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Design duo Baker Street Boys on how rust is the new gold

Tomasz Danielec, half of Polish design duo Baker Street Boys and star of CBS show Europe ByDesign, talks to Effect about finding beauty in ’unloved’ materials

In 2015, after a decade-long career as a successful architect working with industry greats like Robin Partington and Rafael Viñoly, Tomasz Danielec decided it was time to take a step back. “I reached a point where doing big projects didn’t satisfy me anymore,” he tells Effect. “I then started product design and fell in love with objects I
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A historic warehouse in Goa is reborn as a zen Japanese restaurant

Restoration architect Rochelle Santimano gave the tumbledown structure a second life with thoughtful interventions that honour its heritage

Goa-based architect Rochelle Santimano believes in reincarnation, but the kind that involves places, not people. “There’s something about bringing beautiful Goan structures back to life; it’s like unlocking a piece of forgotten history,” says Santimano, who runs Studio Praia, an architecture firm that specialises in heritage restoration in the coastal India
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Why Goa’s architecture and interiors are like no other

Informed by the Portuguese influence yet designed and executed by highly skilled Goans, the vernacular is a beautiful marriage of Mediterranean sensibilities and local materials

The old Latin quarter of Goa in India is a palimpsest of narrow cobbled lanes, centuries-old villas and eye-popping facades in butter yellow, sea green and cerulean. Informed by the Portuguese colonisation of the state in the 1500s, most colonial-era homes date back to the 18th century or early 20th century, exhibiting
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Venus Williams is serving aces with her interior design firm V Starr

The tennis titan’s successful South Florida-based interior design studio V Starr in many ways reflects her career on the court

When interior designer Sonya Haffey first met Venus Williams, she didn’t recognise her right away. “Maybe it was because she was sitting down, but I remember thinking she looked familiar,” says Haffey, now principal at the Williams-owned, South Florida-based interior design studio V Starr, who recalls the faux pas as being equal parts amusing and embarrassing. After all
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5 interior designers on why Modern Prairie is the next big thing

Chances are, you’ve never heard of the Modern Prairie aesthetic. After all, it is one of cowboy country’s best-kept secrets. A sophisticated take on traditional farmhouse, it’s a style that traces its roots to America’s Prairie movement of the late 1800s. Lately, we’ve seen a resurgence of the aesthetic, with interior designers across America reinterpreting the style in their own unique way. Here, five designers take us through what Modern Prairie means to them, how it has informed their work, and why they think it’s only going to get bigger.
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How HGTV star Ali Budd built a design studio spanning the globe

The Toronto-based interior designer has projects in Canada, the United States, Costa Rica and Antigua—with more countries in the pipeline

Even as a little girl, Ali Budd always knew she was destined for design. “I’d spend countless hours with my dad drawing, hunting for furniture to rebuild or refinish, and turning various rooms into elaborate forts,” recalls the Toronto-based interior designer and founder of her eponymous design studio. “My parents were entrepreneurs, and I grew up at their ad
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Julien Sebban of Uchronia on his love affair with colour | Effect

At the age of six, Julien Sebban was gifted a Kapla set for Christmas. “I started creating structures right away,” recalls the founder and principal of Paris-based design firm Uchronia, for whom the game—which involves constructing 3D objects—sparked a fascination for the built form. “I come from a family of doctors and lawyers who wanted me to follow a similar path, but after repainting my room dozens of times as a teen, I quickly recognised that I was destined for design.”
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Legeard Studio on their compelling yin-yang partnership

The designer and architect duo of New York-based Legeard Studio are known to create magic with their complementary design styles

She grew up in Kosovo and left the country as a war refugee. He hails from the Loire Valley in France where he grew up appreciating its architectural marvels. And yet, Valmira Gashi and Julien Legeard’s paths were destined to cross in a country that belonged to neither. “Growing up in Kosovo, architecture wasn’t exactly on my radar. I was always drawn to maths and art
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Designing Miami star Eilyn Jimenez on interior design inspiration

The founder and creative director of Sire Design—and star of hit Netflix show Designing Miami—is all about the 3Ms: monochrome, minimalist and modern

Eilyn Jimenez dreamed of being a lawyer. “A judge would be more accurate,” quips the Miami-based interior designer, and founder and creative director of Sire Design. After graduating school at 16, the Costa Rica native immediately enrolled at Universidad Latina de Costa Rica for a bachelor’s degree in business. “I thought it would come in handy fo
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How Mary Maydan came to define ‘California Modern’ architecture

The former journalist and Palo Alto-based architect has a flair for breathe-easy design

As a toddler, Mary Maydan had a rare proclivity for maths. “My mother noticed that I was very good and she would keep asking me harder and harder questions and delighting in my answers. Like any first-time mother, she bragged about me to everyone. I grew up seeing myself through her eyes,” recalls the former journalist and founder of Palo Alto-based Maydan Architects. But for Tel Aviv-raised Maydan, architec
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How Gideon Mendelson found his flair for whimsical design

The Brooklyn-based designer has a modernist signature that nods to his beloved late mother, eminent interior designer Mimi Mendelson

Growing up in Scarsdale, New York, Gideon Mendelson was his mother’s biggest admirer. “She had impeccable taste. Everything she did was flawless. And while her personal style was traditional, she appreciated all types of design and could execute almost anything,” says the Brooklyn-based interior designer. So when he launched Mendelson Group in 2003, calling his mo
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Sanjyt Syngh, New Delhi's immersive interior designer

The New Delhi-based designer takes cues from darkness to create playful and immersive meta-luxury spaces

As I sit across from him in his New Delhi studio, it’s hard to differentiate between Sanjyt Syngh the person and Sanjyt Syngh the designer. “It’s not a job for me. It’s a way of life. Even when I’m in bed, I have a sketchbook and my laptop at arm’s length. I am constantly designing. The best ideas come to me at 3am when I am curled up in bed and it’s all dark,” says the New-Delhi based desig