If you wanted to showcase a new luxury collection for interior design in Los Angeles, there’s probably no loftier spot than the 21st floor of the Carlyle Residences on Wilshire Boulevard.
The views alone are worth the price of admission:
“Facing northeast there are views of the Santa Monica Mountains, the Getty Center, and UCLA right below,” says Kathryn Rotondi, showroom manager for Luxury Living USA, exclusive retailer for FENDI Casa. “Then there’s Bel Air, and the city of Westwood.”
And the space: FENDI Casa teamed up with the Carlyle and its developer, Elad Group, to completely redesign the 2,800-square-foot, two bedroom model apartment with12-foot ceilings. They brought in Paris –based designer Toan Nguyan to work with Raffaela Vignatelli, president of Luxury Living USA, to re-think the unit.
“Toan is a world-renowned designer who designed our whole contemporary collection, including many of the pieces in this unit,” she says. “His collection has helped transform what Fendi Casa has become today.”
And the furnishings: The Luxury Living USA showroom positioned itself well to appeal to those in search of the finest contemporary designs for furniture, accessories and rugs. FENDI Casa products are high-end, over-the-top and ready to accommodate any designer or end-user.
The collection pairs modern style and comfort with innovation in form. It’s understated, subdued and elegant, expressed in sinuous natural wood, sofas with commanding volumes, and tactile materials. “We knew what we wanted to put in: something impeccable,” she says. “We wanted the architecture and all the lines to come together.”
And then there’s the clientele: “We’re on the tip of Beverly Hills, where one percent of the wealth in the world is,” she says. “Some here have two or three homes all around the world, and typically we deal with international clients — 50 percent trade and 50 percent end-user.”
They probably won’t blink at the price tag of $3.275 million – until they realize the furniture’s not included.
[slideshow id=1147]
