I am an interior designer, drawn to beauty in all its forms, especially in art, architecture and fashion. As a designer, I take my inspiration from my clients, and from what I find in the world.

I spend time finding out who I am working for — I am the consummate listener; my interest is not just what materials or colors a client prefers, or what kind of light they’re drawn to, or which design in a magazine caught their eye. But what attracts me the most is the nature of their own creativity because sometimes I am simply their conduit, the one who can take what they imagine, even if they cannot quite express it, and bring it to life.

I have a penchant for recasting an object, for transforming what is already there. In college I spent summers restoring frescoes in old cathedrals. The experience gained during those summers gave me a sense of the methodical work behind a beautiful object or a space. I am inspired by the past, and by the same token I am always looking for what’s modern. I used to make accessories — for such stores as Gump’s, Barney’s (New York and Tokyo), and Neiman Marcus — and for Barney’s I created a bag inspired by doctor’s medicine bag.

I appreciate precision and I always add that unique detail that is surprising — and meaningful. And so, for example, I might juxtapose the function and feeling of a space with it’s opposite. I used to make leather bound books, juxtaposing old craftsmanship with a modern look.  Instead of embossing the image, I debossed it into the leather and spent a great deal of time making the fit exact.

I am not bound by traditional standards. It started the day I was born. My mother was walking by the river, which ran past our house in a small town in western Slovenia. Her scarf was blown into the river as she reached out for it, she slipped and fell in. Some people standing on a bridge came to her rescue, as they were pulling her out of the water I was born.  Born into the water is how I will always think of it.

floriana@florianapetersen.com
t 415 722 2640