Osanna Visconti Alga Hand-Cast Bronze Candle Holder
$3,125
Osanna Visconti Alga Hand-Cast Bronze Candle Holder
$3,125
By Appointment: Francis Sultana
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The Maltese-born interiors and furniture designer shares the special pieces he surrounds himself with, the piece he can’t part with and the importance of fresh towels.
Carlo Moretti Hand-Blown Murano Glass Monolith
$3,805
Carlo Moretti Hand-Blown Murano Glass Monolith
$3,805
NasonMoretti Aliseo Hand-Blown Murano Glass Water Tumbler
$122
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Geoffrey Parker Leather Cluedo Set
$6,350
Geoffrey Parker Leather Cluedo Set
$6,350
Angela Wickstead Embroidered Linen Cocktail Napkins (Set of 6)
$285
Angela Wickstead Embroidered Linen Cocktail Napkins (Set of 6)
$285
Ifuji Italian Hand-Carved Wood Medium Tray
$126
Ifuji Italian Hand-Carved Wood Medium Tray
$126
NasonMoretti Canova Hand-Blown Murano Glass Tumbler
$156
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Laboratorio Paravicini Serpi Ceramic Dinner Plates (Set of 6)
$635
Laboratorio Paravicini Serpi Ceramic Dinner Plates (Set of 6)
$635
Brandimarte Hammered Sterling Silver Jug
$1,345
Brandimarte Hammered Sterling Silver Jug
$1,345
Christofle Nomade Stainless Steel Round Tray
$560
Christofle Nomade Stainless Steel Round Tray
$560
Osanna Visconti Alga Hand-Cast Bronze Candle Holder
$965
Osanna Visconti Alga Hand-Cast Bronze Candle Holder
$965
Linley Marquetry Wood Playing Cards Set
$565
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Linley Marquetry Wood Playing Cards Set
$565
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What role does craft and design play in your life?
Design for me is the more critical of the two, but it’s through craft that methods of making great design are important. It’s a part of my journey as a designer to understand how craft can make a big difference in creating good designs.
How would you describe your interiors style?
My style has developed over the years. In my twenties, I was very into contemporary design, which, in a way, was cutting-edge design. As I get older, I embrace more historical interiors as I look at the past and find ways of conserving and restoring it. I’m always developing and that’s a good thing, because I get bored very fast.
What is the best craft or design gift you’ve ever received?
Sometimes the simplest of things have a very big impact. A friend recently bought me a dish-cum-phone charger by Hermès Home, which is something I would never have bought myself but it is chic and also very useful!
Osanna Visconti Alga Hand-Cast Bronze Candle Holder
$1,315
Osanna Visconti Alga Hand-Cast Bronze Candle Holder
$1,315
Royal Crown Derby Riviera Dream Hand-Painted Bone China Teacup and Saucer
$200
Royal Crown Derby Riviera Dream Hand-Painted Bone China Dinner Plate
$160
Venini Fazzoletto Hand-Blown Murano Glass Small Vase
$440
Venini Fazzoletto Hand-Blown Murano Glass Small Vase
$440
Astier de Villatte Cendrillon Hand-Glazed Ceramic Teapot
$495
Astier de Villatte Cendrillon Hand-Glazed Ceramic Teapot
$495
Astier de Villatte Alexandre Hand-Glazed Ceramic Teacup
$120
Astier de Villatte Alexandre Hand-Glazed Ceramic Teacup
$120
Augarten Belvedere Hand-Painted Porcelain Dinner Plate
$320
Bollenglass Hand-Blown Glass Highball
$94
Osanna Visconti Melted Hand-Cast Bronze Candle Holder
$1,795
Osanna Visconti Melted Hand-Cast Bronze Candle Holder
$1,795
Feldspar Hand-Painted 24ct Gold and Bone China Espresso Mugs (Set of 4)
$156
Astier de Villatte Peggy Hand-Glazed Ceramic Teapot
$270
Mun Deluxe Brand Venezia Hand-Blown Glass Lantern
$495
Mun Deluxe Brand Venezia Hand-Blown Glass Lantern
$495
Where in your home do you do your best thinking?
I put my desk in the grandest room of my London apartment so that I get to enjoy it every day. It’s a blue salon with the original William Chambers ceiling and it looks out onto the London landscape. There’s no computer as I can’t have digital things around me when I need to think; rather, books are my joy. I always tell my clients to use your nicest room where you entertain people as a room you go into yourself, otherwise you can shut the door and never go in.
What is the first and last item you bought for your home?
The first thing I ordered before moving was fresh bed linen and towels. You can’t move home, in my view, without replenishing that; it’s always the nicest thing. The last thing was new flatware. I’ve been meaning to order a simpler set of cutlery because I’m doing a new home in the countryside and there is some rejigging that I’m putting in there and leaving here.
Which item in your home brings you the most joy?
Sometimes a room brings me the most joy because I walk in and it makes me happy and secure. I think that’s the key to anyone’s home - that, and to be in love with it. Your home is something that you create around you and really is never finished; it's always about layering and making your life relative to where you are today.
What do you – or what would you like to – collect?
I’ve recently come across antiquities. It appeals to me now – Greek and Roman antiquities and especially if you juxtapose antiquities next to something contemporary. I’m fascinated by them but I know very little. I want to learn about it first, educate myself and then start collecting.
What item in your home can’t you bear to part with?
I have a chair that was designed by Emilio Terry in the late 1920s for Carlos de Beistegui’s very famous penthouse designed by Le Corbusier on the Champs Elysées. It’s profound because this was the apartment that put baroque and classical things in a minimalist setting and when I was dreaming of becoming an interior designer in my teens, seeing this apartment changed my mind completely! The chair was an obsession of mine and one day by accident it was in a shop window in Paris. When the antique dealer came back from lunch, I bought it! It’s like it was meant to come to me and it’s one of my prized possessions – not because of its value but what it means to me. I never could have believed I would stumble across it in that way.
What’s the greatest heirloom you’re most proud to pass on?
I would like to think the furniture that I have commissioned and designed with wonderful designers, including André Dubreuil and Claude Lalanne, will leave a legacy. I continue to work with artists and designers to make pieces for the homes I’m doing and my wish is that they become historically significant.
What is your go-to gift for a host?
For the people who have everything, I have to get them a good book or a small object that has to be thoughtful and useful. I love giving dishes, pairs of candlesticks, or a very chic teapot, as I enjoy giving tea paraphernalia. I always say: as long as I would live with it myself, I will give it.