Archives: Case Studies

With a desire to create a deeply immersive expression of Sonoma’s flavors, landscape, and culture, Appellation Healdsburg owners partnered with the brand and design visionaries at EDG around a simple and soulful philosophy: exceptional hospitality begins with honoring the land and celebrating the artisans who bring it to life.

In charming Healdsburg, where Sonoma County’s small-town ease meets refined wine country living, Appellation founders Charlie Palmer and Chris Hunsberger envisioned their flagship culinary hotel as an authentic extension of the region’s agrarian roots. Every detail would have a meaningful connection to the place.

Architect John Hill embraced this philosophy from the outset, with designer Matt Vuolo of EDG translating it into a richly layered environment. “Appellation is a culinary-focused brand with design at its core,” Matt noted. “The John Hill-designed campus plan and brand framework informed the project at every scale.”

The result is what Matt calls “purposeful luxury,” elegant and approachable. A restaurant experience attuned to gastronomy and wine culture alongside a hotel where foodie travelers, families with children, and even four-legged companions feel equally at ease.

Rather than a traditional lobby, guests arrive directly into a contemporary great room anchored by a glowing fireplace, at once grand and intimate. Designed to accommodate everything from intimate tastings to full-property events, flexibility was essential. “We have a beautiful concrete tile floor,” Vuolo explained, “and because of its natural variation, the chairs need to move effortlessly across it – lightweight without compromising stability.”
After evaluating 35 options, the team selected Sossego pieces. Rooted in the legacy of Brazilian modern design, Sossego’s sculptural forms, expressive joinery, and reverence for natural materials had impressed Matt on other projects. The Appellation group experienced them in situ, moving them throughout the space before reaching unanimous agreement: the pieces aligned seamlessly with Appellation’s ethos. Matt said, “They’re not only beautiful, but comfortable, sturdy, and timeless. Guests can stay seated through a two- to three-hour tasting menu and still be wowed by the chair’s beauty.”

At Folia Bar & Kitchen by chef Charlie Palmer, guests settle into Angela Armchairs and Duda stools, distinguished by their three-quarter-length arms. “You still have a place to maybe rest your elbows, but it’s not a full arm that kind of blocks you in at the bar. Bars, you want them to be a little bit more open and inviting, so you can be closer to your neighbors and not feel like you’re stuck in there”.

In the guest rooms, warm woods, soft textiles, and custom finishes create a sanctuary layered with modern Brazilian influence, featuring the Pitu Lounge Chair, the Guadalupe Lounge Chair, the Lily Stool, and the Gisele Balanço. Taking advantage of Sossego’s COM capabilities, Matt tailored selections to complement each space, while higher-end suites extend the experience outdoors with loungers, dining chairs, rockers, and Guilherme Wentz side tables set against Sonoma’s open skies.
Throughout the property, Matt achieved a quiet throughline that anchors the narrative of Appellation Healdsburg itself – a destination where terroir, design, and hospitality converge.

Located in Nashville’s Midtown district, 5 City Blvd, designed by Goettsch Partners, combines contemporary architecture with vibrant outdoor spaces that encourage connection and wellbeing. Within this environment, Sossego furniture brings warmth and a human-centered layer to shared areas and lounges.

The selection includes the Alice Lounge Chair, Gisele Balanço, Duda Stool, and Giulia Stool— all by Aristeu Pires—, balancing comfort, craftsmanship, and sculptural design. 

Together, the pieces reflect Sossego’s Brazilian design sensibility, enhancing the architectural experience with tactile materials and welcoming forms.

The Credit Karma office in Charlotte, designed by ASD|SKY, features a thoughtfully crafted interior environment that accommodates various work styles. The space includes distinct amenity areas such as a coffee bar, music room, and wellness spaces, all of which foster both focused work and informal interactions. For this project, the comfortable Alice Lounge Chair by Aristeu Pires was selected in different finishes for two areas of the workspace.

Vibrant graphics and elements of local storytelling have been incorporated throughout the design, reinforcing a sense of community while enhancing collaboration and visual interest across the workspace. Overall, the design strikes a balance between functionality and creativity, providing an engaging and adaptable workplace tailored to the team’s needs.

A workplace shaped by shared direction and collaboration

Designed by Felderman Keatinge + Associates for Aviron Pictures, this project translates the client’s values into a spatial experience defined by alignment, rhythm, and collective effort. The environment encourages interaction while supporting moments of focus, reflecting the idea of individuals moving forward together.

Within this context, the Duda Chair and Duda Stool by Aristeu Pires integrate seamlessly into the space, offering comfort, flexibility, and a warm material presence that complements the overall design language. Their versatility supports both collaborative exchanges and informal work moments throughout the day.

A thoughtful collaboration between client, designers, and makers, resulting in a workplace designed to perform, connect, and evolve.

“Our vision and challenge were to create a warm and elegant world-class destination that felt like it had always been there; a place where members would want to return over and over again.” Shane Morris – Designer, Michaelis Boyd

 

If Oklahoma City doesn’t bring to mind a vibrant arts, culture, and culinary scene, you likely haven’t visited in a while. And you almost certainly haven’t experienced Citizen House, the live-work-play destination by Brady Wood (WoodHouse) that’s giving members and guests three new reasons to fall in love with this forward-thinking city.

