Philip Gorrivan — 52 Weeks of Design

If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? Somewhere off the coast of Brazil, like the charming town of Trancoso, on the coast- somewhere leafy and tropical, tucked between the ocean and jungle. My dream is to have an Oscar Niemeyer-esque modernist house with a lush tropical garden, something I’ve never had before being a New England boy!

What are three words to describe your style?

1. Authentic

2. Layered

3. Storytelling

Tell us about your childhood bedroom? The one I remember most is when I did this enormous mural behind my bed in black and white, more specifically it was a silhouette of the Beatles inspired by their Revolver album... I also had a waterbed, with a black velvet upholstered headboard-- a very 80s moment. I was storytelling from the beginning!

What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? My wife and I bought this 17th Century Dutch kas. It was made locally in the Hudson River Valley, and we bought it from an antique dealer in South Hampton. It was way over my budget at the time, but I had to have it! We still have it and use it every day.

In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be? That’s a good question, and I actually think about this a lot! I would hire Gio Ponti – my hero of Italian Modernism… I have a feeling working with such a master I would need to stay quiet and let him create his masterpiece.

No room is complete without books.

People think of me as mid-century modern, but I am really an Antiquarian at heart.

Things you omit from:

A flower arrangement: Baby’s Breath
An hors d’oeuvre platter: Crudité
A bar cabinet: Everything is fair game.

A song for:

Dinner at home: Bossa Nova
Working at your desk: Hotel Costes
Going for a run: Dua Lipa or Donna Summer

Biggest Vice? Travel

If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? I’d buy Ancient Greek and Egyptian Artefacts on Invaluable.

Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? Not at all. I don’t wear any color and, yet, I work with color all the time.

Who is your star crush? Gwyneth Paltrow

What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest when you see others do it? Personally, I would never wallpaper just one wall in a house, but when I walk into a home with a feature wall, it can look really great.

If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be? My Luis Barragán book, the one I bought in Ciudad de México at his house. It is very hard to get, even there. It’s a beautiful book filed with great inspiration.

For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? A unique sense of style - creating interiors that are very thoughtful, and thus very livable and reflective of my clients.