If you haven’t met Will & Coral Frischkorn, it’s likely that you’ve still benefitted from their impeccable taste (pun intended); they own Cured, a downtown gastronomie about which you will often here people say ‘what the hell did we do before Cured?!’ As lovers of design, all their spaces are immaculately appointed, uber tasteful, and showcase their unique personal style. Below, Coral speaks about exactly what that is-
How would you describe your home’s style? We’ve tried to create a modern home that still maintains a feeling of softness and warmth. We love clean lines, open spaces and whites and greys, but love to meld and soften those qualities that can become so stark with textiles, rugs, plants and rustic wood.
What is your most prized/favorite item? Our fireplace. It is made by HWAM, a company out of Denmark, and is a traditional wood burning fireplace. It also, however, just so happens to double as a wood fired oven. We can fire pizzas, roast chickens and vegetables, all right in our living room. Plus, having a real fire rather than gas, helps give more of that rustic, farmhouse feel to balance out our slightly more modern furniture.
What is your biggest steal? We have two rugs in our living room that we’ve layered on top of each other, and each has a great story of bargaining. The first we bought on a trip to Morocco while we were living in Spain. We were in this warehouse that was just overflowing with beautiful rugs, all piled atop each other, and spent probably 4 hours bartering with the owner, drinking cup after cup of the sweetened mint tea, until we finally got to a price we couldn’t resist. The one catch was that we were flying Ryan Air, which has obscenely low baggage weight, and obscenely high overweight fees. We ended up wearing just about every piece of clothing we had packed, pretty much looking like the Michelin Man, so that we could put the rug in our bag and fly it home. On top of that is a big, beautiful cowhide, the kind you see at Design Within Reach for far too much money, that we found at a flea market outside of Santa Fe. We almost felt guilty for how little we paid for it, but it is such a fun piece to have in the house.
What are your favorite decades/eras for furniture and/or design? Like so many, we love mid-century modern. That said, for our personal style, it can often be taken a bit too far and leave a space feeling lifeless and unfriendly. We like to mix elements of the now iconic mid century modern design with natural elements to soften things up a bit and add warmth. There is French design magazine called Côté Sud that we absolutely adore. It doesn’t particularly represent an era, but rather a style that we so connect with; combinations of modern furniture tucked into these 19th century country houses with wood and stone juxtaposed against muted colors and open spaces. I don’t think we’ve come across a single house in that magazine we wouldn’t move into in a heartbeat.
What are your favorite local shops? Cedar and Hyde, HW Home, Fiori Flowers, Nod and Rose and of course, Cured 😉
Does your personal style influence your design and decorating choices? Most certainly! The beauty of anybody’s house is that it becomes a realization of your own personal style. It’s essentially a big, blank canvas waiting to be turned into a home. You get to decide material, color, layout, furniture, art…the list goes on and on. Even just the linens you chose to dress your bed or set your table get to be an expression of your style. I think that’s the beauty and fun of a home and whey it’s always so interesting to see what people do with their own personal spaces.
Fill in the blank: I wouldn’t be caught dead putting ____ in my home? Kraft Singles and Carlo Rossi.
What do you consider the best design trend(s) of the last 10 years? Without a doubt, the availability of design. There are more creative craftspeople making beautiful products that are now available everywhere. It used to be hard to find great design outside of the big cities, but thanks to the Internet and a new wave of independently owned small boutiques, it’s easier to find both inspiration and the elements of design to express your personal style almost anywhere.
What are some of your other interests/hobbies? Our life is pretty much a revolving circle of eating, drinking, and playing outdoors. Perhaps because of Cured, or perhaps the reason we started Cured, is that we love entertaining. One of the best things about our house is how it makes it easy to entertain. Whether around the dining table, scattered through the living room, or tossing out big rugs and lanterns in the back yard, for a smaller house it has a lot of open space. We also, like anyone, love to travel. One of our favorite things to do is wander the markets wherever we go. It gives you such a taste of place and provides endless inspiration, both for our business, and our personal style at home.
If money were no object, what is the first thing you’d buy for your home? Art. Lots of it.
