Past designer houses have been located in New York City, California, Florida, and Connecticut, but wherever they are, they are ultimately chosen by producer, Franco Grimaldi. Originally known for his grandiose opera singing and theatrical acting on Broadway, for the past 14 years, he has transformed his artistic repertoire to include the celebration of design.
In choosing a show house, being “big” is a requirement for Grimaldi.“I also like when they’re new so we don’t have to go through demolition,” said Grimaldi.
One of the reasons why he decided to get involved in producing show houses, besides having had his own home in Winter Park showcased, is that he wanted to help people. The proceeds of his show houses have helped victims of AIDS, cancer, child abuse, and Alzheimer’s disease, among other causes. This year, admission to the Weston Designer Show House cost $30 per person, and the proceeds went to the Connecticut Humane Society.
In addition to producing show houses, Grimaldi also produces a television series entitled: The Room of Choice© for American Showcase Homes, a subdivision of Talent Resource Centre, LLC.
After receiving a call to participate from Grimaldi, ASR chose to design the rooms, La Salonetta, and Bath, in the Weston house along with partners Siegfried Kropf, from Leinritt Decorators, and Peter Jonas, from Installation Decorator, LLC.
Upon first walking into the room which is now La Salonetta, Euclides Pagan, owner of ASR, said it was nothing but a white room, and that he already knew ahead of time what he wanted to do.
After four weeks of work with a 12-person team, the once vacuous space is now a rich French Renaissance masterpiece painted in blueish-green, and yellow tones, Neo-Classical plaster elements, and a Georgian Roman Acanthus medallion crowning a crystal chandelier. Jonas was in charge of the blood red and gold-colored fabric lining the bottom portion of the walls with a pillow effect. The walls of the Bath room were painted a regal red in Venetian plaster, and a shiny black door was handsomely trimmed with gold. Kropf was responsible for the vibrant colors and various painting techniques.
Even though Jonas and Pagan have worked independently on the same projects for many years, this was the first time in which they personally worked together in conjunction with their teams.
Just as this event allowed many unique designers to work in harmonious unison towards a common good cause, Pagan said, “La Saloneta represents and expresses the richness, craftsmanship and harmony of the Renaissance style period where all the elements in interior decoration come together.”
