Purely from the peacock-inspired medallion rug, the Upper East Side kitchen featured in the Summer 2014 issue of New York's Design Hunting should be recognizable as the work of at least one half of Diamond Baratta Design, the New York duo that's long held a reputation for a bold, exuberant sense of color and upping the pattern quota of almost every interior they touch. Co-founder Anthony Baratta completed the redesign for "very close friends of his," and though his work with Diamond has been described as "artisinal," what's on display here is a lot more modern than that. (There isn't even any plaid!) Staying purely within a pastel realm of pinks, purples, and blues, Baratta created a kitchen inspired by Damien Hirst's spot canvasses (the polka-dotted floor), the fabric prints of Emilio Pucci (the geometric grid of refrigerator and cabinet facades, created by artist Adam Lowenbein), and the circa 1980 Parisian flat of fashion designer Paloma Picasso (the whole shebang).
Responding to criticisms of his often bright color choices—which notably aren't found in his own apartment—Baratta once said that "there's a reason that it was done like that. We are employed by somebody who wants bold color." The Picasso influence though, which Baratta calls "the heigh of French chic," was him riffing off his client's requests; as he told Design Hunting, "it was the quintessence of what their wishes were."
· Anthony Baratta gives an Uper East Side home a lot of color and a dash of whimsy [New York's Design Hunting 2014]
· All Diamond Baratta coverage [Curbed National]