Designer Spotlight: Olasky & Sinsteden

Guest Room at the Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse 
Photograph courtesy of Olasky & Sinsteden, photography by Read McKendree

We are delighted to continue our Designer Spotlight feature with Olasky & Sinsteden, a fantastic interior design duo led by Catherine Olasky and Max Sinsteden from a gorgeous office on the Upper East Side of New York.  With backgrounds in historic design, their fresh take on traditional design affirms the importance of antiques in the modern home, and we can’t wait to see what they will come up with next.

Guest room at the Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse 
Photograph courtesy of Olasky & Sinsteden, photography by Read McKendree

Just as Young Kuh made a fantastic impression with her Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse room, Olasky & Sinsteden created a delightful guest bedroom for the showhouse last year.  The room is full of colour, texture, and elegant furniture.  The designers themselves summed up the room perfectly: ‘This is a room to live in tonight and dream of living in forever.’

Guest room at the Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse 
Photograph courtesy of Olasky & Sinsteden, photography by Read McKendree

Our eyes were immediately drawn to the black japanned commode between the canopied beds.  Japanning, the European version of lacquer work, is often done on a dark background and highlighted with decorative scenes in golden hues.  The taste for Chinoiserie was at the height of fashion in the eighteenth century, and the incorporation of a japanned piece in this setting reflects its timeless quality–equally perfect for a contemporary setting as it was two hundred years ago.

A Drawing Room with Japanned cabinet 
Photograph courtesy of Olasky & Sinsteden, photography by Read McKendree

Olasky & Sinsteden incorporate japanned pieces brilliantly into their interiors, as shown here in the pair of japanned cabinets used in a Drawing Room.

Detail of a japanned piece in an interior 
Photograph courtesy of Olasky and Sinsteden, photography by Read McKendree

The red toned marble top brings out the red hues in the japanned decoration, and the piece works perfectly with the model ship placed on top of it.

Below we are sharing other examples of Olasky & Sinsteden’s work from their impressive range of projects all over the world–notice all of the gorgeous antiques that fit in beautifully with the serene and contemporary designs.

A view of an interior in Ireland 
Photograph courtesy of Olasky & Sinsteden, photography by Read McKendree

A detail of an interior in Houston 
Photograph courtesy of Olasky & Sinsteden, photography by Read McKendree

A view of an interior in Houston 
Photograph courtesy of Olasky & Sinsteden, photography by Read McKendree

Max and Catherine: congratulations on all of your success so far, and we look forward to following your work in the future.  To follow their work, visit their website and follow them on Instagram.