For the first time in its 56-year history, Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) is creating interiors for a building it didn\u2019t design, Miami Beach\u2019s Ocean Terrace residences. It\u2019s a signal that RAMSA is doubling down on its interiors practice; now, the firm has tapped a new leader for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Christina Victori, RAMSA\u2019s New York-based head of interior design, apprenticed with the late French designer Thierry Despont while still a student at New York\u2019s Fashion Institute of Technology. Along with stints at New York\u2019s Gachot Studios and Chicago\u2019s Kara Mann, she also helped lead Manhattan-based Roman and Williams Buildings and Interiors, where she rose to head the RW Guild homewares line.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re unique in that we operate like an independent studio within RAMSA,\u201d Victori said. \u201cAlong with the institutional and residential work, we have owners of classic RAMSA homes who want them recustomized. That\u2019s exciting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
MORE: Beachfront Compound With Two Cottages to List in the Hamptons for Nearly $6 Million<\/a><\/p>\n Victori talked to Mansion Global about the trip that \u201cmelted her mind,\u201d the book she can\u2019t live without, and why luxury means seeing yourself in your surroundings.<\/p>\n Mansion Global: Do interiors clients come to RAMSA just wanting things to look like other projects by the firm?<\/p>\n Christina Victori: The RAMSA portfolio is so vast. Within the New York City market, some might want to pursue what they believe the RAMSA aesthetic to be. But the firm\u2019s ethos, and mine, is all based on location. A project in Peru won\u2019t look like a project in Korea or on the South Fork of Long Island. Everything has a sense of place, and reflects both the demands of clients and their surroundings.\u00a0<\/p>\n MORE: This Harry Gesner-Designed Home in Beverly Hills Is on the Market for Almost $28 Million<\/a><\/p>\n Thierry Despont and Roman and Williams are very different. What did you take from your years working for both?<\/p>\n Roman and Williams taught me about a narrative-driven approach, which came from their experience in TV and film. Thierry would [immerse himself] in his library early in the process. He gave me access to that library, which was wonderful. There were books and monographs on designers of the past. It was a place I hadn\u2019t yet traveled. From both firms, there\u2019s an appreciation of European design, especially French, and bleeding into Italian.<\/p>\n What was your favorite book in Thierry Despont\u2019s library?<\/p>\n It was a book on [French interior designer Paul] Dupr\u00e9-Lafon, \u201cDupr\u00e9 Lafon \u2013 D\u00e9corateur des Millionnaires.\u201d It\u2019s a prized book in the industry, and it\u2019s out of print. It\u2019s all about scale and proportion, and it\u2019s iconic. When I was building out my own library, I hunted down a copy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mansion Global Boutique: Beyond the Souks: Bringing the Magic of Tangier Home<\/a><\/p>\n Which places around the world have inspired your designs?\u00a0<\/p>\n A trip to Spain when I was 19 probably had the most profound effect. I was exposed to non-Classical architecture in Barcelona and Madrid, and to spaces I hadn\u2019t experienced\u2014[architect] Antoni Gaudi melted my mind. Travels through Italy and the south of France have also been inspiring.\u00a0<\/p>\n What does your own home look like?<\/p>\n My home is eclectic. My husband and I purchased an 18th-century farmhouse on an acre in Essex County, New Jersey. It was falling down, and we\u2019re still renovating. The interiors are a mix of Liaigre with Italian-modern furniture with pieces from my grandfather, who also had an 18th-century home on Long Island\u2019s North Fork. I\u2019ve also brought pieces from projects and vendors. I\u2019ve been collecting objects and furniture since I was 20, and my husband and I collect emerging contemporary art. I\u2019m a bit of an \u201cI\u2019ll-find-a-place-for-it\u201d kind of person. At a Paris flea market years ago, I bought three sconces before I had a home to put them in.<\/p>\n MORE: A Brooklyn Brownstone Designed By a Renowned Gilded Age Architect<\/a><\/p>\n Is social media still influencing how clients make decisions?<\/p>\n Increasingly, designers have to help organize what can otherwise be a series of non-connected \u201clikes,\u201d We\u2019re becoming the curators of a really wide net the client throws at us. For me, it\u2019s a fun challenge.\u00a0<\/p>\n How much do you pay attention to design trends?<\/p>\n I still get excited about a new material from a favorite fabric house, or a new cut of stone. I only respond to trends in that regard. But I try not to consume too much of it. There\u2019s a tendency for it to bleed into your subconscious. For example, everyone might be putting silver travertine in mountain homes, but it doesn\u2019t translate to every location.\u00a0<\/p>\n