December/January 2014

DECEMBER/JANUARY 2014

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Notebook lonny loves Robert Passal Founder, Robert Passal Interior & Architectural Design Interior design wasn’t your first profession. Were you always creative? I was always into crafts as a child. I used to build and paint models and—this is embarrassing—make and sell macramé. In college, my walls were really ugly 1970s paneling, and I sponge-painted them and did this Pollock splatter. And when I moved into my first apartment, I painted two plaster columns and put a piece of glass across them and made a console table. How do you keep a room feeling fresh? I always tell people to do one thing every day that makes them uncomfortable. Take all of your accessories, lay them out on a dining table, and then find new places for them. It takes a minute or two for your eye to adjust, but it feels different, even 70 if you’re just moving things around. What’s the worst that could happen? What is the most luxurious place you’ve ever been to? The Mayflower Inn in Connecticut. The amazing thing is that it’s super casual, but they’ve added on a spa, which is absolutely gorgeous. The room is minimal, with cream chaise longues and cashmere blankets; there’s just one piece of art in the room, and a fireplace. It’s luxurious in its simplicity. What is your idea of luxury? Comfort: being comfortable in your space, doing what you love, surrounding yourself with comfortable things—great pillows, great bedding, a welllit room. Luxury is about the whole experience. Photographed by Angelica Domingo Who inspires you? Billy Baldwin is a huge influence. He was a classicist and pushed the limits in his own way. Even today, we’re still doing lacquered walls, and he was an advocate of living with books and personal objects. Then there’s a whole other side of me that loves Alberto Pinto and his really elaborate, over-the-top, lush-and-layered look, where there are a thousand things in one room. It’s a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. “As a designer, I feel I’m always on duty. It’s innate. It doesn’t matter where I am or what I do— I’m constantly searching.” How do you celebrate the holidays? I don’t maintain a lot of traditions anymore. I always have some garlands on the mantel and I love to put up a tree, but it’s so much work. Of course, I always put, like, 2,000 lights on it. It’s a three-day process. Lonny 71