Our world-renowned guest designers pour their hearts into each and every design they create for us. The lines, materials, finishes and fabrics — each decision is made meticulously and with an abiding love of good design. As you can imagine, this would make it difficult for them to choose a favorite among their creations — however, we were able to elicit from them their most cherished designs.
We asked our designers: Which of your Baker designs is your favorite? And what is your favorite Baker design outside of your own collection?
Laura Kirar
It’s always difficult to choose one favorite piece, as all my pieces are designed to work in tandem with each other beautifully. But the Frazier Étagère works in tandem with the space itself, and becomes architecture in a room. It’s elegant and masculine and has a kind of sophisticated functionality. I designed it with the idea that regardless of where I might live in this world I’d always take my treasured books with me. Now that I have the Frazier Étagère, I’ll always have somewhere to keep them — in something that can move with me.
A favorite of mine from the Thomas Pheasant Collection is the Villa Sofa. As an artist with a sculptural background, there’s a unique quality I can identify with in the fluid angles, lines and overall structure of this piece.
Thomas Pheasant
My favorite piece from my collection is the non-tufted Oval Sofa. I love the sculptural shape and the clean lines. The scale is so flexible that it can be used in a variety of spaces.
I admire Bill Sofield’s Salon Chair. It has a classic form with subtle wood and bronze details that give it a unique twist. It’s a great chair.
Michael S Smith
The Winslow Cocktail Table is one of my favorites from my furniture collection with Baker. It is inspired by an antique trunk I own. The chinoiserie adds a touch of elegance that matches the artfully turned legs.
I love the Du Roi Chaise from The André Arbus Collection. So chic, yet comfortable. It’s just beautiful. Great for a TV room or a master bedroom.
Bill Sofield
My favorite is the Savoy Sideboard. With sculptural hardware, a reeded edge detail and contrasting graphic veneer, this is a dynamic heritage piece that will endure the test of time. I love its versatility and have used it in many different ways, from dining and boardrooms to bedrooms.
I love the Sunburst Torchere from Tony Duquette and have a similar pair that were originals. He was a true artist and genius.
Barbara Barry
My favorite piece in my own collection is the Celestial Chest. I love its quiet texture that shimmers in the light coming through a soft silk shade. It is a versatile piece that can add dimension to any room. It can anchor an entry, serve as a server in a dining room, and add glamour to a living room and elegance to a bedroom. The shape is sleek and simple, but as you come closer its dimension and texture are revealed. My favorite color way is the Fig, as it is a shadowy neutral that goes with anything.
My favorite piece in the larger Baker collection is the elegant L’Architect Desk from The André Arbus Collection. The matte black lacquer is so chic, and the metal work is exquisite. I can see using this piece to bring a certain cache to any room. It would make a great drinks table as well as a centerpiece in front of a large window stacked with books — or equally stunning in the center of a room flanked by a pair of luxurious high-backed sofas.
Frouwkje Pagani
My favorite is the Anneau Chandelier. While it is essentially contemporary and sculptural, it hints toward the past. We wanted to combine that sense of modernism with Parisian 1940′s interiors which has an elegant and masculine sensibility. In addition, the artisans in Italy were able to successfully have eight fluid arms descend into an elegant and unexpectedly small central hub. I love this part of the fixture.
I saw Laura Kirar’s Neue Sofa in the Baker showroom a few years ago — it caught my eye and I love it. The lines are fluid and elegant — a real classic.
Stéphane Pagani
The Mode Floor Lamp is my favorite. It has stature and makes a statement in a room. I like the contrast between its sculptural quality that anchors it, and the movement within it that gives it a sense of lightness. There is something spontaneous about the design as we drew it on a napkin, and ended up scanning the napkin as the shape was perfect the first time.
I very much like Bill Sofield’s Salon chair for its clean modern lines, reminiscent of 1940s French style. The chair’s tailored shape, the marriage of rich materials, along with the craftsmanship and detailing, are a great example of refinement in furniture design.
Hutton Wilkinson - President of Tony Duquette, Inc.
My favorite piece from The Selected Works of Tony Duquette is the Biomorphic Console in Gold Leaf. It’s such an original piece, and works with both a modern interior as well as a traditional interior. We used the design in a modernist house in Bel Air, California — and we used it with equal effect in the interiors of a twelfth-century palazzo on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. Since Baker began producing the design, I have enjoyed seeing how other designers have used this special piece in interiors around the world.
My other favorite design is the Tulip Chair from The Historic Charleston Collection. I would like to use it inside the house and outside the house; on a porch or in a pavilion. It’s a great and romantic design.
Jacques Garcia
My favorite piece is the Alexandre Stool. It expresses exactly my style and personality. It is easy to live with, which is the true modernity. People tend to think that luxury is size. I tend to think the spirit of greatness is the real luxury.
My other favorite piece is the Du Roi Chaise from André Arbus. Why? Because it is just perfect.
