With her acclaimed Oly Studio furniture collection, Kate McIntyre (along with design partner, Brad Huntzinger) has created a following for her unique, traditional-with-a-twist pieces that marry the classic with the organic and contemporary. Last week, McIntyre and Huntzinger celebrated the opening of their first Oly Atelier flagship store in New York City’s trendy Tribeca neighborhood, which, not surprisingly, has become the hit of Manhattan and has garnered considerable editorial coverage by the interior design community.

From her Berkeley design studio, McIntyre tweaks a common oval-shaped wall sconce by festooning it with shells; turns the standard French bergère armchair into a more modern animal by using woven raffia for the seat and painting the chair white; and updates a wingback chair that conventionally looks good in the Library of Congress by elongating its back and fashioning its upholstery in a wicked shade of yellow.

McIntyre also creates jewelry and home accessories collections using mirrors, Lucite and resin and a line of custom furniture pieces called Ironies, available only to the trade. McIntyre opened the first Oly retail store in Manhattan’s Tribeca district. The line retails from $70 for a polished horn bowl to $11,200 for a mohair sofa.

I chatted with McIntyre about her design process and asked her for some tips for our benefit.

1. From where do you get your inspiration?

Brad and I are inspired by nature and travel. We travel all over and we get inspired by all kinds of things that we find, whether it’s a natural agate or a seashell or a branch or any other kind of material. Or we will find a wonderful celadon finish or a wood finish that we just happen to find on an old discarded piece of wood, and that will inspire us.

We are very focused on material and so our inspiration is really created by organic and natural materials, materials that we can turn into something like a chandelier in your room and you can go, ‘Wow, that’s so magical and beautiful.’ It could be a simple piece but you’re celebrating this natural material or you’re taking something manmade like resin and creating this whole other thing. We like to allow our products to be more organic, like the Wellfleet sconce. The sconce itself comes in a traditional oval shape but we have allowed the final product to be more natural. So it’s about mixing the traditional with an organic, clean, sinuous line.

2. How does your design philosophy impact the pieces you create?

It’s always about simplifying. For instance, bringing in a natural material like raffia to the bergère armchair and painting it white. In its traditional form the chair would come in a dark French polish with a much heavier textile on the seat. But we’re interested in textures and creating different finishes. We do some traditional furniture, too, but we make sure we mix it with a lighter and more playful element. We’re always creating furnishings in new materials, creating them in a way that is interesting but won’t jump out at you.

3. How do you decide which colors to put with other colors?

I start all my designs with color because I am really inspired by it. It’s really important to find the colors that make you feel good with and that you can live with. And you’re always going to have a color of the moment. For instance, if you feel you just love lavender right now, then you can figure out what your base palette would be to support that main color. You can bring those colors in either pillows or accessories around the room.

4. Does that mean that palette has to be neutral so as to not compete?

Not necessarily because some people are comfortable living with strong colors. It’s about knowing what color feels good to you instead of having some designer tell you. I have a girlfriend who loves saffron and she has a room in that color. With saffron, however, you can do chocolate, or, if you want saturated color and some fun, you could go into the violet tones like purples and eggplants. Or saffron could be your main color and then you could add all the golden tones: creams and golds, so that you end up with this glowing, golden room.

5. What is the thing that someone should start with when designing their own room?

I think it’s really taking the time to go through books, knowing what you really like, not what someone else says you’ll like. It takes going to spaces, hotels and restaurants and looking around, and if you like what you are seeing, taking the time to find out why. That way you can better inform a professional about what works for you. It’s important to know in design whether you like a sparer contemporary feel like I do, or whether you like a traditional look that’s more cozy.

6. What should every room have to sparkle?

Always have at least one beautiful magical piece in your home that inspires you, like a chandelier or an incredibly beautiful cocktail table. It adds that special something to the room. My dining room is super clean but then I have this really beautiful chandelier in cream agate which I made bigger than it should be. It just stands out and glows.

www.olystudio.com; 510-644-1870

[Photos courtesy of www.olystudio.com]