My 900sqft: An interior designer fills his Bed-Stuy home with rare … – 6Sqft (blog)

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This apartment has basically become my yard, says Alessandro Pasquale, an Italian designer, artist, and collector of incredible and one-of-a-kind pieces. Im an interior designer, so I love details. The little things catch my attention, he adds.

These statements find considerable weight when you scan Alessandros Bed-Stuy home, a 900-square-foot space filled with hundreds of objects hes arranged so that any angle of the apartment can be photographed. But while you may be thinking this guy is either incredibly wealthy or a bit of a shopaholic given his lot, its worth noting that Alessandro isnt raising a paddle at Christies procure these rare items. Rather, since moving to NYC hes become something of a scavenger, plucking obscure items that have been abandoned curbside or trashed in dumpsters, then finding a place for them in his home.

Ahead take a tour of Alessandros apartment,where hundreds of tiny details create one big and beautiful space for him to rest his head.

Where are you originally from?

I am from Padova near Venice but studied architecture and interior design in Rome. I later moved to Milan where a did masters degree at Politecnico in exhibit design. Then I moved to NYC in 2011 with sponsorship from an architectural office.

How did you find this apartment and why did you pick Bed-Stuy?

I had a hard time finding a place because Im Italian and at the time didnt have a credit history. My friend who is now living on the third floor of my building one day called me and told me that the second floor was available. I took it right away because at that point had a lot of money in hand for adeposit but not even a room.

As for the neighborhood: Bed-Stuy for me is still real and not super commercial like Williamsburg. I like the mix of people and especially how nice they areits like a big family here and you know everybody on these blocks. In the past two years that Ive been here, Ive seen some amazing changes in terms of restaurants, coffee shops, wine stores, bars, and the cleanliness of the streets. With that said, I love the neighborhood as it is, but thereality is that in two or three years it will be closer and closer to whats happened to Williamsburg.

How did you go about decorating this apartment?

A lot of things you see in the apartment I found on the street. This apartment has basically become my yard. A lot of my friends ask me how Im able to find all of this stuff, but its crazy because things just come to me.

Once I was searching for a very specific table on eBay and I stepped out in front of my apartment when I was living in Midtown and the doorman had the exact table I wanted. He sold it to me for $5. Another time, I was searching for mirrors and when I was wrapping up a job one day, I spotted several outside in the garbage.

I like to create moods in my home, so theres an idea being carried throughout that any angle of the apartment can be photographed. I try to pull the character out of objects by arranging them particular ways. Theres no TV here because I feel like it is distracting and hinders creativity.

The next step for me is to have a big open space with high ceilings so that I place all these pieces I found on the street on the wall and create an installation with these things.

Where have you found your best stuff?

Because of the projects Im working on, I find myself in Nolita, Soho, and Greenwich Village very often. But most of the thingsthe most quality thingsIve found in Greenwich Village and the West Village. Renovations I work on also reveal some really great pieces. If theyre not reincorporated into the design, Ill take them with me and try to find another use for them.

A lot of people dont know what they have. They throw these beautiful things out and Im shocked. I cant leave these things on the street, so I bring them home and I try to make them work in my space.

How do you feel American style stands up against Italian style?

Theyre truly opposite to me. In Italy, what people have in their homes is pure quality. Italians really love the U.S. and especially New York City, but when we speak about design in Italy, it doesnt have anything to do with America. In the U.S. its all about whats new and design is very business oriented a lot of the time. Things are treated as disposable items even if they have amazing value to themand thats because people just dont know what they have. Theres not this sensibility to preserve things. In Italy, we are exposed to amazing things from childhood so I think our brains develop in such a way that they become driven by beauty.

How would you describe your style?

Madness with a method. You can see there are a lot of little things here but everything has a place. If someone moves something, I know it. Im an interior designer, so I love details. The little things catch my attention. When I step inside a spaceany spaceI close in on the details and details are the most important thing to me. They speak to me a lot: in my work, in my life, everything.

Where do you shop when you do shop?

I dont like to buy things from IKEA. Id rather have less and invest in good piecesat least with respect to what I dont find. I also construct a lot of things myself. Im kind of picky; Not in the sense I need to have super expensive things, but I want the objects I have to communicate something to me. If I can do something myself, its better.

I love to search for things, so online is great for meeBay and 1st Dibs for example. I also got to flea markets, Brimfield. I dont like new things. Contemporary architecture and contemporary design, I dont like. If you spend a lot of money, you can have great things, sure. But I always seek things out from back in the day because with these you can see the process, you can see details in the materials; theyre not just sleek and modern.

For more practical, smaller things Ill go to CB2 and Restoration Hardware, but Im not crazy about going to big retailers and buying new, mass-produced things. I like things that have character.

Where do you find inspiration in the city?

The energy of NYC is my constant inspiration to do better and better. Creativity speaking I get inspired by many things.It can come from a beautiful flower or the worst looking thing. From my photography, you can see how I look at the world, and like I said, I am attracted to details and shadow. The book In Praise of Shadows by Junichir Tanizaki is exactly how I think when I design.

All images taken by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft

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