Molyneux

Known internationally for his polished interiors, Juan Pablo Molyneux is a designer who combines aesthetically strict modernism with the comfort and richness of neoclassicism. His attention to detail, his insistence on the finest materials, and his use of elements of fantasy and opulence together create a subtle balance between the different parts of a Molyneux room or the pieces within it, inspiring a sense of calm.

This volume, the first devoted to the New York-based designer's work, presents more than a dozen of his most recent projects, from a Beaux Arts mansion in the heart of Buenos Aires to a Park Avenue penthouse. Superb color photographs illustrate these varied homes, providing a personally guided tour replete with insights into Molyneux's structural strategies and furniture selections. Highlighted are features of ornamentation, geometric floor patterns, and trompe l'oeil, the latter regarded by Molyneux as "a fantasy that provokes reality." Born and educated in Chile, Molyneux also studied classical architecture and Egyptology in Paris. He is at ease with different centuries and cultures, an important asset in this era of global eclecticism. Yet his unique mix of disparate objects-- the eighteenth-century French armchairs, seventeenth-century Florentine tables, and paintings by Picasso and Bacon in the living room of a Palm Beach house being but one example-- is based upon inherent and carefully considered correspondences between them.

While the residences seen here are clearly the properties of an exclusive clientele, Molyneux's fresh, direct, and pragmatic voice turns them into an essential source of inspiration for aspiring home decorators and professional designers. Through author Michael Frank's specific histories of these dramatic interiors-- including Molyneux's own-- and complementary drawings, photographs, and details, MOLYNEUX is the tale of a true love of design.