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Famous Interior Designers: Adam Tihany of Tihany Design
Famous Interior Designers: Adam Tihany of Tihany Design
If you love delicious cuisine served in a beautiful atmosphere, chances are you have dined in a restaurant designed by one of the hospitality industry’s most famous interior designers, Adam Tihany. Often referred to as the originator of the restaurant design profession, Adam Tihany’s unique and luxurious designs can be experienced at iconic hotels, restaurants, bars and cruise ships around the world.
On his website, Adam describes his design philosophy saying, “every project should be a living, relevant, and unique entity.” These words could not be truer as seen in the way each of his interiors perfectly reflects its own exclusive identity with only his use of plush materials, sophisticated detailing and often dramatic lighting perhaps hinting it was his creative genius behind a space.
Mandarin Oriental Geneva. Photo by Eric Laignel.
Born in Transylvania and raised in Jerusalem, Adam went to school at Politecnico di Milano then apprenticed at numerous renowned Italian design firms before moving to New York and starting his own firm Tihany Design in 1978. He took on his first hospitality project, La Coupole, NYC’s first grand café, in 1981 and thus began his highly esteemed career in restaurant design. Adam was one of the first designers to collaborate with celebrity chefs such as Daniel Boulud, Wolfgang Puck, Thomas Keller and Jean Georges Vongerichten to create signature restaurants.
Daniel Restaurant New York. Photo by Eric Laignel.
MO Bar Hong Kong at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental. Photo by Michael Weber.
His love for restaurants led him to partner with executive chef Francesco Antonucci in 1987 as co-owners of Remi restaurants which he owned and operated for the next 25 years. It also led him to design products for tabletop brands such as Villeroy & Boch, Frette, and Christofle.
Judaica Collection by Christofle for The Jewish Museum
In addition to Adam’s stunning creations in the world of cuisine, his interiors at hotels such as One&Only resort in Cape Town South Africa, Aleph Rome, Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach, Joule Hotel in Dallas, Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas & Geneva, The Beverly Hills Hotel among others clearly show why Adam is one of the most famous interior designers in the hospitality industry!
One&Only Resort Cape Town South Africa. Photo by Barbara Kraft, Mario Todeschini.
The Joule Hotel Dallas. Photo by Eric Laignel.
Adam is also renowned for masterminding innovate design concepts for cruise ships such as Royal Caribbean, Holland America Line and most recently the entire Seabourn Encore which took its maiden voyage in 2016.
Seabourn Encore Bar. Photo by Eric Laignel.
An expert in hospitality design, to say the very least, Adam frequently lectures at universities and conferences and sits on Pratt Institute’s Board of Trustees.
Casa MANNI Penthouse Rome. Photo by Serena Eller Vainicher.
His venerable talent has earned him an Honorary Doctorate from New York School of Interior Design, induction into the Interior Design Hall of Fame in 1991, Bon Appetit’s Designer of the Year award in 2001, the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Lawrence Israel Prize in 2005.
If you love Adam Tihany’s beautiful interiors as much as we do then you should be sure to check out anyone (or all!) of his three books: Tihany Design (1999), Tihany Style (2004) and Tihany: Iconic Hotel and Restaurant Interiors (Rizzoli 2014).
Looking for the most beautiful restaurants in cities around the world? Check out our lists on our Lifestyle page!
