2019 marks the tenth anniversary of the furniture designer Francis Sultana's emergence as an interior designer of extraordinary taste and vision. Previously our paths have always tended to cross at a mutual client's house or Art Fair but today we meet at his atelier and showroom in the heart of St. James's, London, above the David Gill Gallery of which he is Creative Director and C.E.O.
Francis Sultana came to London aged nineteen from the island of Gozo. He thought about university but instead started as a gallery assistant at the David Gill Gallery, then on the Fulham Road. One day a gallery client saw him sketching and was sufficiently impressed to commission from him a dining table; he was twenty-two and his career has not looked back since. Today, Francis is the go-to interior designer for international collectors of contemporary art and design.
As a child, Francis was fascinated by modernist architecture, especially the work of Frank Lloyd Wright for his all-encompassing design unity of house and interiors. Wright often designed both furniture and rugs to form a Gesamtkunstwerk (total artwork). The British designer David Hicks was one of his earliest inspirations, (aged only nine, Francis was already pasting magazine cuttings including Hicks' work into his own reference scrapbooks: and admired in particular Hicks' own masterpiece, the Villa Verde in Portugal). David Hicks dominated the international design world in the sixties and seventies and if he didn't like an object then he would simply redesign it himself. He pioneered table-scapes of objects and obelisk bookcases, and often mixed the finest antiques with the best modern pieces – a trend that is still prevalent today. Hicks employed colour fearlessly, loved geometric motifs and placed great emphasis on symmetry.
Amongst his formative influences, Francis also acknowledges the work of French interior designer Jacques Grange, whose interiors often include important art works. The two share a love of the work of Jean-Michel Frank, (Grange has stated that his favourite possession is a straw marquetry box by Frank).
For a man of such individual vision, Francis offers up the surprising thought that his most creative work is on some level a collaborative process. "In the early years I spent a lot of time in both London and Paris. When I decorate a home a lot of the ladies that I work for become muses because our rapport inspires me. I've known a few people in my life who were great influences and mentors because they're people who have got a great sense of style." Francis singles out one Anglo-Greek lady, a socialite and knowledgeable collector who could effortlessly host anything in her salon from a dinner for two, twelve or twenty to a buffet for fifty or drinks for one hundred and fifty.
Less surprisingly, Francis finds attracting clients to be relatively easy. Some read about him in magazines, some buy his furniture, and others contact him on the recommendation of mutual friends. Repeat commissions are also not uncommon, ("Of course, once you've completed one home, they often ask for you to do others"). Amongst his earliest commissions was a furniture order for Madonna and a sofa for Annie Lennox, but now he rarely sees musicians or actors. His clients tend to be self-made individuals, most are from outside of the UK and are often contemporaries in their late forties, and so share a similar worldview to his own. A firm believer in the importance of good communication, Francis maintains regular contact with clients by phone, WhatsApp and email, even at 11 pm! As they support him, so he in turn supports them.
China is new territory for Francis. He doesn't yet know if it'll flourish or not, but a growing elite likes his work. He is currently working on a home in China that will house an important art collection on an almost unimaginable scale (the ballroom alone can seat 180 people to dinner). Francis notes that China's last great stylistic moment (notably in Shanghai) was during the Deco period, and this chimes exactly with his aesthetic. By way of a contrast, he is also working with a delightful couple (no children, just a dog) furnishing an ideal period villa on the Welsh Marches.
It takes eighteen months to two years to create a home. Clients know that everything is bespoke and of the highest quality, but the process takes time as only a select few artisans around the world are making the materials and pieces that Francis favours. Successful interior design is a highly collaborative process, throughout which clients often require his 'editing'; even to the extent of specifying towels and china.
Working with a peerless group of artists, designers and architects inevitably influences the course of his work. Francis says "An interior is successful when it's capable of merging the residential requirements of a domestic space with often large-scale visual art, sculpture and installation pieces in the best way possible. I always pay close attention to the client; you need to know how they live and observe their habits to understand what they need. Beautiful interiors are projects that express a classic sense of elegance. I don't mix surfaces with diverse motifs and fantasies. As I aim to create harmony between elements, less is often more."
Francis's office has a partners desk arrangement, one side with papers, notepads and a computer for business, but the other (creative) side kept clear save for the largest set of Caran d'Ache coloured pencils imaginable; everything is immaculately placed.
Francis considers design as a fully immersive experience. His process is, aesthetics first (fabulous to see, surprising to the touch), but always functional. "The Anita banquette is my best-selling piece of furniture; it is an oval stool covered in Kidassia fur that comes in a range of colours and was originally designed for a penthouse in St. Moritz. It has been featured in many fashion magazines which gave it huge exposure". The backbone of every project is his own design, but he also produces annual collections of bespoke and limited-edition furniture and textiles, and often commissions artists represented by the Gallery to create one-off pieces. In 2019, he plans to augment his range with further accessories, such as vases and photograph frames.
