7 Secrets from the Set Designers: A Q & A with Roman and Williams - Remodelista
Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch, the duo behind the New York-based design firm Roman and Williams (their projects include some of the city's chicest venues, including the Ace Hotel), met in the 1990s when they were working in Hollywood as production designers and art directors. A living room-like suite at the Ace Hotel in New York. Remodelista: Can you tell us what you took from production design and art direction that informs your current approach to design?Stephen Alesch: Production designing is not only about creative design, it's about creating an environment. The Victorian house starring in Practical Magic. I don't know exactly why, but it is very, very intense and strict and almost military in its fight to the finish. A drawing by Alesch from Practical Magic; he does all of Roman and Williams’ architectural presentation drawings by hand. RM: What's the hallmark of your design process?SA: Draw, draw, plan, plan. The library from their first residential project; Ben Stiller's Los Angeles home. Unconscious creation is special and it is our natural built world: "designed" spaces are usually only good for representing one thing in film: dishonest and lost characters. The master bathroom in Ben Stiller's home. RM: What are some of the most important lessons you've learned?SA: Keep your ego out of the solution, keep preconceived ideas to yourself, listen and focus on the goal of the project; whether it's a film set, a home, a hotel, a restaurant, it has nothing to do with you! We miss directors, crazy, wild-eyed bossy mad authoritative directors who were the boss. The entrance to Roman and Williams' New York City offices. Anything built from necessity by the earnest effort of a user is going to have character, include ingenious solutions, and have common sense.