Designer Spotlight: Ross Cassidy

AS: Your designs are innovative, yet very livable. How do you combine beautiful and rare pieces into a home where people actually live and use the furniture?
RC: It’s all about striking the right balance. I hate designing rooms that are off limits because the furniture is too precious. I upholster with a lot of rugged fabrics that can take a beating and make sure that in a high traffic areas the pieces that get a lot of daily use like sofas and tables are built to last. I use more delicate pieces where the purpose is more decorative than practical or functional.



AS: What is on your Spotify playlist in your studio? 
RC: Right now I can’t get enough of the songs  'Suffer' by Charlie Puth & 'Warm On A Cold Night' by Honne. Most of the day we play the scores to movies….Out of Africa, Legends of the Fall,  Meet Joe Black and The English Patient get a lot of repeat play! 

AS: What are some of your favorite resources in LA for design?
RC: Galerie Half for inspiration, Christopher Farr for rugs, Maxfield for some funk, Alexandra Von Furstenberg for trays, bowls and boxes, Garde for gifts, Patt McGann for vintage textiles, Leif for furniture, Denmark 50 for good Danish pieces, Candle Delirium for my favorite scented candles. 

AS: Can you tell us one great design hack for consumers on a budget?
RC: CB2 is my solution for most things. They are unbeatable in terms of value for money. High quality and simple contemporary design the is transitional enough to work in most environments. 

AS: At what age did you know you wanted to be a designer?
RC: When I was a kid my Dad & I would go for a walk through our neighborhood every Sunday, we would break into building sites to look at houses under construction. It was my favorite thing to do. I always knew in some way I would end up building houses. They called me “The Architect” from about the age of 6. I still break into building sites…I’m bound to get arrested for trespassing sooner or later but I can’t help myself. Nothing makes me happier than exploring a building under construction.

AS: What are your top 3 ethos in your?
RC: 1. Edit Edit Edit. I hate any kind of unnecessary junk in design. Everything should be purposeful and have meaning.

2. The process should be fun. If there is no joy in creating you are doing something VERY wrong.
3. Every room should have a narrative, it needs to tell a story of the people living in the space.

AS: What are your favorite works on ArtStar or LittleCollector at the moment?
RC: Giotto’s Fly by Marc Dennis, Matthew Carden’s Chocolate Bears ( and everything else he does), All of Charles de Vaivre’s pieces - Particularly the roosters & Marguerite All of Briggs Solomon’s pieces, Amelia Bauer’s Moonscapes.

Ross's favorite pieces from ArtStar & LittleCollector