Designer Nicholas Obeid on the Real Meaning of Living in Style

Rip & Tan: Composition and story telling play a huge part in your creative process—can you explain your approach to interior design through this lens?

Nicholas Obeid: My obsession with light, shapes and shadows tends to inform the spaces I design, and the vignettes within them—for example, the shadow on a lamp, caused by a nearby window, may occupy enough visual weight, informing my composition of other items on the same surface. This is something I consider from the start of every project.

Rip & Tan: Tell us about this Soho space—what was your client’s initial vision? Any particularly memorable moments during the ideation or execution?

Nicholas Obeid: A big, open, white-painted loft, this apartment needed layers of warmth, inviting upholstery, and depth of materials. I opted for a mindful mix: shearling, silk, stone, shades of wood, metal, and mohair. The clients’ love of entertaining and the cavernous space led to the multiple seating areas, and the clients themselves were quite trusting of my decisions throughout the process.

Rip & Tan: How does your work with art direction and prop styling inform your interior projects? And vice versa?

Nicholas Obeid: The details of my styling, within the spaces and furniture I design myself, allow me to execute my vision fully. In other words, a massive coffee table with the wrong styling would perhaps not be so welcomed by my clients. Demonstrating to them how it can complete their living room—and lifestyle—on a daily basis is an essential part of the process. Other examples include asymmetrically hung artwork behind the vintage leather club chair, a play on balance, and the unexpected stone lamp by Studio Henry Wilson complementing the original stone fireplace.

Rip & Tan: What are some of your favorite ways to utilize light and shadow in a space? Any tricks for interiors without an abundance of natural light?

Nicholas Obeid: In this blank canvas of an apartment, I was fortunate enough to work with ample daylight, allowing me to bring in deeper, saturated upholstery without things feeling heavy. I lined every window with sheer curtains that filter and soften the light.

Rip & Tan: As someone with an impeccable grasp of the subject, what’s one of the biggest mistakes you see people making when mixing old and new?

Nicholas Obeid: Not mixing it enough! I always prefer to take my time when designing a space, allowing the natural process of my clients and collecting things that catch our eye over time. Inevitably, we layer in vintage finds that prevent new upholstery (often made custom to their specifications) from feeling sterile and give an interior spirit.

Rip & Tan: What are some of the essential elements of a spirited home?

Nicholas Obeid: A proper mix of materials, dynamic furnishings that play on proportion, and a genuine collection of items the homeowner loves—traces of the person who calls that space their home, and a reflection of their character.

Rip & Tan: Interiors or otherwise, what’s been inspiring you lately?

Nicholas Obeid: I’ve always been interested in fashion and how it relates to interiors, learning about texture, flowing fabric, seams, details— and the confidence of the person wearing it, the same feeling I strive to give my clients.