Featured image: 432 Park Avenue, NYC. Design by William McIntosh Design.
William McIntosh established his namesake firm in 1990. With a team of dedicated professionals including Architects, Designers, Artists, and Craftsmen, McIntosh and Raffone have completed elegant and luxurious interiors all over the world.
Individually and as a team, McIntosh and Raffone have been featured in many world-renowned publications including Architectural Digest, Departures Magazine, Elle Décor, Palm Beach Cottages and Gardens, Traditional Home and numerous others.
Born upstate New York, William McIntosh was quickly spotted by his High School Art teacher, who saw great potential in him. “I was always an aspirational kid. I loved going to the “fancy “neighborhoods and looking at the houses. When new houses were being constructed in our neighborhood, I would wander through the skeletal 2×4 framing and imagine what the rooms would look like when complete. I liked everything about construction and the transformation that would take place, from a hole in the ground to a finished house.”
William graduated from Pratt Institute in New York where he got an excellent design education. “It was a very intellectual approach to design and the interiors program was based in architectural theory. While there I became exposed to the work of the brilliant New York designers of the day, Ward Bennett, Joe D’Urso, Bray Schaible, Mel Dwork among others, who were on the cutting edge of what was becoming the new minimalism and the High-Tech movement.”
After his graduation, William worked for the noted Interior Design firms of Timothy MacDonald Incorporated and Bray-Schaible Design. He spent two years in the office of Bob Bray and Michael Schaible and was able to observe close up their design thought process – which seemed so effortless. However, at that time, he was itching to open his own office. The opportunity then presented itself in 1990 when he got a commission for a beach house in the Hamptons. “A neighbor of my clients saw the house and that led to a city apartment. After that the ball just started rolling and, knock wood, has been rolling for thirty years now.”
Stylistically, his years with Tim MacDonald and Bray – Schaible were foundation building years. “Both offices work, although stylistically different, was based on integrity and intelligence. I have always worked to maintain those goals in our work. Stylistically, since then I have developed my own voice and have followed my interests in interpreting a broad range of styles.”
“It has often been said that you need to first know the rules before you can break them. My time with these firms taught me the rules.” – William McIntosh
2020 marks the 30th anniversary of William McIntosh Design. Looking back, William’s greatest accomplishment is his team. He has indeed consistently had decent, talented and committed individuals work for him. This includes his collaboration with Martin Raffone, William McIntosh Design’s Creative Director and William’s husband. They recently decided to make their collaboration official after they realized that collaborating together was surprisingly easy and the resulting designs were beyond what either of them had ever created individually. “We realized that creatively we were taking the work to a higher level, and that’s what it’s all about.”
“People who have given their time and talents to produce the projects that you see. I sincerely believe this. It has made all the difference. Over the years I have regularly gotten comments about how professional, responsible and nice my staff is and that could not make me prouder.” – William McIntosh
30 years later, William is still passionate, inspired and his talent transcends his projects. His favorite part of the job is the first time sitting with the floor plan of a new project, where it all begins and you get a grasp of all the possibilities.
Par Excellence is a collective of renowned craftsmen and we always ask designers how they feel about craftsmanship as they rely a lot on them for their projects. For William, being meticulous is key. “Our work is known to be largely bespoke. We are creating one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture for every project as well as one of a kind architectural detail. The execution of these elements has to be meticulous. The piece is a failure if it’s not meticulous.”
“We chose Ateliers Jouffre because we seek out vendors who are the top in their field. We do this because we can confidently entrust them with our designs and guarantee the best quality for our clients.” – William McIntosh
Linked to many of Manhattan’s most amazing buildings, including 432 Park, the Plaza, the Puck Building, and Herzog & de Meuron’s 160 Leroy Street, William McIntosh is deeply connected to NYC, a city that he considers to be the center of the world. Found of travels and greatly interested in the influences coming in from around the world, William is constantly travelling (when the world is not hit hard by a pandemic!).
What is next for this amazing duo and their worldwide design company?
“More and more, we are being asked to design the total architectural scope for our clients’ projects. We are seeing that as the biggest and most exciting development coming up in the years ahead.”
Embracing classicism and minimalism, William McIntosh Design’s work is both extremely elegant and yet very familiar and livable. Praised by the press and the industry, we wish them at least 30 more exciting and prosperous years ahead!