Back to the 2014 AD100 List

An impassioned Francophile, Manhattan-based designer Penny Drue Baird maintains an office for her firm, Dessins, in Paris, a city that is an eternal source of inspiration for her. Though not overtly French, Baird’s style typically incorporates bold architectural gestures, sumptuous upholstery, and graceful European antiques—all infused with a Gallic sense of romance. “Interiors should reflect the fantasies of each homeowner,” says Baird, who was trained as a child psychologist. Even when working in an old-world milieu, she opts for contemporary touches—sleek white-glass kitchen countertops, say—that play nicely in a classic setting yet are in tune with 21st-century living. As Baird’s 2011 book, The New French Interior (The Monacelli Press), shows, her rooms are au courant but never trendy. “Decorating,” she says, “should have staying power.” dessinsllcom

Meet the other architects and designers on the 2014 AD100 list.