Specialists of Design: The Devil Wears Prada Office at DCOTA (Part 1 of 2)

We recently introduced you to Alex Matamoros, DCOTA's Director of Design Services and Design Professionals. Now that we have gotten to know him, he's telling us about what he's been up to at DCOTA recently and we think it's devilishly good.

By Alex Matamoros

I often create the vignettes at DCOTA to showcase products from different showrooms and give clients inspiration for their current projects and ideas for end users. The vignettes are redone at random and allow me to be inspired and inspire others with my design and creative freedom.

While working with a client of mine recently, a trip together to visit the Quadrille showroom sparked a note of inspiration for me. While in search of fabrics for my clients' dining room chairs and flipping through a book of Quadrille's advertisement, I came across a picture of the lovely Meryl Streep taken from the film, The Devil Wears Prada. I happened to have just started design plans for an office vignette and it just so happened that at that moment, my creative juices started to flow.

Immediately, my mind wandered to what the necessities of the room should be. I decided then that I had to create an office fit for a powerful businesswoman with lots of personality, but not without a feminine touch. The space in my mind had to be eclectic with a contemporary feel for this power woman, so the first item that I selected for its beautiful rich texture were the fabrics from Jab-USA. The fabrics I found in Jab have a background of taupe and accents of magenta. Instantly I decided that those fabrics would dictate the color palate I would follow throughout the rest of the office space.

The space is anchored with a gray area rug from Tai Ping, with magenta becoming the accent color behind the desk. I decided that all of the furniture would need sleek and curvy shapes, so I started with the [Vladimir] Kagan Moon Sofa and the Antoine Proulx desk and bookshelf, all from J. Batchelor.

Stay tuned to GoDesignGo for more from Alex. He'll tell us more about his The Devil Wears Prada-inspired space and share what he recommends for those of us looking to design a power-pushing office.