Once in a while, a designer comes along that derails our editorial meeting (in a good way). The year was 2022 when Julie first posted on Brooklyn-based Studio Dorion—see A Soulful, Timeless Apartment in Brooklyn Heights—and it took no time at all for the two-year-old firm, helmed by Michelle Ficker and Peter Dolkas, to catapult to one of the freshest design perspectives of the year. (We even made it official, naming the studio among our Designers to Watch in 2023.) The studio’s M.O., the duo says, “is driven by the human necessities of comfort, practicality, and beauty. We believe an interior should have a cohesive narrative, and we draw inspiration from the past to create timeless environments attuned to modern life.”
Today in Quick Takes, Michelle writes in with her go-to sheets for summer, a favorite New England design stop, and the on-trend kitchen accoutrement she’s coveting. Read on:
You’re invited to dinner. What’s your go-to gift?
A favorite bottle of wine—either a Lambrusco or Côtes du Rhône.
What’s on your bedside table?
A “Portable” Bocci light that gives off a soft amber glow that helps to unwind after a long day; a book; a Vintage Invento Sound X white noise machine; and a Stanley tumbler.
What’s your desert island design/art/architecture-related book?
Paul Fortune’s Notes on Decor, Etc.
What’s a film or TV show whose aesthetic has stuck with you?
Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility. I always laugh that in the movie—set in the eighteenth century—Barton’s cottage is viewed as a very modest property, but in today’s perspective, I would consider it an impressive Georgian house. I would absolutely love to live there.
My favorite sheets are…
The Company Store’s white percale sheets.
Your design pet peeve?
A “pop” of color or accent wall.
Favorite design shop to visit (online or in person)?
Picking just one is tough! Plain Goods is a recent favorite. It’s impossible to walk out empty-handed.
What is the last thing you purchased for your house?
A thrifted cut crystal punch bowl, including the glasses and hooks to hang the bowl from. Just in time for summer parties.
Something you’re coveting?
Gohar’s Fish Lemon Squeezer.
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