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Photographed by Victoria Will
ANASTASIA RATIA
Born into a Finnish design dynasty (her grandparents founded textile giant, Marimekko), Anastasia Ratia began honing her eye at an early age. “We had a studio in our house where they did printmaking and fabric design,” recalls Ratia, whose parents also worked for the company. “It was pretty incredible to have artists around for nine hours a day.
After earning a master’s in architecture at Parsons, Ratia did a brief stint at Stephen Miller Siegel (headed by **Peter Marino’**s former right hand) before segueing into interior design. “The two [disciplines] go hand in hand. You really need to understand space as well as pattern and scale to make a whole room feel complete,” she says.
Today, Ratia works in partnership with the storied textile house, Holland
Sherry, where she’s known for her coolly serene, minimalist spaces that keep the bustle of daily life at bay with subdued palettes, clean straightforward fabrics, and well-edited antiques. Having recently completed work on a Tribeca loft (pictured), she’s turned her attention to a slate of fall projects that includes a Hamptons beach house and an apartment in the The Dakota.
Although not a believer in design axioms, Ratia does abide by one rule, which is something of a hand-me-down. “My mother insisted on always having fresh-cut flowers around the house and I’ve stuck with that for my own home,” she says. “I try to push it on clients too—encourage, is the better word.
anastasiaratia.com
When it comes to decorating in New York, where not a square foot can be squandered, it’s wise to have someone on speed dial who knows a Ruhlmann from a Royère. We’re keeping our eye on four promising young designers whose divergent styles belie a shared commitment to livable luxury and a reverence for rich, time-honored materials. Here, they take us through their most beloved properties.