Inhabiting the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors of AHMM’s modern mid-rise set just across from the elegantly curated Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, Citizen House brings together a private social club, hotel, and executive workplace.

Michaelis Boyd, a London and New York-based architecture and interior design studio with a global and diverse hospitality portfolio of award-winning projects, was selected to bring residential warmth and holistic flow to the project. Partner Rina Kukaj and designer Shane Morris handled the interior architectural layouts, finishes, and furnishings, case goods, millwork, and accessories.

Guided by the firm’s “light, form, flow” ethos, the designer incorporated abundant natural light and sweeping city views, complemented by the addition of greenery and the use of natural materials. “We love how wood patinas that age gracefully make a space feel organic and lived in,” said Shane.

The designer’s choice of Sossego tables, chairs, lounge chairs, and stools in Brazilian Jequitibá wood finish played well into the designer’s “accumulated” aesthetic. “The way the chairs are carved, it looks like hands passed over the wood for a long period of time. Like there’s a story there,” he said.

And while the pieces nod to legacy design, “they’re also undeniably sleek and modern,” said the designer. That balance allowed seamless integration with his layered approach to pattern, color, textiles, and style – whether drawing from Art Deco, Beaux Arts, or Spanish Revival influences. “From hotel lobby to speakeasy and from executive office to intimate dining nook,” he added, “Sossego designs live effortlessly alongside other furniture, whether a marble table or a sculptural bench.”

Shane felt the pieces fulfilled client WoodHouse’s desire for flexible, multifunctional furniture. “The minimalist structure and lightness of the Sossego chairs gave us true freedom of movement. Combined with their exquisite craftsmanship, they are perfectly suited to the space. Warm and worn-in, as if they’ve always belonged here.”

When Gensler envisioned NVIDIA’s campus, the goal was more than designing a workplace—it was about shaping an environment where innovation and well-being could coexist.

The architecture firm specified furniture from Sossego, celebrated for some of the most comfortable pieces in contemporary design. Rooted in Brazilian modernism, Sossego’s collections embody the art of living well, blending beauty and function with a deep respect for human comfort. In the context of NVIDIA’s cutting-edge campus, these designs bring warmth and ease to spaces driven by technology, proving that the future of work is also about how people feel, connect, and thrive.

Among the furniture selected are the Duda Counter Stool, Duda Chair, Julieta Armchair and Angela Armchair by Aristeu Pires, all enhancing shared workspaces with comfort and elegance. The awarded Gisele Lounge Chair anchors more relaxing areas, inviting users to experience the art of living—and working—well.

“Truthfully, everything revolves around the farm. This is important.” Beatrice Girelli, Architect/Designer

 

Paul and Laura Mishkin may have been looking for a needle in a haystack when they sought an interior architect and designer for their destination resort in a 325-acre working farm in Middle Tennessee. This unique experiential project includes an inn and spa located in a central building, as well as cottages, tree houses, restaurants, an event center, and jammery built throughout the farm. 

Beatrice Girelli, founder and principal of Los Angeles-based Indidesign, was the perfect discovery: someone with substantial hospitality experience and a holistic vision, capable of crafting a compelling aesthetic for the project. 

Inspired by the “truly, truly, beautiful land,” over the next seven years, Beatrice said she led the interior architectural development, including “the design of every building, space, experience, and detail, down to the smallest touches.” This undertaking required integrating traditional Southern hospitality and a working farm that was home to perennial crops, a natural ecosystem, four million honeybees, thousands of apple trees, acres of native grasses, and a water feature.

Avoiding stereotypical concepts, the designer balanced the finest elements of farmhouse rusticity, like hand-troweled stucco and reclaimed wood, against bespoke murals and copper bathtubs. “For the furniture, I wanted a modern-meets-mid-century flair,” she said. “I achieved this by choosing Sossego furniture and mixing it with vintage and commissioned pieces. The Sossego chairs had a design sensibility and aesthetic that aligned perfectly with what I was doing. And the workmanship is quite beautiful.”

Beatrice chose several iconic Aristeu Pires-designed chairs in a variety of native Brazilian woods customized with leathers and fabrics that are at home in both rustic and modern surroundings: the Angela armchair in Jequitibá Ebanizado; the Laura Chair in Jequitibá Ebanizado and Pecan; the Gisele Lounge Chair in Jequitibá Ebanizado with black nautical cord for indoor and the Gisele Balanço with graphite nautical cord for outdoor.

 Making land-inspired choices like these helped Beatrice cultivate a sense of place, where visitors immerse themselves in nature through an authentic, farm-centered experience. “Truthfully, everything revolves around the farm,” she said, “as it should.”

 

When developer Brady Wood first laid eyes on the neoclassical gem, he saw the future icon of the Miami Design District. To reinvent it, he would tap into the soul of Pan-American culture.

