Dara Rosenfeld
Dara Rosenfeld talks to Period Art & Design about her obsession with details
Dara Rosenfeld began her Career in the Estates & Appraisals department of an international auction house in New York. At a very young age, she was fortunate to visit some of the best apartments in the city and saw first-hand the work of some of the world’s greatest interior designers. She also had the opportunity to work with auction specialists in all categories, from Chinese works of art to fine jewelry to modern sporting guns. She came away with a deep appreciation for what each discipline could bring to an interior, and ultimately became a generalist appraiser herself.
She learned her trade through Peter Marino & Associates in New York, where she assisted in the design of residences around the world, from London to South of France to Dallas, Texas. Rosenfeld recalls “I remember flying to my very first project, a home originally designed by Oscar Niemeyer in St. Jean Cap Ferrat, to install the client’s art collection. They had a beautiful reclining Henry Moore bronze, a Picasso blue period painting and outdoor sculpture by Calder. Imagine being on your first project and supervising the rolling of a two-ton sculpture into the dining room. I was terrified!!”
Rosenfeld started her eponymous design firm, Dara Rosenfeld Design, four years ago which focuses on high-end residences in California and Hawaii. “We just completed wonderful residence in Pacific Heights inspired in part by Hermes. We played with orange-and-grey color ways and graphic pops of pattern, including a subtle singerie motif and a fun argyle pattern on the foyer stair runner” say Rosenfeld. Currently, she is working on several residences throughout the Bay Area including what she would call a “refined farmhouse” –style home that incorporates traditional English and American pieces. “We’re also designing a Peninsula residence that incorporates Turkish and Moroccan influences, and a chic Pacific Heights penthouse that channels Chanel” says Rosenfeld. Two projects she has worked on have garnered accolades and have been featured in Architectural Digest – the Nanea Golf Club and historic Pacific Heights residence.
When asked what inspires her, Rosenfeld responds that she is “obsessed with details”. She often looks to fashion for couture ideas that can work in interiors such as embroidery or custom fabric, for example. Rosenfeld states that travel is also always source of inspiration. She says “I loved recent Sir John Soane’s Museum trip to Istanbul, where I studied the patterns on the Izmit tiles and shopped the Grand Bazaar. I came home with suitcase full of ideas – and Turkish sweets!”
In terms of her design philosophy, Rosenfeld notes that each interior she designs is very carefully tailored to the particular client. “I do like to start with an historical reference and reinterpret it – to invoke the past while making it feel modern and fresh.” For example, she recently re-envisioned a Spanish colonial hutch by eliminating the ornamentation, giving it a more streamlined, modern silhouette to fit the client’s style. She also enjoys working closely with clients to create custom furnishings. “We collaborate often with local and international artists to design bespoke pieces. We recently worked with a Parisian artist to craft a spectacular pendant light of opalescent oyster shells for a vacation retreat on the Kohala coast of Hawaii” says Rosenfeld.
In response to how she keeps ‘current’, Rosenfeld responds that she loves to follow fashion and watch color trends. “Although I prefer timeless interiors, a small detail of trend-driven color can make a home feel up to date, like a lavender curtain in a bedroom, a bright pair of yellow embroidered pillows on the living room sofa or, one of my current favorites, an orange-and-turquoise silk rope chandelier by Helene Aumont in a dining room” she says.
When asked about incorporating antiques into her design, Rosenfeld state that ‘antiques are very important to me when designing an interior. They provide a historical context and a rare beauty. “She goes on to say” early in my career I experienced an incredible space by Henri Samuel and it’s a resonated with me ever since – the way a designer’s vision of the room can bring antiques and art together into a stunning whole continues to be my inspiration. In one of my favorite spaces we juxtaposed “I do like to start with an historical reference and reinterpret it – to invoke the past while making it feel modern and fresh”
A nineteenth-century Baltic cabinet with a Rostrato lamp and a shield-backed Swedish chair upholstered in a snakeskin print. So chic!”
Having been intimately involved in the auction world and having worked on many estates that have come to auction, she is also able to educate her clients on the auction process as well as give them as insider’s perspective on the auction world. Rosenfeld says “I have also bid on lots at auction houses worldwide and welcome searching for that perfect piece at auction for my client.”