Nationality American Occupation Interior designer Website Official website | Alma mater Fordham University Home town Nutley, New Jersey Name Anthony Baratta | |
Awards Hue Award for lifetime achievement in design | ||
Anthony Baratta is an American interior designer. He cofounded the New York City interior design firm Diamond Baratta in 1994, which has since been renamed Anthony Baratta LLC after the retirement of his partner Bill Diamond.
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Early life
Born in 1959, his family moved to Nutley, New Jersey in 1961. Baratta graduated from Nutley High School in 1977, and then graduated from Fordham University with a BA in Art History. Baratta has stated that due to his background in fine art, he looks to fine artists like Matisse when developing his interior designs. Following his graduation, Baratta began working as an interior designer in New York City.
Diamond Baratta
Baratta founded the interior design firm Diamond Baratta Design in 1994 with partner Bill Diamond. In 2010 the firm earned the Hue Award for lifetime achievement in design. The New York Times said of the win that, “Although the choice of Diamond Baratta would seem a no-brainer, this is the first time that the award has gone to interior designers.” The firm donated the prize money to the Center for Special Studies at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, a donation that was then matched by prize sponsor Benjamin Moore. In 2012 Diamond retired, and the firm was renamed Anthony Baratta LLC. Diamond and Baratta authored two books featuring their work, including All American: The Exuberant Style of William Diamond and Anthony Baratta (2009) and Diamond Baratta Design (2006) – both featuring their own personal homes, among others. The Chicago Tribune reviewed the floors shown in their 2006 work, focusing on their colors and use of paint.
Design work
In 1998 the New York Times featured the interior design of Baratta’s own New York City apartment. Other periodicals that have shown Baratta’s work include Architectural Digest and House & Garden. Baratta has been named one of the top ten “coastal design trend setters” by Coastal Living Magazine, referring to him as a “maximalist”. His designs have also appeared in Cottages & Gardens Magazine, and Baratta served as a judge for the magazine’s Innovation In Design Awards between 2012 and 2014. Additionally, his designs have appeared in New York Magazine.
In 2013 Baratta opened the Anthony Baratta Bespoke Decorating Shop in Westhampton Beach. The New York Times stated of Baratta that, “The New York designer is known for interiors that feature bold colors, audacious mixtures of pattern and unlikely juxtapositions of objects, particularly in the spaces he has decorated for himself.” The newspaper has also written that Baratta has partnered with local artisans for many of his projects in the New York area, including cabinet makers, rug makers, quilt makers, and others.
Philanthropy
In 2013, Baratta was named the creative director for the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island Project Design. The project consisted of Baratta redesigning an 18-bedroom Long Island home, including all 18 bedrooms, five common areas, and other spaces. Following the redesign the House was to expand to a 42-bedroom facility. Baratta had previously work with the House, having designed large dollhouses for the common rooms of the home in 1987. He has also designed interiors for philanthropic events such as the Red and White Ball, a fundraiser for the American Red Cross. In 2014 he designed the interiors for the Peabody Wellness Centre.