The Tamesis
After five years in the field, Voto was ready to perfect it and hired Zunino, a founding partner of Studio DB. “I was like, Britt, I need to do something here. We’ve been here five years and I’m bored,” Votto said with a laugh. Zunino came to the project with an unusual advantage: She first met Watteau as a client, commissioning a dress and going through the full One/Of process before being pulled into the space itself. Their shorthand is direct. “We both love color and texture and pattern, and mixing things,” Votto said, and Zunino’s instinct was to push that even further. “The more unusual the combination, the better.”
It’s something you feel instinctively when you step inside. The entrance foyer is wrapped in geometric damask – dense, graphic, slightly moody, with a Prada-esque whimsy. It functions as both a curtain and a camouflage, hiding a set of doors that lead to the apartment’s private spaces. A small Chinese-style gold light fixture sparkles overhead, while a vintage cabinet anchors the corner; Rico, Watteau’s husky rescuer, often lies nearby. “We’re doing a lot of work on the construction side,” Zunino said. “So it’s a way of hiding and revealing.”
Otherwise, the main room is open and subdued. The walls were painted a powdery blush—Benjamin Moore’s Mist Blush—which framed the room with slightly darker pink lines, warming the light and giving everything a lovely glow. Overhead, the ceiling glows with Calico Supernova, a wallpaper designed by Studio DB in collaboration with Calico, whose gilded surface is dotted with starburst patterns and intricate stitching details inspired by embroidery and jewelry. “You walk in and the first thing you see is the gold,” Votto said, “and then you start to notice everything that’s going on up there.”
Photo: Corbin Gulkin
A luxurious golden carpet lay beneath your feet, softening the entire room. The furniture is low but attractive. A marble table anchors the center, surrounded by chairs, accessories unfold, and objects layered across the surface feel collected rather than placed: tulips, Sylvie MacMillan’s shell candle holders, Sophia Lou Jacobsen’s sculptural brown vases, and lacquered Chinese side tables from IME Vintage flanking the mantel.
Photo: Corbin Gulkin
