Designer Thom Filicia, left, and Feizy's Michael Bauer, right, with Carolina V. Gentry and Beth Dotolo, principal
interior designers and co-founders of Pulp Design Studios and authors of Fearless Design.
HIGH POINT, N.C. -- Carolina V. Gentry and Beth Dotolo, co-founders of Pulp Design Studios, celebrated the recent release of their book, Fearless Design, by chatting with designer Thom Filicia at a seminar in the Feizy Showroom during High Point Market.
To Gentry, fearless design means “stepping out of your comfort zone and getting your clients to do the same.” Dotolo, meanwhile, defined fearless design as “taking visual, aesthetic, and stylistic risks.”
The two shared how they met at an interior design firm and hit it off, eventually deciding to join forces and start Pulp Design Studios. Even though they work in two different cities — Gentry in Dallas and Dotolo in Seattle — they often collaborate on projects, or at the very least, bounce ideas off each other. This sounding board is often what keeps them from making design choices that might be a little too risky.
Carolina V. Gentry and Beth Dotolo, principal interior designers and co-founders of Pulp Design Studios and authors
of Fearless Design participated in a Feizy panel and book signing at High Point Market
“Because we have each other, if I select something too wild, she’ll say, ‘No, that’s sucky!’” joked Dotolo.
Dotolo and Gentry reminisced about risks they’ve taken with design, one of which was a Kips Bay Decorator Show House installation, “The Wise and the Wicked Loft”. Tasked with decorating the entire second floor, which included two rooms and a bathroom, they had a muralist paint Matisse-like motifs on the ceiling, integrating the shapes of the abstract wallpaper. A hidden passage led from a contemporary, light-filled office to the “Sinner’s Den,” a moody space with serpent images, provocative art, and a palette of blood-red and gold.
Filicia asked the designers what their starting point was for a new project.
“We’re such a textile-driven company, we love to design around textiles,” said Gentry. “We’ll often start with the rugs or a certain fabric.” She added, “A great way to start a vibe for a room is to select the rug first … it’s harder to find a rug [that will fit the décor of] a room,” than it is to start with the rug and find upholstery fabric and other pieces to complement the rug. The pair also like to be judicious about statement rugs, using a powerful, dramatic rug in one space, but then a more subtle pattern in the next.
“The rug is a great opportunity to soften a space, or to bring character and activity to a space,” agreed Filicia.
The finishing point, meanwhile, is always the accessories, and Pulp Design Studios requires an accessory allowance, paid for upfront, to ensure that the project gets completed right down to the details.
“Art, accessories, books … that’s the soul of the room,” says Dotolo. With the accessory allowance, “they don’t balk at the cost of a vase.”