David/Nicolas:

Top Italian Interior Designers

David Raffoul and Nicolas Moussallem have established a global presence since they set up their studio, David/Nicolas, in Beirut in 2011. Through their interdisciplinary approach to their retro-futurist design aesthetic, they have staged several exhibitions and collaborated with established international brands like Vista Alegre, CC-Tapis, Moooi, and Vogue Italia.

David/Nicolas work in a salon-style studio environment and have fostered a creative space where their individual ways of creation can flourish and where critique is an indispensable part of their collaboration. David/Nicolas met at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts, where they both studied for a Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design, going on to undertake Masters’s degrees at the Scuola Politecnica Di Design in Milan.

After graduating, both undertook internships with international design studios, Nicolas going on to freelance for a year in Beirut while David worked as a designer at Fabrica, in Treviso, Italy.

Inspired By The Look

Cassia Modular Sofa

Another name for an espresso cup, this armchair takes its shape precisely from it. Flawlessly curved to embrace the user, ergonomy is the keyword for this piece with its sublime design and soft seating. The discreet wide and elegant foot is the perfect little detail for creating the final expression of this luxury neutral modern armchair. The perfect piece of upholstery for your modern design. Demitasse, what else?

In 2014 at the Milan Design Week, the New York Times selected them as one of the design week’s three breakout stars. Later the same year, they held their first solo show in Beirut, “Loulou/Hoda”, exhibiting pieces inspired by their grandmothers that combined Oriental and Western as well as antique and contemporary influences. Subsequently, the studio introduced its first industrial project at Maison & Objet, the “Orquestra” tableware collection for Vista Alegre, which was awarded the Red Dot Design Award and the Wallpaper*Award.

Since 2016, David/Nicolas are represented by Carpenters Workshop Gallery. Their solo exhibition “Supernova” was shown in both Paris and New York and is continuously expanding into a wide range of carefully crafted pieces.

Gallery Work:

Born from the need to challenge David/Nicolas traditional territories of expression, they strive to create exclusive and limited-edition pieces which push the boundaries of natural materials and refined craftsmanship. Through a collaborative partnership with both Carpenters Workshop Gallery and Nilufar Gallery, they work on transcending the object from a simple product to a functional sculpture that perpetuates an emotion as well as historical relevance.

Studio Line:

Studio Line pieces are materializations of the most personal and spontaneous bursts of imagination. What often starts off as a sketch, a feeling or a reflection initiates a dialogue within our office and eventually translates into these pieces that perpetuate a strong sense of David/Nicolas identity.

Collaborations:

Collaborations with established companies such as Pierre Frey, CC-Tapis, de Gournay, Moooi, Vista Alegre, and others spark interesting conversations and broaden the scope of design narratives David/Nicolas can pursue. After carefully looking into each brand’s history and philosophy they aim to subtly integrate their own DNA, challenge their techniques and develop innovative solutions.

Inspired By The Look

Cassia Modular Sofa

Cassia Modular Sofa is the perfect addition to your modern living room. With a hue of brown inspired by the Cassia cinnamon, this luxury neutral modern modular sofa contains an upholstered back and seating, with symmetric shapes for a chic look. A rearrangeable sofa, that’s both chic and cozy.

Spaces:

A canopy of refined details, an assortment of colors and materials, a contrast between mass and void, what David/Nicolas expect to achieve from space design is synergy.

Natural light is their main orchestrator as it defines the way they read and therefore feels about space, each one of David/Nicolas interventions is mindfully tailored according to its visual impact and the way it would interact with its environment. They have always been interested in experimenting with rhythmic patterns of geometric shapes as they add a unique signature to each one of their projects.