At Home with Carolina Irving
The living room, where designer Carolina Irving tore down the walls of three tiny rooms to create one open space. She then installed three shoulder height bookcases where the walls had once been. “I made the bookcases just high enough so that when you’re sitting in each space, you feel separated, but when you stand up, it feels more open again,” explains Irving. “Now I have three areas that feel cozy, not constricting.”
Written by Shawn Gauthier | Photographed by Patrick Cline | Produced and Art Directed by Michelle Adams
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Textile designer and art aficionado Carolina Irving opens the doors to her Manhattan home.
Irving often designs new textiles at her dining room table, mixing paint colors and pinning up pieces of inspiration to her bulletin board to encourage fresh ideas.
“I always knew I’d end up in New York, I loved it instantly,” says Irving.
“To me, a house becomes a home when you are surrounded by the things you like, not a 'matchy' decorating scheme,” explains designer Carolina Irving. “I simply use the things I already own; it’s rare that my look ever varies.”
And for good reason: Irving’s collection is distinctively impressive, comprised of antique paintings, Turkish trinkets, ornate textiles, and mountains of books filling the shelves of her Manhattan apartment. With a background in art (she studied Art History and Archaeology at the École du Louvre in Paris, specializing in 17th-century Italian art), Irving has developed a keen eye, habitually combing auctions, catalogs, and showrooms to add to her repertoire.
Born to Venezuelan parents and raised in Paris, Irving has had a lifelong fascination with design and the decorative arts. After university in Paris, Irving moved to New York, setting up shop as an art dealer at Sotheby’s. There, she spent her days immersed in art from around the world, cultivating her knowledge and occasionally adding to her own collection by bidding on special pieces.
An armchair upholstered in Irving’s own “Mimosa Vine” fabric anchors one of the living room’s three seating areas.
After Sotheby's, Irving landed a role as a style editor at House & Garden, where she spent the next decade. During her tenure, Irving's love of textiles continued to consume her thoughts, inspiring her to launch a new column called “Fabric Obsession.” Created to help satisfy her interest, it instead increased her fascination with textiles, so in 2006 she went all in, launching Carolina Irving Textiles and finally calling herself an official textile designer.
Pillows in Irving’s fabric collection from left to right: Pomegranate, Chios, Andaluz, and Palermo.
“I made the bookcases just high enough so that when you’re sitting in each space, you feel separated, but when you stand up, it feels more open again,” explains Irving. “Now I have three areas that feel cozy, not constricting.”
“I always knew I wanted to have my own line,” says Irving, “and it came to a point where the market seemed open for it.”
For design inspiration, Europe is one of many places Irving looks. An avid traveler, she gathers ideas from her journeys to India, Greece, Turkey, and other destinations in the Middle East. Colors are extremely important in her creations; she most often works with faded shades of greens and reds to enhance her colorways.
“I completely threw myself into [this business],” she says, humbled by the overwhelmingly positive reaction her textiles have garnered in the design world. “I know what I like and I understand patterns; I suppose I just have an eye for it.”
“I’m so lucky to work from home,” says Irving, “because I absolutely love staying home.”
Irving recommends using Kraft paper lampshades throughout the house.
“I simply use the things I already own; it’s rare that my look ever varies.”
Irving covered her bedroom in Madeleine Castaing’s “Rayure Fleurie” design for Brunschwig & Fils, available at Kravet. Above the bed hangs silhouettes of Irving’s daughters. “I can’t live without them,” she says.