Juan Carlos Arcila-Duque - Latin Style: Decorating Your Home with Color, Texture, and Passion

JUAN
CARLOS
LATIN
STYLE

DECORATING YOUR HOME
WITH COLOR, TEXTURE, AND PASSION

Photographs by Brian Park and Paul Wright

by Arcila-Duque Furniture Interiors Inc., 2008

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Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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Photographs by Brian Park and Paul Wright
Cowritten by Monica Haim
Chef: Mariana Velasquez
Graphic Design: Kiko Kairuz

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Arcila-Duque, Juan Carlos, 1966
Latin style : decorating your home with color, texture, and passion / Juan Carlos Arcila-Duque ; photographs by Brian Park and Paul Wright.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-4016-0365-6
1. Interior decoration--Latin American influences. I. Park, Brian A. II. Wright, Paul. III. Title.
NK2115.5.E84A73 2008
747--dc22

2007038805

Printed in the United States of America
08 09 10 11 12 5 4 3 2 1

To my family, friends, and all the people who,
each in their own way, supported the idea of
bringing Latin Style to the American lifestyle

CONTENTS

With this book I aim to deconstruct the generalization of the word Latin by giving it four distinct dimensions of visual possibilityeach one infused by the magic and passion naturally encoded in the Latin lifestyle. After years of living in the United States, I learned to love the clarity and simplicity of the American manner. But a rediscovery of my Hispanic upbringing compelled me to enhance this modern lifestyle with a personalized Latin touch. I became part of a new generation of Latinos who are not only living the American dream but also creating a new, more dimensional, American experienceone built on the prospect of new culture, ethnicity, and flavor.

As a decorator and art collector, I find profound inspiration in all the people and places I experience. I trained in New York, worked in Europe, and employed this diverse palette of design experience in Miami. Through it all, I remained convinced that I wanted to shed my Latino past and evolve into my new and improved international self. But as I would ultimately discover: you can take the person out of Latin America, but you can never take Latin America out of that person.

I returned to my roots but with an appreciation and zeal for American practicality, that sturdy bastion of simplicity that has shaped countless generations of life and style in the United States. While I enjoy the nuances of what many consider to be an exotic style, I know how to employ that style within the framework of modern expediency American practicality meets Latin flair.

This book is not about one place in Latin Americait is about every place in that exciting region. It aims to capture the spirit and dimension of the Latin aesthetic, the power of its details and traditions, and its unwavering, timeless chic. It is meant to serve as an evocation, an inspirational account to stir your senses and open your mind about style and design in your own life and home. I invite you to consider that practicality and fantasy can coexist beneath one roof.

Each day here in America, the melting pot of ethnicity simmers on with new possibilities for culture. Technology allows us to experience every corner of the world in our own living roomwe are global by virtue of our time. This social characteristic makes our choices more diverse and broadens our horizons when it comes to what is acceptable and viable in our homes. We travel to such places as Africa, India, or Thailand and return home yearning to again taste those flavors, to feel those sensations. So we wear more color, spice up our food, and adorn our rooms a certain way, consciously prodding our own sense of nostalgia and making what seemed like a fantasy an everyday reality. But even those whose travels are limited to the imagination can enjoy a bit of spice in their homes. With this book I explore a new approach to Latin Style, one stripped of clich and defined by distinct visual and textural attributes that create very particular moods.

Latin has become part of the modern American experience, and the legacy of visionaries like Desi Arnaz, Oscar de la Renta, and Carolina Herrera has helped pave the way for a distinctly Latinized sense of success. Today, the creative momentum of the J.Lo generation continues, with such artists as Antonio Banderas, Ricky Martin, Shakira, and Selma Hayek swinging the gates of ethnic art and stardom further open.

In Latin America, everyday life is the result of familial social structures that have shaped over the centuries into intricate configurations of kin, a culture of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The Latin way is characterized by reunions: food is made en masse, tables are set for feasts, and hosting is considered a veritable art. Because Latin America is a vast territory of diverse landscapes, it is a world that lends itself naturally to outdoor entertaining. A party is one thing, but a party on the beach or in a charming old house, in the jungle or on an estatethat is an entirely different sensory experience. Because of its inherent range, Latin Style can be both cozy and exotic. It lends itself to creative expression and a sense of optimism. Latin Style has the power to make every day a vivid celebration by helping us live more consciously and with a profound appreciation for the details. Regardless of our class or social stature, the Latin way means we cling to a natural zest for life. Through robust cuisine, colorful dcor, and lively music, Latin Style helps us savor each moment of life with gusto no matter whereor whowe are.

Through my travels in Latin America, I became increasingly inspired by the vistas, colors, architecture, crafts, and people of the various regions, appreciating in each place the effortless way in which dcor and lifestyle go hand in hand. I became rapt by this juicy world of color and smiles and nature and music. The nuances and quirks of each place sparkled for me, and the details of each one resonated as distinct but definitive characteristics of four specific moods. I wanted to somehow articulate the essence of this dynamic dcor with more of an American sensibility, to create a design palette that was both exotic and approachable. I took it upon myself to organize and classify what has existed in Latin American style for centuries, and in doing so, these four separate ambient concepts emerged: Cabana, Hacienda, Paradiso, and Pueblo.

This mapping-out reconfigured my entire relationship to Latin Style; I could now apply American practicality to a more exotic visual context. For each concept, I decided to locate and decorate several homes that would each speak to a certain aspect of that overall theme. Through this process, I learned that each of these four lifestyles offers mesmerizing variety. As I explored the lines between fantasy and authenticity, the settings emerged as expressions of these nuanced dcor motifs, revealing the heart of each place. In this way, each space for me became a slice of life, a story about a style.