In a world where some designers tend to impose their style on clients, New York-based Foley & Cox Interiors has a different approach. By taking creative cues directly from its clients – their perceptions, preferences and passions – the company creates bespoke interiors from the widest range of possibilities, resulting in homes that become the most special of all places.
Michael Cox, founder of Foley & Cox, embodies these ideals through his design work. When dealing with new clients, Cox is often asked to “define a company’s design aesthetic.” For him, this is always a difficult question. Since he has extensive experience designing furniture, custom color palettes, and interior architecture, his end goals are less focused around one specific aesthetic. Cox aims to create timeless and refined interiors to reflect the client’s personality.
At their core, Foley and Cox’s goals center around the idea of ”fit” in design, which he defines in terms of three fundamental aspects:
The project Location
Cox always takes the context of the project into consideration first. As the company’s clients span a diverse range, his team is constantly tasked with monitoring the purpose and use of a particular home. Working in the client’s primary residence along with a vacation home, for example, has allowed Cox to develop a wide range of business.
“We have been fortunate to interact with a diverse group of clients who have homes in global locations,” he says. “We haven’t had to put our design aesthetic in any of these categories, but we’ve had the pleasure of designing more modern, classic, and more eclectic homes. It’s one of the greatest joys of our work.”
Detailed according to the customer’s vision.
Architectural style
Whether it is an existing home or a new building, Cox envisions architecture through each client’s background, cultural or otherwise. This process helps determine what’s right when it comes to furnishings, too. Designing a mountain house for a client in Austria, for example, entails a very different approach than a ski cabin in Montana.
“Although they are primarily mountain houses, we took very different aesthetic approaches due to the locations and client culture,” Cox says.
How do you take something with history and tradition and make it new for the next generation? Cox says that while working in Austria, his team also conducted research on the Tyrolean style, with the goal of developing what they envisioned to be the “evolution” of the design.
“We approach it from many different angles,” he says. “We do historical research, but also get into the local vernacular of the place we work in. The custom ironwork we develop for stair railings in Austria is very different from the steelwork we develop with local stores in Montana, for example.”
customer vision
How does this client live? What are their priorities, goals and dreams? What is their family dynamic? Do they enjoy the entertainment? Are they more private? For Foley & Cox, each design is tailored to the client’s vision. For example, a longtime client Cox worked with at a master residence asked him to design a vacation home in the Bahamas.
“We had a deep understanding of who the client was, and how they were looking to build a haven for their family to continue growing and enjoying for generations to come,” he says.
Since the build was on a relatively new island, there were challenges when working alongside builders from a different culture. Nevertheless, the customer was pleased with the result. When the house was damaged after a hurricane in 2019, a client asked Cox to return it to its original shape.
“They wanted it as close as possible to the way we built the original 10 years ago,” Cox says. “They didn’t want to change anything. We just completed that last year and it was really pleasing to hear that something we’ve developed serves them well, brings them happiness and lasts. Everything we did has stood the test of time, didn’t stand a hurricane.”
Foley & Cox Home
In addition to interior design, Foley & Cox opened the storefront of Foley & Cox Home in Hudson, New York in 2007. This project expanded the company’s presence in the retail market and showcases custom furniture designs, vintage items and collectible antiques, as well as specialty products from skilled craftsmen. . The store will celebrate its 15th anniversary this year.
“The store grew out of humble beginnings,” Cox says. “We’ll be on major shopping trips in Europe looking for things specific to the projects we’ve been working on – the flea market in Paris, Copenhagen, London – and we’ll find cool things.”
Although some of their findings didn’t match up with a project they were currently working on, Cox found it difficult to break away from some of the pieces.
“We thought this piece was great, how can we leave it? Let’s just buy it and keep it until the next project comes along.”
Within a few years, the group had amassed an entire warehouse of artisanal furniture. In the end, they decided to share their findings with the world.
“That’s how the store started,” he says. “It was a direct start to all the resources and shopping we’ve been doing for projects.”
The group also owns a custom collection, which originated from the designs they developed for clients’ projects. After noticing some custom furnishings fit a variety of spaces, the team developed a formal set of basic pieces.
“We basically iterated our custom designs a few times,” Cox says. “For example, there’s probably a nice sideboard that we designed and built for a particular home in the Hamptons. Then all of a sudden we’re working on another project and discover, ‘Oh, that’s a perfect piece for that home in Florida as well.'”
The store also has a range of contemporary, classic, and eclectic furnishings including antiques, antiques, and crafts and crafts from around the world.
“We have a woman who makes hand-painted tableware in Oxfordshire, England, in our shop,” he says. “We met a woman who handwoven beautiful cashmere from Italy, so we have her throws in our shop. Some of these items are used in our projects too. There is definitely a link between the treasures we find while traveling the world and the artisans we discover.”
Foley & Cox will celebrate its 20th anniversary this fall. To celebrate this anniversary, Cox is working on his first book due for release in 2023. He will be collecting photos and details on a range of projects. “There is continuity of the projects we have with clients we have for 20 years,” he says. “It will be a fun way to navigate a variety of styles in locations around the world. Our goal has always been to create rooms that will stand the test of time. There are always elements of the cutting edge design process, but the basics remain.”
