June 22, 2021 | inspiration
From wood veneers to textiles and murals, wallcoverings set the stage for inspiration
A Phillip Jeffries wallcovering breathes new life into an old printing warehouse.
This 2,400 square foot quintessential New York City apartment was completely transformed in less than four months. Designer Francis Toumbakaris, founder of Francis Interiors, credits the swift revamp to this simple principle: “inspiration comes from listening.”His client, a busy executive who made a bold decision to move to New York City, wanted to reimagine her new residence in a converted late 19th-century printing warehouse. In renovating an old building, designers are tasked with preserving its identity and its historic place in society—all while modernizing it to suit the tastes of 21st-century homebuyers.
“The architectural and decorative lighting design, custom millwork and bespoke furnishings and finishes tell a unique story of my client’s journey from San Francisco to New York,” says Francis.
From wood veneers to textiles and murals, wallcoverings set the stage for inspiration.
Let's take a video tour!
Before and after living room photos. The perfect choice for this space is a geometric theme such as Fretwork.
GIVE A REASON WHY IT'S THE PERFECT CHOICE IF YOU CAN.
Below, the master bedroom before and after. The wallcovering for the master bedroom, Wildflowers, sets the stage for the girly, upscale, boutique hotel vibe Francis and his client were hoping to achieve.
And finally, the den below as a before and after. In this space, Francis was hoping to find a wallcovering that felt like upholstery to make the room feel cozy. To give the room horizontal perspective, he was looking for a stripe that would work with the built-in bookcases. When he saw Gaucho Cloth in the teal colorway, he screamed.
More about Francis Interiors
Francis Toumbakaris is the Founder and Lead Interior Designer of Francis Interiors, driving the firm’s unwavering charge towards creating exquisite interior designs for residences large and small.
Long before appearing on HGTV’s hit show, Brother vs. Brother, before The Rachael Ray Show, before The Nate Berkus Show, and before Francis Interiors, Francis shared his talents as an acclaimed ballet dancer from Athens, Greece, bringing his panache and elegance to the world’s stages, including New York’s Great White Way.
Leveraging the foundation of his artistic journey, Francis combines an innate understanding for space, light, form, and balance with his expertise and knowledge in construction and renovations to flourish as an established interior designer. Today, Francis resides in Hell’s Kitchen, in his very own Francis Interiors-designed home. “It’s my little universe in the center of the universe,” he says. “It needed to feel like a home, just like what I create for my clients.”
With a natural eye for design — and by successfully leveraging his background in dance and the arts — Francis Toumbakaris has crafted Francis Interiors into one of the leading Interior Design studios in New York City. Fluid aesthetics, creative problem solving, and the added benefit of a contracting team under the same roof, help Francis Interiors not only stand out, but elevate the company to “must-have” status among the elite addresses of Manhattan.
