Indo-Chic
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W
hat happens when an international globe-trotting interior designer with roots in tropical Cambodia and luxury obsessed France designs for American clients living in one of New York’s oldest and most admired neighborhoods? The answer is a completely custom compact home infused with a clean, modern, and natural aesthetic. “The client had only one request, that everything in the home be bespoke,” says Som. She continues, “It was every designer’s dream project.”
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The seed of Som’s design was chosen from one of the client’s favorite hobbies–the collection of rare books. “The old books have a gentle warmth about them that I respond to. It helped set the tone for the entire project,” says Som. Som also drew upon her Indochine heritage. Growing up among the lush tropical forest has had a lasting impact on her design. “Nothing can replace wood. It brings nature and life into any space,” explains Som. Som uses domestic and more exotic woods as key materials in her interiors and her recently launched Italian luxury made furnishings line with Orsi. But, Som is quick to insist that she uses sustainable wood and harvesting practices in her projects – something her respect for the material demands.
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Each room in the home had architectural bones built out of custom wood cabinetry in which Som’s signature modern, minimal, and natural textured furnishing were set. In the Cambodian culture, women readily adorn themselves with layered bangles. It was this childhood memory that informed the design of Som’s table from The Aureola Collection which started as a result of this project. “I imagined the sparkling bangles, a sign of prosperity, to magically come alive and become the base on which a life can be built on. For the tables which hold precious memories and daily life, the base is this bangled cross form,” says Som.
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Som recently established a design office in New York City to work with her international clientele – Elise Som Design Studio, New York. Her office, like the lead designer herself, reflects her international diversity, including team members from the Caribbean, France, Africa, China, Cambodia, and the US. The busy team, which specializes in luxury residential design, is also preparing for the opening of Som’s flagship home furnishings showroom, many of the piece which premiered at Salone del Mobile, Milan this past April, the roll out of the designer’s signature scented candle line, Aapsara, and the upcoming Hampton Designer Showhouse at the end of July.
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