Welcome to Hottest Week 2012, wherein Curbed pits hot (sexy, gorgeous, beautiful, stunning, spectacular, alluring, model-esque, and so on) architects, interior designers, and decorators against each other to determine once and for all who's the hottest of the hot. Stay tuned this week and next as the tournament unfolds. And let the games begin!
Manhattan-based interior designer John Willey launched Willey Designs in 2006 and has since been a guest on Martha Stewart Living Radio's Home Design show on Sirius; he has also been recognized as a Rising Star of Interior Design by the International Furnishings & Design Association (IDFA). Willey believes "great design is a healthy blend of smart investment items mixed with offbeat selections," something that's intended "for anyone interested in improving their lives by surrounding themselves with what brings them joy."
A graduate of Pratt, Francis Nicdao is a designer with Pembrooke & Ives, a former AD100 firm with a bent toward classic-yet-modern interiors. Not much is known about this rising star—Curbed reached out to no avail—but the nominator (who shall remain nameless, of course) says Nicdao lives in NYC and has "clients across the U.S." Additionally, he has a proven track record of resourcefulness: he once told Forbes that "having maintained a high GPA [at Pratt], I decided to write the head of financial aid a letter stressing I was [an] asset to their school. Shortly after, I was given an additional $8,000 scholarship."
Update: poll has been closed as of 1 p.m. EST on Thurs., Aug. 16, 2012.