Cocooning, entertaining and working from home with Delta Wright

Interior designer Delta Wright believes that home is more than just a place, it’s a state of being. Notes Wright, “creating a home that soothes your soul, ignites your imagination, or hosts your family's milestones has never felt more vital. This generation is cocooning, entertaining and working from home more than ever. Contemporary lifestyles require a new approach to creating spaces to live, work and play.” 

The interior designer, an honors graduate of Pratt’s prestigious interior design program, a rigorous course of study that encompasses architecture, history, construction and theory, started her career as a ceramic artist and she brings this unique combination of skill sets to bear on the homes and restaurants in her portfolio. An artist and maker’s understanding of craftsmanship is complemented by profound technical prowess in design and architecture. Her other interests also find their expression in her work: a lounge singer, her love of music and rhythm brings soul to the spaces she creates; her intense love affair with the natural landscape of her adopted state creates rooms that are filled with light, the dusky color palette of California and the work of its artisans; and, her experience as a wife and mother imbues her projects with warmth and livability.    

From her work on hotels such as Surftides and The Farmer’s Daughter to mansions in Beverly Hills and the Pacific Palisades to Venice bungalows to hip downtown Los Angeles developments, Wright’s work cuts a wide swath through the variety of commercial and residential projects. In every case, layered design, beautiful art, real life and the environment are orchestrated into perfect harmony. But, perhaps Wright’s work is best expressed in her own words: “I simplify the interior design process for you when you are looking to bring soul home. By asking the right questions and listening to your story, I identify what is essential to you, edit out the rest and help you create your own slice of heaven…My goal is to get my clients to a state of awe. This means I need to understand their needs and desires, spoken and unspoken…As a designer, my role is to connect the dots between my client’s vision and reality. Together we create a living work of art.”   

 

Parchement surfaces the top of the custom dining table. 
Photography by Bruce Damonte 

Illum Wikkelso's chair and Paola Navone's sofa and ottoman gather in the master bedroom. 
Photography by Bruce Damonte 

What role does contemporary/modern design play in the scope of your interior design work? 
 
Contemporary Design is of this moment - it is current and now.  Since I work fluidly as an artist with interior design as my medium, all of my work is contemporary. As a contemporary designer, I am free to explore historical or cultural references that interest me and my clients. I can also experiment with decoration and style and look at meaningful ways to resolve functional challenges.  "Modern" has become a description of the style in which I work. This style is based on the tenets of Modernism - bold, simple volumes and planes creating space, meaningful use of materials and high regard to function.   
 

When you look at current modern design, what gets you excited and why? 

I love how art installation and decoration are being explored and expressed in architecture and interiors. I see this everywhere from dimensional facades and forms like The Broad museum in Downtown Los Angeles or the Petersen Automotive Museum in Miracle Mile, to decorative patterning on low-rise residential developments, to murals and graffiti applied to stucco and brick walls. 

Most designers that use the brands that Modern Resale primarily works with are also very interested in vintage design. When does something from the past become interesting again?  

If a piece is interesting once, it is interesting always.  

 
What is it about a piece of current design that makes you think it is still going to be good in 20 years? 

If the design intention, beauty and function of a piece make it good when it is conceived and first created, those qualities sing no matter how many years pass. 

What furniture designer that is currently producing work inspires you the most?  
 
I currently have my eye on Catellani & Smith, the Italian lighting designer. I am enamored with how Enzo's work is exquisitely minimal and architectural while simultaneously highly decorative. I also love Paola Lenti for bold simplicity and extreme quality of craft and of course, vivid color. Locally, I'm a fan of Jason Koharik. I love his use of mixed materials and his contemporary translation of vintage influences.  

OR What is your favorite contemporary brand? 

Some favorite brands are Porro, Living Divani and BD Barcelona. 

 
Any other comments you have on high-end, modern and/or contemporary design in Los Angeles?  

In the overwhelm of contemporary life, this is the moment to invest in living well and creating beautiful homes that we love. Now is the time to advance our appreciation for excellent contemporary furnishings and to begin living with furnishings that perfectly complement the high quality lives we are creating for ourselves. 

 

Armchairs by Theo Ruth and a sofa by Steve Chase, all vintage, join an Antonio Citterio sofa in the living room. 
Photography by Art Gray


In the family room, off the kitchen, a Francesco Binfare sectional curves around custom-leather covered ottomans. 
Photography by Art Gray

The project is the Barrington residence in Brentwood that won Best of Year, Large Residence 2015 from Interior Design magazine. 

You can find information about the project and award here: 
Los Angeles House: 2015 BoY Winner for Large House
A Massive Los Angeles House by Hagy Belzberg and Delta Wright