Born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, a young Andre Mellone—fresh out of an architecture program at Syracuse University—used watercolor sketches in a job application to get the attention of famous architect Robert A.M. Stern. It worked. In 1994, Mellone started at Stern’s eponymous firm before pivoting to work with celebrated interior designer Mark Hampton a few years later. “[During my time with] Bob, [I learned] about how to tell the story to sell a design, to explain your intention. There was a very regimented way of doing things,” Mellone tells host Dennis Scully on the latest episode of The Business of Home Podcast. “And then [with] Mark, it was all about the conversation and the charm and lifestyle. The architects are all about the technical and the discipline and the scientific, and the decorator is the lifestyle.”
Mellone went on to work for Ferguson & Shamamian and Greg Jordan before founding his own firm, Studio Mellone, in 2012. He started by charging other firms for his sketches; after he gained some traction designing his own apartment, the projects started to roll in and the studio grew, becoming known for its “midcentury masculine” aesthetic. His project for [New York fashion entrepreneur and influencer] Lauren Santo Domingo just landed him on the cover of Architectural Digest’s December issue.
Over the years, Mellone has come to realize that the best designs embrace imperfection. “The rooms that always excite me the most are when there’s an absolute structure of style that holds everything together, but within that structure, there’s imperfection. There’s something that is out of place. There’s a piece of paper on the floor. There’s a dead flower,” he says. “That’s what interiors should be. It’s not about creating perfection. It’s about creating an emotion. It’s energy.”
Crucial insight: Mellone believes that all designers need to be involved in the financial side of their business. “That era of the genius designer isolated, at his desk, while the mega business person is doing all the business work and letting the other guy be with his sketches and his nervous breakdowns—I don’t think that era exists anymore,” he says. Mellone’s life partner, who has a background in finance, has joined the firm to help with the back-end aspects, but Mellone is still in the mix. “I don’t think you can afford not to be involved in your own business, even if you’re like me and you’re not great at it.”
Key quote: “I have no problem being called masculine. It’s kind of ironic to me, because I was the sensitive kid who was bullied and who took a while to come into my own. All of a sudden I’m defined as a masculine designer. If anything it’s like, Oh, OK, I wasn’t allowed that when I was younger. So this is great. I’m very proud of it.”
This episode is sponsored by Loloi and Klafs. Listen to the show below. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
