Cookies Policy

By using the BRIDGE FOR DESIGN website you agree to our use of cookies as described in our cookie policy. Click here to view cookie policy

Personal Preference

Date published: September 09 2016

Click here to visit Anthony Barrata Website >>


I want a room to be as inviting and as comfortable as it is visually stimulating to the eye says Anthony Barrata

It’s always been important to create spaces for my clients that reflect their personal style. I delight in finding the right colours that resonate with my client and then saturating them to create environments that bring joy. I do not believe that it is enough to just add a pop of colour to an otherwise neutral room.

To this end, I believe that colour should be expressive and bright. I love mixing saturated colour with dynamic fabrics that have large scale geometric patterns along with floralprints and custom made rugs. In creating designs for my clients I have always looked for antique accessories and expressive art that could include antique signs, vintage weather vanes or handsome horses. During my travels, I shop for special pieces for my current and future clients - it has been a joy to discover wonderful items that I know will perfectly enhance a client’s home. In addition, I have always enjoyed creating custom fabrics along with upholstered and wood furniture so that my clients have a one-of-a-kind home that truly reflects their personality.

Not that there are not endless furniture and fabric choices to choose from, it has always been vitally important to me to create distinctive comfortable upholstery dressed in an expressive fabric whether it is a textural matelassé, an oversized hounds tooth or a hand blocked batik. If this meant creating a custom sofa or other furniture item, I was excited to design and have it built. The same is true about fabrics and rugs. I love being able to create a very personal interior for my client because I know this is why they chose a designer in the first place.

Fortunately they trusted me to create it for them. I have always been drawn to upholstery designs that are shapely and detailed. I have focused on sofas that range from relaxed, casual camelbacks to curved-front crescents and loose-cushion shelter frames, while chairs feature rounded backs and exaggerated wings that engage the eye from every angle. When upholstered in just the right fabric these upholstered items become art. My clients have always responded with my mixing of materials - this could include accents of white paint and white leather wrapped doors and drawers for a modern cottage look. I have several distinctive styles that I love to work in including rustic lodge and 60s styled mod groovy, but the look that I am best known for is an East Coast nautical-chic.

There are risks involved with using saturated colour along with large scaled prints and geometric patterns. One has to understand the relationship between the selected colours so that they do not compete or overwhelm each other. The same is true with large scale prints and geometric patterns. There is a balance to achieve so that they balance each other. The layering of art and accessories must continue this balance so that there is harmony in the end.

With these design elements of explosive, saturated colour, expressive accessories and art, custom fabrics and furniture, the most important element is comfort. I want the room to be a reflection of who they are because it is their home but I also want the room to be as inviting and comfortable as it is visually stimulating to the eye.


Author: Anthony Barrata

Subscribe to BRIDGE FOR DESIGN
and get ten issues for the price of eight