South Florida Interior Design Firm Announces Major Expansion

To our Clients, Colleagues, and Friends in the Media:

We’ve got exciting news to share and want you to be among the first to hear!

I’m proud to report that business at our South Florida interior design firm is on the upswing and we are very busy, with a growing client roster and multiple projects throughout South Florida, as well as New York. My furniture collection for E.J. Victor is also gaining new placements in retail stores and design centers across the country, as well as international venues.

Just last month, we opened our first international gallery in Panama, at Addison House, a high-style contemporary home furnishings chain that also has showrooms in Aventura and Miami. Addison House represents more than 100 of the finest furniture manufacturers in the world, primarily from Europe, Brazil, and Indonesia, and I’m thrilled that the Allison Paladino Collection for E.J. Victor is now represented among their offerings. I had an opportunity to travel to Panama for the Grand Opening of the gallery, and it was a great experience for me to interact personally with the store’s executive team and to introduce their customers to my designs.

As this busy and exciting summer winds down, I’m hard at work preparing for the upcoming High Point Market. I’ll be sharing more about the new designs I have planned for introduction this Fall in upcoming reports and blogs, but watch for news about the modern, low-profile Legend sofa named for my friend Steven Avitale, senior director of furniture galleries at Ralph Lauren, and the oversized Kuester club chair, and 1930s French-inspired coffee table with a waterfall edge. All push my design aesthetic (and comfort zone!) further into the modern realm and I can’t wait to show you!

Finally, if you are attending the High Point Market, please mark your calendars now for Tuesday, October 16, 2012, at 2 p.m. and join me in the E.J. Victor showroom at 116 S. Lindsay Street in High Point for a special seminar: Luxury Design Insight 2012. I’ll be joined for the talk by Sarah Kammlah and Cecilia Berber-Thayer. Ellen Gefen, host of Home Fashion Report and editor of thehome.com is moderating. We’ll be focusing on key trends and the changing needs of the high-end consumer. Email erikab@ejvictor.com to reserve a spot!

Allison Paladino Interior Design is in Growth Mode

South Florida luxury interior design

Good news to report! While signs of a newly percolating economy and revitalized housing market remain elusive for many, our South Florida interior design firm, Allison Paladino Interior Design, continues to grow. We’re expanding our executive team and have added a new design position to meet the increasing demand for our Palm Beach–area interior design services.

Here’s the scoop: Zita Rudd who has served as senior designer for the past five years has been promoted to the position of Junior Partner of Allison Paladino Interior Design.

As many of you know, Zita—who emigrated to the U.S. from her native Holland as a teenager—is something of an American success story. She was born and raised in Amsterdam and relocated here at the age of 14, literally knowing how to say two words in English: hello and goodbye. A hard worker, she joined my firm following graduation from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, and her perseverance and drive were apparent early on.

“I’m a multi-tasker, and there are so many working parts to a successful project that there’s always something new and exciting to deal with,” Ziti says. “There’s never a dull moment around here, and I take great pride in working for this company. Allison challenges me every day, and she’s given me a great opportunity. She’s taught me what it means to make clients’ dreams come true.”

(O.k., I’m blushing).

Seriously, I’m incredibly excited about Zita’s more senior role moving forward. Over the past five years, she has grown into an integral and invaluable member of our team. Talented, efficient, and personable, she has proven herself capable of assuming increased responsibilities, and she’s earned this new title.

Our client roster continues to grow, with multiple projects underway throughout Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach, Jupiter, and the greater South Florida luxury interior design market, as well as in New York. The Allison Paladino team is rising to the challenge, and we look forward to bringing elevated, timeless design to homes across the region.

Stephanie Dining Table Named Best of Market!

South Florida luxury interior design

Wow! The May 9, 2012 issue of industry trade publication Furniture Today just hit the newsstands, and the Stephanie Dining Table was named to the publication’s bi-annual “Best of Market” section.

Introduced two weeks ago at the High Point Market—the world’s largest home furnishings trade show—the Stephanie Dining Table is among the newest additions to my luxury furniture collection at E.J. Victor. Offered in two different sizes (84 and 96 inches), I designed it without a leaf to simplify people’s lives. The oak table surface features an interesting checkerboard pattern, surrounded by a textural apron. The table’s legs are situated in horseshoe patterns above a pair of dramatic C-shaped stretchers (does it remind you of a certain fashion house logo?) and have been carefully positioned to ensure everyone around the table enjoys plenty of leg room.

The news this Market was a new, lighter finish called sand. While lighter finishes and oak are typically associated with more casual looks, the story here is about sophistication—perfect for South Florida luxury interior design projects. Until now, I’ve focused on beautifully rich, dark woods like crotch walnut, rosewood, and zebrawood in all of my designs for E.J. Victor. This season, I was inspired in part by the needs of my Palm Beach interior designer clients, many of whom are gravitating toward lighter finishes, and in part by the juxtaposition of light and dark.

In the background of the picture, you see my new Lorelei Cabinet, a terrific companion piece to Stephanie, with its creamy limestone top and alternating wave pattern door and drawer fronts. Lorelei is also decidedly smaller in scale and lower in height to leave enough room above it to accommodate a great mirror, wonderful painting, or TV in spaces with lower ceilings. This is a multi-purpose piece that could be used as a dresser, buffet, media cabinet, or bar. I love its undulating curves, which remind me of a wave—a detail many clients look for in Palm Beach Gardens interior design projects.

Both of these pieces, along with the accompanying Parker Dining Chairs, could only be produced by a company like E.J. Victor, which is steeped in the art and craft of high-end home furnishings. Achieving the wonderfully warm sand finish requires a complicated bleaching process that few other companies would even attempt today, and certainly none domestically. I am tremendously gratified that furniture like this can still be produced in the U.S., and to be working with the incredible craftspeople required to bring it to fruition at E.J. Victor, delighting clients of South Florida luxury interior design.