Barbara Fina

Designer tips from Barbara Fina of Fina Design LLC, Sleepy Hollow

Fina Design, LLC
23 Evergreen Way, Sleepy Hollow
(914) 332-9345
finadesign.us

 
Favorite Paint Hottest Trend
Favorite Coffee Table Book Favorite Wallpaper
 
FAVORITE HOME STORE: Chef Central in Hartsdale. If you love food and objects for the kitchen, it’s an incredible resource. 
 
FAVORITE ANTIQUE STORE: Rose Court Asian Antiques in Chappaqua [by appointment only]. The owner has an incredible eye. She has really rare objects with an honest, beautiful, and serene quality to them. 
 
WHAT DRIVES ME CRAZY IS: Mediocre mid-century.
 
  FAVORITE WALLPAPER: Faux and decorative effects such as Maya Romanoff’s metallic Stitched Vertical wall-covering. It creates a painterly effect that you can apply to walls in a consistent and controlled way. 
 
BIGGEST DESIGN INFLUENCE: Traveling to any place that has great architecture, gardens, food, or decorative arts.
 
THE NEW NEUTRAL: Bleached oak, mixed metallic, brown.
 
MOST UNUSUAL REQUEST: To slipcover a brand-new $4,000 ottoman and $10,000 custom sectional—for a dog.
 
COOLEST FEATURE IN A CLIENT’S HOUSE: A tree trunk the client and I fashioned into two Nakashima-style coffee tables.
 
FAVORITE COFFEE TABLE BOOK: Axel Vervoordt: Timeless Interiors 
 
FAVORITE PAINT: Pittsburgh Paints’s Scandinavian Sky for ceilings. 
 
WORST DESIGN MISTAKE: Using natural stone in a steam shower. It absorbs too much moisture and attracts mildew. 
 
UNUSUAL DESIGN ELEMENT: A custom-made wardrobe built for my full-length wetsuits and evening gowns. They are about the same length.
 
HOT TRENDS FOR 2013: Assimilating global influences in a sophisticated, non-Pottery Barn sort of way. Innovative fabrics like those from Création Baumann and Carnegie Fabrics.