Francis describes his style as "under-the-radar elegance". He doesn't do avant-garde for practical reasons ("I need to make money!"), and while not being above occasionally flaunting a little 'bling bling' is primarily concerned with creating a sustainable and lasting aesthetic. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his favourite building is the Chrysler Building in New York: the Art Deco sensibility that characterises much of his contemporary design is largely unchanged from that which brought glamour and sophistication to the 1920s and 30s and exemplified the golden age of Paris and Hollywood. The reason for this is that Art Deco designs still employ a foundation of 18th century proportions and classical sensibility. The form of a bolster sofa, for example, has changed little from antiquity through to Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, and onto Francis's designs today. And while he enjoys geometric decoration, his Mediterranean heritage occasionally surfaces in some typically Baroque flourishes.
Francis uses noble materials. Bronze is his favourite, and he incorporates it in every furniture collection (sometimes reflecting Armand Rateau, a great favourite from the Deco era). He also employs rock crystal, marquetry, straw marquetry and scagliola in his furniture, as well as French leather work (including embossed leather). Francis delights in finding and working with small artisan ateliers and explaining to his clients why they are so important. He plants an idea, and more often than not his clients will run with it.
As I admire a couch covered with silver bullion thread and silk fabric (both luxurious and hard wearing) with cushions of cut-velvet (£900 per metre), he explains "You need to speak to artisans to make it all work. The loom is 62 centimetres wide, so the usable cloth is only 60 centimetres wide, which might constrain the size of a piece. Also, supply is very limited; they can only produce, say, 40 centimetres a day." Francis also researches the design records of companies including Cristofle & St. Louis, so that they can remake or adapt period designs for today.
Francis almost exclusively works with great collectors, and invariably they show him works that they are buying – but he tries never to get involved with art collections, as that is why clients employ Art Advisers. "People buy what they want to buy and don't worry or think about the placement of the art, so that's where I advise. You can't really decide where a painting will go before the house design is complete. Designing a house is like clothes – you don't design your whole wardrobe around one coat. I have a very relaxed approach, as interiors tend to evolve. People change, buy new things, rotate art in and out of storage. A low-key room should feature a colourful work, whereas a low-key work should sit in a more colourful room. The most valuable work is not always best displayed in the most prominent place; there can perhaps be more delight in discovering it in a corner."
Francis thinks that too much technology in the home can often be a bad idea as it prone to going wrong, but he acknowledges that people today want to be able to control their environment. "I believe in using and enjoying every room, so you need something in each room to make you go in there. I must use the grand blue salon in my London home, as that's where my laptop is. The home must be comfortable and practical: if you have a dining table for sixteen people, you need a reception room that can also seat sixteen. Always build in lots of good storage, and a laundry room helps keep a house orderly. You also can't underestimate the importance of good lighting."
Francis's personal likes include coloured tiger print carpets – he has a cobalt blue one in one home – and he recommends adding the luxury of silk and velvets to interiors. He remarks that one of David Hicks's design tricks was to use big pieces of furniture to make a small room feel bigger, and also references Sir John Soane's trick of hanging a painting on a mirror as being a great way to reflect light. Francis advises always to invest in a good sofa; you can reupholster a well-made one for a fraction of the cost of buying new, but no amount of new fabric will save a poorly made one.
His philosophy towards work and success is refreshingly simple: "I work hard because I want to have beautiful things in my life" he says. "There are a lot more people in the world with much more money these days. David and I don't buy much art now as it has got so expensive, and we can't afford to spend millions. So for us, it's not about saving money but being wise and making the right choices. I would love to collect antiquities: I'm fascinated by them, especially beautiful Grecian and Roman sculpture. George Condo is my favourite living artist and Francis Picabia my favourite historically. I also have work by Yayoi Kusama in my dining room; I like the idea of a one artist room."
Home for Francis is one of the largest sets of rooms within London's first apartment building, the Albany in Piccadilly. He also has a home in Valetta that he has rescued from dereliction – a Maltese palace dating from the 16th century that had been uninhabitable since the 1940's. Francis sits on the board of M.I.C.A.S., Malta's new museum project due to open in 2021, which will house Malta's contemporary art & design collections. He concedes that he has a short attention span and is easily bored, which might explain his pouring his energies into so many areas – including co-founding the Design Fund for the V.& A. Museum and sitting on its International Council.
To mark Francis Sultana's 10th anniversary as a brand he will be launching a book covering his inspiration and key projects; he is one of a select band of interior designers to currently feature within the Architectural Digest's AD100, House & Garden's top 100 and Wallpaper's top 20.
