BLOGGERS

GET UPDATES FROM Michael Davis
Michael Davis is an award-winning, internationally-recognized architect and interior designer known primarily for pioneering the adaptive reuse of architectural details, salvage, and industrial design into distinctive home environments. Davis has made his early influences, life experience, and personal philosophy of design cornerstones of his work.

As a young boy moving from New York to Los Angeles due to his father's burgeoning career as a writer and producer of several popular television programs (You are There, Naked City, Route 66), an unfortunate turn of circumstances left he and his older brother orphans, and the sense of home and place became a primary focus. In 1967, an uncle adopted the two boys and Davis found himself living in a distinctive brownstone on East 61st Street once owned by Montgomery Clift. A nostalgia for the comfort of home and how a physical structure can influence one's life are deeply-rooted beliefs which characterize Davis' working relationship with his clients and the eventual outcome of the design projects.

Upon completing his studies at Harvard's Graduate School of Design, Davis began to apply his belief that buildings have a responsibility to change people. He set out to explore how the continuity of structures and objects could influence commissioned architecture and interior design projects. A focus on re-imagined and re-purposed architectural details and industrial elements would become hallmarks of Davis' approach to historic renovations as well as new construction.

Davis became a registered architect in 1989 and began to work with a number of prominent firms including Beyer, Blinder, Belle; Prentice and Chan, Olhausen; and Edwin Schlossberg's firm, ESI Design. There, he collaborated closely with production designer, Cabot McMullen, who was instrumental in shaping an approach to the theatrical nature of design. The two designers continued their collaboration after completing the Sony Wonder Museum of Technology at ESI and opened an office together before Mr. McMullen relocated to Hollywood and a successful career in Film and Television.

In 1994, he founded Michael Davis Architects & Interiors in Manhattan . The firm's work includes distinctive residential design and renovations, specially commissioned commercial projects, and museum and exhibition design. Davis' architecture and interior design work has been published extensively in Architectural Digest, GQ, The New York Times, Elle, HGTV and The Huffington Post. In addition, Davis was named the 2003 Rising Star in Home and Interior Design by Fashion Group International.

In 2011, Davis opened 3FortySeven, a showroom gallery located in Hudson, New York, not far from where he has enjoyed a personal home for over twenty years. 3FortySeven is an extension of Davis' architecture and design firm showcasing antique furniture, lighting, decorative objects and re-imagined industrial salvage. 3FortySeven has already been recognized by Travel & Leisure and CNNTravel as a unique shopping destination in the Hudson Valley.

Davis' professional affiliations include membership in the American Institute of Architects, the New York Society of Architects, and the National Council of Architectural Review Boards. He is also a guest blogger for The Huffington Post.

Davis was born in New York City in 1960 and raised both there and in Los Angeles. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in the History of Art and Comparative Literature from Brown University and a Master of Architecture from Harvard. He currently resides in Brooklyn Heights with his wife Nicole Porter Willcox, an art psychotherapist.

Visit www.michaeldavisarchitects.com and www.3fortyseven.com for more information.
SHOW FULL BIO

Blog Entries by Michael Davis

Razed and Confused: The Chilly Fate of the National Cold Storage Warehouse

Posted February 12, 2012 | 10:31 AM (EST)

If the developer who converted the Eagle Warehouse to residential use was, perhaps, immune to its historic charms, his was a benign indifference that nonetheless bequeathed the building to the future.

And, while he may have been compelled to do so by the Landmarks Preservation Commission and a host of...

READ POST

Life Behind the Clock -- Time as Design

Posted November 21, 2011 | 04:48 PM (EST)

Having looked through the Clock to the Bridge beyond, one might wonder about other clock windows.

In my view, every clock is a window through which we observe time subdivided into its simplest, most rational components -- seconds, minutes and hours. More complex time-pieces measure larger increments -- days, weeks,...

READ POST

Notes From the Clock -- Brooklyn and Beyond

Posted October 19, 2011 | 03:06 PM (EST)
2011-10-19-NickWoodcredit1.jpg
Photo by Nick Wood

There are numerous benefits to living in a clock, perhaps as many as there are minutes in a day.

Among other things, one can identify one's home from the world outside -- a rare luxury in an age
...

READ POST

Bloggers

 
 
Kirsten Dirksen , Co-founder, faircompanies.com

Discuss "craft" with Scott Constable, whose training includes apprenticeships under master woodworkers and who specialization in traditional joinery, and you're...

Read Post | Comments
Lisa Holt , In-house Interior Designer, NapaStyle; Creative Director, DLS Hotels & Spas

It isn't always easy to please everyone's palate (and possible dietary requirements) when creating a menu for a party, but...

Read Post | Comments
Rana Florida , CEO, The Creative Class Group

Target's innovations in design have dramatically raised its profile, setting it above its rivals. It just announced "The Shops at...

Read Post | Comments
Marcia Prentice , Interior Designer and blogger, Style Illuminated by LAMPS PLUS

Summer is almost here! Now that the days and nights are much warmer, having an outdoor ceiling fan can help...

Read Post | Comments
Bonnie McCarthy , Design expert, writer, photographer

Globe trekkers Heather Morrison and Neil Navin brought back more than trinkets and souvenirs from time spent living in the...

Read Post | Comments
Mary Hall , The Recessionista

Both Philip Treacy and Christopher Guy Harrison must have spent time reading the original Alice in Wonderland with illustrations by...

Read Post | Comments
Condiment , Condiment is a digital lifestyle magazine about tasting the good life through unique and upstart products

The minute you meet Apt2b.com's founder, Mat Herman, you instantly get why the upstart retail site is getting the buzz...

Read Post | Comments
Oyster , Oyster.com visits, photographs, reviews and rates each hotel. We uncover the truth, before it's "uh-oh" time.

These fantasies can very easily become a reality, with an outdoor space and a little elbow grease. We've seen a...

Read Post | Comments
Kelly Cogswell , Lesbian activist, independent journalist and award-winning columnist, Gay City News

I was mortified to learn that in the 1970s and '80s IKEA used slave labor. That's what it's called when...

Read Post | Comments
Courtney Cachet , Designer, TV Personality, Style Expert, Writer, Ninja

I have a lot of friends who could be called crafty. You know the type: They try new recipes, make...

Read Post | Comments
Robin Wilson , Wellness expert, leading eco-friendly interior designer

As you return to your summer home, there are many things on the maintenance list and given the damp weather...

Read Post | Comments
George Hobica , Syndicated travel journalist and founder of Airfarewatchdog.com

During the 20th century, a group of architects staged a controversial revolt. Why, they asked, couldn't less be as impressive...

Read Post | Comments
Fawn Galli , Founder, Fawn Galli Interior Design

The manipulation of light, through the use of paints, fabrics, and lighting, should always be one of the first considerations...

Read Post | Comments
Susan Cahill , Author

Paris is more and more a green city. The current mayor, Bernard Delanoe, has added more than 100 new acres...

Read Post | Comments

Stylelist Home TV