic car that I found at a beach in Northern California this summer. Given what I was thinking about, it felt like a sign and to be perfectly honest I also took it because I also didn't want to leave a piece of plastic on the beach. I found it in my bag when unpacking in New York and so it's on my desk. And then I have a bunch of French Elle Décorations from the 1990s and a World of Interiors issue with Josephus Thimister apartment in Paris in the Nineties. When I'm on a Zoom call that's a boring one – of which there are many – I’ll thumb through them while I'm listening. 

Montauk Residence & 111 West 57th Street Residence
Montauk Residence
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What stationery can you not live without?

I like a Uniball pen. I like the crispness of the line when writing and sketching. And I have a superstition that I can't use black ink, so I have them in blue ink and red ink.

What are the most cherished books on your shelves?

I have a book called The Bloomingdale's Guide to Home Decorating from the 70s, maybe early 80s, and it was edited by the then-head of visuals for its windows, Barbara D’Arcy. She was a very influential person and ended up creating its home department that launched Kartell in the US in the 60s and 70s and made it a big deal on the 7th floor. I came across her whilst I was writing my thesis, and it took me a while to figure out how to reach out to her. After some digging, I found her number and called but sadly her husband told me she had passed away two weeks before. And so, I ended up doing a project with Wallpaper* Magazine in Milan where I recreated one of her windows from Bloomingdales and called it the D’Arcy Party. There are so many heroes, right? But this person was actually an unsung hero to so many people and brands alike.

What’s the best design advice you’ve ever received? 

I went to grad school at UCLA and there were so many opportunities to be hyper specific and really dig into one specific thing. I remember speaking to my thesis advisor, Sylvia Lavin, at the time about transcendentalism and emotional attachment. She was as sharp as a tack and said, "you're talking about mood and atmosphere". And I was like, boom! Everything became perfectly clear and it made me interested in this idea of privileging things that are atmospheric and moody as opposed to thematic. You’re lucky to meet people in life like that. She just gave me these tools that I'm like, wow, now I’ve built a career off them. So, I don't even know if I hadn't had that conversation where I'd be.