The internationally acclaimed interior designer gives Urban Agenda an inside look at some of her most representative designs

By Sarah Emily Gilbert

Having Deborah French give you the background on the products in her interior designs is like getting a tour of the world. From Uzbekistani pillows to a Swedish farm chair, the pieces used in French’s interiors are steeped in cultural history.

Perhaps, it’s French’s own history that connects her to these pieces. After receiving her BFA from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), her MFA from the University of Illinois, and completing her final year of graduate work at the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Program, French went on to become the Senior Designer at Dineen Nealy Architects. Immediately recognized for her artistic eye, French became the Director of Store Development at Polo Ralph Lauren, where she was responsible for the design of some of the brand’s most important freestanding stores through out the globe, including their largest shop in Omotesando, Tokyo. She was then recruited by the internationally recognized Ian Schrager Company to be the Executive Vice President of Interior Design for their project with the J.W. Marriott luxury hotel brand. Establishing herself among the most elite interior designers, French continued to work on high-end spaces both domestically and internationally, including the interiors of a stunning stone house on the island of Mykonos, Greece that was publicized in the likes of Italian Elle Décor, French Marie Claire Maison, and English Homes and Gardens.

Come 2015, there’s still no end in sight for this talented design maven. With her own interior design firm, Deborah French Designs, she specializes in high-end residential, commercial, and hospitality projects. A former figurative sculptor, French has a natural flair for art and design that is clearly conveyed in every room she tackles. Below, Deborah French guides Urban Agenda NYC through some of the projects that best exemplify her unique aesthetic, including her own home.

Deborah French’s Tribeca Loft Living Room (different angle)

“The top of the coffee table in the foreground is an antique window from Morocco and that little, low wooden chair on the left is a ‘Bride’s Chair’ from Afghanistan that has little mirrors on its back. The small table in front of the yellow sofa is from India and is for milling wheat. It has little doors that open up where one would take the wheat once it was milled. I designed and built that yellow sofa by constructing the platform and having French mattresses made. I purchased the Suzani pillow covers from Uzbekistan on the internet. When I received them, they were wrapped in brown paper with string – they looked very much like they had just been shipped from a foreign country! The photograph by Ron Hamad above the sofa is called ‘Prayer’. The woman is bending over in a prayer pose. When the loft was finished it was the final piece I put up to give thanks.”

Deborah French’s Tribeca Loft Living Room

“This is another view of home, where I had free reign with the design. I did ‘high/low design’ for this space, for example, the sofa in the living room is velvet, but then you’ve got this upside down wash bucket next to it with paint splattered on it. The gate to the right is from India. It’s literally a gate, but I use it as sort of a divider between the living room and the dining area. I originally found this gate online, but then I learned that it was in SoHo at Jacques Carcanaques, who had been there for decades dealing with antiques from Asia. It was just up the street from me, so I was able to see and purchase it.”

Deborah French’s Tribeca Loft Breakfast Nook

“This is a picture of the sitting area in my kitchen. That is a copy of a Botero painting that I found when I was installing a Ralph Lauren store in Venezuela. It’s fantastic because It’s a copy of a Botero painting but it doesn’t cost what a Botero would. The seating below it is an antique Swedish banquette, and the chairs are early 20^th century French café chairs. I designed the checkered tile table and had it made in Morocco through a company in New York.”

Beekman Place Apartment

“The next image is for a couple who lives on the Upper East Side in on Beekman Place. They wanted a bit more midcentury edge to it. They’re not as bohemian as I am – they’re not at all bohemian actually! The apartment just had a different feel, and they have a different feel, but you can see a definite connection in my work through the color and texture. I like to use old pieces; I rarely use brand new things, so every piece that’s in this picture is old except for the curtains and the rug, which I had made in India. The chairs are midcentury that we reupholstered and the table is an old French piece with an iron base and a limestone top.”

Roxbury, Connecticut Home

“This image is part of the family room in a home in Roxbury, Connecticut. I thought it was fun because I found the rug on 1stdibs.com, but it was originally from the south and hand done in the 40s. The person who made it had to have had hands that could handle these rag rugs. In order to make them you use pieces of fabric to make big fat braids. It’s about 16 feet long, and I’ve never seen a rag rug this size, and the way the boarder wiggles, it’s just so handmade.

The hats on the wall are all hand-crotched hats from Africa from an African art dealer that I found at an antique show with a client. They’re so bright, but when you turn them inside out, they’re even brighter because they haven’t seen the sun. I just think they’re so neat; you can even see that people have worn these hats.”