Dumbo coloring pages3/5/2023 SS: I feel very fortunate to be where I am in my career because that takes a lot less time and energy to do. The kitchen in a waterfront cottage designed by Susana Simonpietri. So you get to see ideas really come to fruition. And clients don’t want to cut corners, because they want their house to be amazing. Residential is the opposite of that, every single thing in the project is unique. I’ve been project manager for very large hotel projects, and there’s a lot of plug and play, right? You design a room type, and then you sort of modify it and keep going. ID: What is it about residential projects that appeals to you particularly? It took me awhile, but now we’re up to something like 25. And then, another person here, another person there. And then, eventually, I started getting a little busier and hired one person. I had a couple of residential jobs, little things, and worked by myself for a very long time, just going through the grind. My first project was the only commercial project I’ve ever done, the Mermaid Oyster Bar on MacDougal street in New York City. I always wanted to work for myself, because I like to be the boss! When 2008 came and the economy collapsed, it was kind of a good time to go out on my own, because everyone was going through it. SS: I took a lot of notes at those firms: what I liked that they were doing, but also what I didn’t like and knew could be done differently. So when I went to work on my own, it took me a while to decipher what it was that I wanted to say. I don’t work that way with my team, but I know that a lot of firms work that way. For the most part, you’re trying to do a goal. I was working directly with each of my bosses, the creative directors, and whatever they needed, I wanted to make sure I was executing-to have the tools to do that. It wasn’t so much about putting myself forward. My goal was to drink as much information as I possibly could, to learn as much as I possibly could. SS: I was more interested in hearing them. How did you manage to make your own voice heard? ID: You very quickly began working for firms with big personalities. A closeup of the kitchen in the Upper West Townhouse by Chango & Co. I had a lot of people around me that were really quite incredible. But I became very close to my teachers as a result. I basically had to fight my way through, to express myself in residential. At the time, they tried to make students focus mostly on commercial and hospitality, but I liked the residential side. I did the interior architecture program at Pratt. And then, do you remember that show years and years ago on TLC called Trading Spaces? It was one of the first interior design shows, and I was like: Wait, you can study interior design? So I started doing a little research and found a couple of schools in New York. Every apartment felt different because this person had this style and that person had that style. There were so many design stores, and they were very aware of how to take care of your apartment. When I was studying in Paris, I became very exposed to interiors and the importance of them. SS: I didn’t know that architecture was a possibility, but I wanted to study something creative, so I went into my undergrad in comparative literature. ID: How did you figure out that doing that could be a way to live your life? They’re like, I don’t know how she moved the bed! It would be better arranged and it felt larger, and I would give them a walkthrough of my space. My parents would wake up the next morning and I would have completely rearranged my bedroom. I would not go to sleep when I was supposed to. In terms of interiors, when I was very little, I was a very hyper kid and very sensitive to space. So I grew up exposed to watching people create and being part of the art world. My parents were really serious art collectors-not so much because they had the money to collect it but because they would just spend all the money that they earned amassing a huge collection of art. Susana Simonpietri: I have been exposed to creativity since I was in the womb because my mom is an artist and a university professor. Interior Design: What was the first moment in which you really noticed the design of a space? Here, in a conversation that has been edited and condensed, she sits down with Interior Design to talk about her past and present, building trust with clients, and how she makes each house her home. But she brings her upbringing to each project, lending her fresh take on tropical ease, and her passion for contemporary art, to houses around the world. She left the island to study in Paris and New York City, working with heavy hitters like Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, Studio Gaia, and Mark Zeff, before founding her own firm, Chango & Co. Susana Simonpietri was born and raised among artists and beaches in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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