In 2022, Andrés came across some minimalist, half-moon-shaped stools by Green River Project that had been simply stained and topped with a cushion. “The deep, rich stain became the inspiration,” Lauren says, adding that a later road trip through Belgium and Holland, which included a stop at Morentz, a workshop that specializes in 20th-century design, made a lasting impression too. Another key moment was meeting AD100 designer Andre Mellone through mutual friend Wes Gordon, the creative director of Carolina Herrera, at a cocktail party after Mellone designed the brand’s Madison Avenue store. With his record of creating luxurious, cozy lairs using natural elements (note his handsome reimagining of the lobby at 50 Rockefeller Plaza), Lauren thought he’d be perfect to collaborate on a modernist version of a log cabin. “I wanted to hand-sand and hand-paint every piece of wood paneling,” Lauren smiles. “And we did. Every door, every stair, all of the ceilings.”
Mellone had admired Lauren’s aesthetic from afar but was curious what it would be like to work together. He found out she has a robust visual library after their first meeting. “She shared a Pinterest board that was broken into three topics: 1920s and ’30s Viennese Secession and Adolf Loos; midcentury modern from France, Brazil, and Scandinavia; and female designers of Italy in the 1970s, like Cini Boeri and Gae Aulenti,” he says. “She knew her references, she knew her history, and she knew exactly what she wanted.”
