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Doniphan Moore designed the center table for his new Uptown studio. Paul Matter chandelier. Steel partitions by Portella. Plaster ceiling and wall detail by Casci Ornamental Plaster. Live oak mural designed by Moore and painted on Gracie pewter-leaf ground paper.
Art Deco Meets Bauhaus
Doniphan Moore’s days of working solo from a cramped bedroom are long behind him-he now employs a team of designers from his stunning new design studio-but getting there was a test of hard work and perseverance. The interiors of the old Art Deco-style building on Fairmount Street had been a warren of small rooms with bad carpeting, and moisture under the floors had ruined the trusses. “It was a complete mess, a huge undertaking,” he says. But the foyer’s original 1940s glass-brick walls were gorgeous. “I just leaned into this industrial Bauhaus sort of idea for the studio, and tried to bring a level of architectural integrity the space that wasn’t there before,” he says.
Beamed ceilings were added, along with beautiful custom mill work, coffered paneling, and hardwood floors. The curved and fluted foyer walls, designed by Moore and created by Casci Ornamental Plaster, feel at once classical and contemporary. Some of the original glass blocks were repurposed in the back of the studio facing the alley – a clever way of letting light in without visual clutter. “Research and thought went into every detail,” he says.
The interiors are furnished with vintage pieces and custom
Looking into Moore’s office, the custom polished-brass doors are by La Fragua Metal Works. Marble door frame. Rocky Mountain Hardware. Piedmont stone floors. Plaster-finish walls by Chateau Domingue. Flush mount fixtures by The Urban Electric Co. In office, vintage Edward Wormley chairs. Eric O’Leary ceramic table from Sputnik Modern.
A seating area in the studio with Douglas Levine sofa from The Bright Group. Philip and Kelvin LaVerne coffee table. Artwork by Karen Gunderson and Carlton Nell.
Doniphan Moore.
Designs, and the kitchen and bathroom feature a variety of stones and woods, tiles, plumbing fixtures, and other elements. Mexico City-based OMR gallery curated a selection of art for the studio, and Moore commissioned San Francisco decorative artist Caroline Lizarraga to paint a mural of a majestic live oak, based on a tree that once flourished out front. The arbor design is painted on a solid background of pewter-leaf Gracie wallpaper, and when light hits it, the whole studio glows. “The prettiest time is just about when everybody leaves for the day, but it makes for a really nic send-off when the building starts to light up,” he says.