 

Sitting where a pineapple plantation once thrived, The Moore, designed in the 1920s by architect David P. Davis, began life as a furniture warehouse and showroom, a product of Florida’s land boom era. Davis could never have imagined the transformation that awaited the neighborhood: luxury boutiques, Michelin-starred restaurants, and a cultural district buzzing with creative energy.

WoodHouse founder Brady Wood assembled a team that would look beyond the building’s storied past and see its vibrant potential. Frequent collaborator ICRAVE developed a master plan for the four-story interior featuring Elastika restaurant, named after the eponymous Zaha Hadid sculpture installed in the atrium in 2005; a private members club; a workspace; and a boutique hotel. Brady also brought in renowned hospitality designer Studio-Collective for the hotel rooms and parts of the club. 

Lead designer Greg Merkel aimed to preserve as much of The Moore’s character as possible. “There were some beautiful elements we wanted to keep, but the structure was heavy, with columns, beams, sheet rock, and concrete floors,” said Merkel. “There were so many directions it could go,” added Brady. “Narrowing in on one clear vision took time.” Even so, he believed it had the potential to become “the lobby of the design district,” an image WoodHouse greatly appreciated.

Studio-Collective believed Miami’s melting pot of Latin culture could bring the right energy and design influence to the spaces, and Greg agreed. “We didn’t say, ‘Let’s make this a Cuban, or Argentinian, or Brazilian project. Let’s make this a Pan-American experience that isn’t rigorous to any one country. What unites them is a strong craftsmanship of art, design, and furniture that is a dying breed in other countries, like America,” said designer Christian Schulz.

The ICRAVE team discovered Sossego’s handcrafted modern furniture at a Brazilian dinner hosted by Sossego CEO Jonathan Durling in Chicago. Design lead Greg Merkel immediately recognized the alignment between the brand and the project. Traveling to Brazil to see the Sossego pieces firsthand, Brady and Christian agreed that Sossego’s native woods and custom finishes offered minimalist profiles that would balance well against the building’s heavy structure. “The Sossego pieces helped influence the project,” said Greg.

Studio-Collective’s Leslie Kale agreed. “The styles matched what we were looking for. They looked and felt like luxury, but were much more: uber-functional, elegant, timeless, with nice lines. Laid-back and deeply relaxing without being heavy-handed or over-the-top. Fantastic over-stuffed lounge chairs that were super cushy.” For ICRAVE’s Aline Aguero, “The Miami design district sees objects, even furniture, as art, not merely something to sit on. Sossego doesn’t just make chairs; they make works of art.”

The result is more than a landmark – it’s a vibe. A centerpiece in a district defined by design, and a beacon for what’s yet to come.

“New York is a very challenging place for a restaurant. But it’s also a city that recognizes the truth. When you bring something real, the city embraces you.” Mario DeMatos, Owner Berimbau West Village & Berimbau Midtown Manhattan

 

Fresh off a flight from his native São Paulo, architect Daniel Castro Cunha arrived at Midtown’s Berimbau Brazilian restaurant and entered the Second Floor, where owner Mario DeMatos, the son of a Brazilian baker, wanted to create something new: an intimate Brazilian-music-meets-Brazilian-gastronomy experience.

Looking at the space, Daniel saw a wall canvas with the potential for more color and brasilidade, or Brazilian identity. He recalled a striking panel by artist Jeffer Zion in his cousin’s home and knew the artist’s work would fit Berimbau’s walls perfectly.

Berimbau Second Floor is a space dedicated to the intersection of music, culture, and atmosphere. Upstairs, a curated selection of vinyl sets the tone with the sounds of Bossa Nova, Chorinho, and Tropicália filling the room. It’s a place to slow down, connect, and experience the richness of Brazilian rhythms in an intimate, thoughtfully designed setting.

Zion spent 300 hours hand-painting the flora and fauna of the southern coast of Rio de Janeiro on the walls. “Scarlet guaras, golden tamarins, canaries singing to a guitar that grows out of a tree—a blend of nature and music that celebrates the joy of being Brazilian,” Jeffer said. Mario’s team calls it “A forest that sways to the rhythm of Bossa Nova.”

Mario had long dreamed of the perfect seating to define the space. As a passionate admirer of Aristeu Pires’ work, Mario aimed to furnish the bar with Sossego’s pieces by the Brazilian designer. The owner of Berimbau was excited to host Pires during one of his trips to New York, and their meeting took place during NY Design Week 2025.

“Aristeu’s designs are simplicity meeting sophistication. Curvy, charming, and inviting,” says Mario. “They’ve helped me create a sensory and emotional atmosphere that helps me connect guests to my Brazilian culture. A piece of Brazil in New York City.”

The smooth, flowing minimalist furniture crafted from native Jequitibá and Louro freijó wood, customized with fabrics and rustic leathers in earthy tones, pairs beautifully with the surrounding rainforest. The Aurora and Julieta armchairs, the Malu sofa, and the Duda barstool have made it easy for guests who live in a rushed city to relax and experience their bit of sossego, which means tranquility in Portuguese. “We love the way everything blends,” said Daniel.

In the end, Berimbau has brought a genuine piece of the Brazilian soul, offered with open arms to the city that knows how to embrace what is real.