Celebrity Designer Brigette Romanek Makes Milan Debut With Artemest

MILAN — Brigette Romanek — the Los Angeles interior designer whose client list includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Demi Moore and Joe Jonas — has landed in Milan.

On Monday, her firm Romanek Design Studio made its debut at Milan’s Palazzo Donizetti within the third edition of L’Appartamento by Artemest. The 19th-century architectural landmark is located in Via Gaetano Donizetti 48, which is also the headquarters of fashion label Alberta Feretti.

“I wanted to make a really joyous room where you can sit and relax and just hang out in. I think we need that right now,” she told WWD, as she walked into the opening dinner, which included members of the international design community and Alberta Ferretti herself.

In the dining room, the uplifting, ornate Venetian glass Michelle chandeliers by Bottega Veneziana stand out. Their grandeur is juxtaposed by the folk wall creations by Italy-based Fibra Research and are handwoven without looms. Elsewhere, a modern polychrome painting by Enrica Ciurli adorns the wall, accompanied by other surprises like an exquisitely carved wood bar by Bottos Design Italia by Sebastiano Bottos, which combines technical research and artisanal woodworking techniques. A travertine table made by Giopagani is flanked by upbeat retro TF Pink Chairs by Spanish designer Pablo Regano.

This unexpected mix of cultural elements is very much part of Romanek’s design philosophy, which embraces both eclecticism and functionality, particularly in dining spaces. Whether she is working on a house or a boutique hotel, Romanek aims to create inviting environments that blend various design elements to evoke joy and comfort, using light colors and unique motifs, she explained.

“I want people to feel like this space is somewhere you want to be in for a long period of time and really enjoy and feel honored to be brought into that space, because it is so beautiful and to get to know the hands that made these things,” she said.

Romanek showcased alongside internationally acclaimed interior design studios, such as 1508 London, Champalimaud Design, New York-based design firm Meyer Davis, Riyadh-based Nebras Aljoaib and Australia’s Simone Haag, who each transformed a room of Palazzo as a way to showcase Artemest’s rare collection.

In 2018, the aesthete founded Romanek Design Studio and made the AD 100 list, the year she opened her business.

In 2023, she released “Livable Luxe,” which was published by Chronicle Books, which took readers on a journey through Romanek’s own Laurel Canyon, California home. It also took readers through upscale projects for A-list friends like Paltrow, who wrote the foreword. “The spaces Brigette designs are extraordinary.…It’s like she can feel what the room is calling out to be and then will manifest it,” Paltrow wrote.

Marco Credendino, Artemest’s chief executive officer, and jewelry designer Ippolita Rostagno, the firm’s creative director, founded Artemest in 2015. Today it has grown to an online destination with more than 60,000 products by 1,500 artisans that represent the past, present and future of Italian craftsmanship and creativity.

Artemest has been expanding its scope with a new gallery and interior design projects. In October, the firm took a leap into the luxury real estate world and unveiled its first model residence concept on the 85th floor of The Greenwich in New York City. The Greenwich is an 88-story tower in the Financial District and was designed by late architect Rafael Viñoly.