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TOUR A GREENWICH VILLAGE HOME BY RISING STAR ARMANDO AGUIRRE
“I treat every project as though it were my own home,” says interior designer Armando Aguirre. That’s good news for his clients, because his homes have been knockouts. In both the apartment he lived in on New York’s Upper West Side until 2020 and his current downtown abode, he assembled smart but unpretentious mixes of new and vintage furniture, with carefully chosen accessories, all in a soothing range of warm earth tones and mossy greens. He applied that philosophy to stunning effect in this recently completed Greenwich Village apartment, his first commission after establishing STUDIO ARMANDO AGUIRRE, in 2023. For the clients, a couple in their early 30s whom he describes as “cool art collectors and appreciators of design,” it was also a first: the first home they had ever owned.
MEET THE 2024 FREDERIC IT LIST AWARD WINNERS
A music composition major in college, Armando Aguirre now orchestrates careful symphonies of midcentury and modern furniture, quiet-but-never-dull neutrals, and softly luxurious fabrics. “I like to think of spatial plans that aren’t necessarily obvious—not different for the sake of being different, but layouts that make creative use of the space,” says the Texas-born designer, who trained under Andre Mellone. Next up: Collaborating with an architect friend on an apartment across from MoMA.
HEAD HI LAMP SHOW IN NEW YORK PRIORITISES CREATION OVER COMMERCIALIZATION
Brooklyn design bookstore Head Hi has showcased lamps made by 54 different designers for its annual group show during NYCxDesign. The fifth annual Head Hi Lamp Show happened in a long Soho loft with white-painted walls and wood flooring, having moved from its previous Brooklyn location... Designs featured ranged from high-tech to extremely playful [including] Studio Armando Aguirre with its sculptural light made of Lego bricks.
THIS 415-SQUARE-FOOT WEST VILLAGE APARTMENT IS AN INTERIOR DESIGNER’S CALLING CARD
If you’re noticing a theme of 20th-century architects and designers, your instincts are correct. Armando outfitted a serene yet sophisticated apartment with the work of his industry’s giants from a tip he picked up earlier in his career. “There’s a certain quality to items made in the past, which doesn’t quite exist now,” he says. “But these vintage pieces were made during the lifetimes of these designers, so they look and feel exactly how they were intended. These are the most accurate versions of the form.” The mix of past and present, hardware store and showroom, are all a part of Armando’s design ethos: Nothing has to be too precious, and everything is open to an edit. Save the eye-catching artwork, pay attention to good lighting, and don’t be afraid to shed what no longer serves you. In a home as well as in a career, what you build is what you relish.
OUR EDITORS’ PICKS FOR THE BEST DESIGN, ART, AND ARCHITECTURE HAPPENINGS AROUND.
Head Hi, a hybrid bookstore and coffee shop adjacent to Brooklyn’s Navy Yard, will mount its fourth annual Lamp Show, bringing together artists, designers, craftspeople, and collectors in celebration of the humble lamp. This year’s exhibition features more than 50 table, floor, and pendant lighting designs, including a bent-metal beauty from Armando Aguirre, head of interiors for the A-List design firm Studio Mellone. “I like the idea that an object made from a modest material can live next to something precious or expensive based solely on the integrity of its design,” Aguirre tells ELLE DECOR. “Raw steel will patina pretty quickly, showing both its materiality and its history.” We love to see it.
THIS INTERIOR DESIGNER TURNED HIS 250-SQUARE-FOOT APARTMENT INTO HIS SAVING GRACE
From the start of the pandemic through the fall, Armando completely transformed his apartment with thoughtful sketches, numerous phone calls, and occasional excursions outside to pick up the items he’d dreamt up. He tasked a colleague with building the self-watering aluminum vase beside the dining table and commissioned artist friends to enliven canvases along the walls. Armando was alone but still surrounded, propped up by others who were mutually intent on collaborating during a trying time. “Because of my background in interiors, I have relationships with various artisans, fabricators, and workshops,” he says. “I always knew exactly who to call, and the trust was already there.”