Who

Veteran interior designer John Saladino is the founder of the furniture and design firm that bears his name.

Backstory

Kansas City native Saladino attended Notre Dame and Yale's architecture school, before moving to Rome in the late '60s to train alongside architect Piero Sartogo. In 1972, Saladino launched a firm of his own and quickly made a name for himself with an elegant, classically-derived style that was particularly popular with the Park Avenue set. He later branched out into furniture design and established the Saladino Furniture company in 1986. These days he oversees a staff of dozens of designers, and works on exotic projects like a palace in Kuwait and a garden on a private island in Greece, in addition to more mundane stateside residences. He's known for his affection for periwinkle, which has become his signature color over the years.

Of note

Although the notoriously feisty designer generally keeps mum about his client list, his firm has reportedly designed spaces for pharmaceutical billionaire Michael Jaharis, TV producers Susan Harris and Paul Witt, and Starbucks founder Howard Schultz. Saladino works on the occasional condo development, too. Glenwood Management hired his firm to design the public spaces at the Grand Tier, located at 1930 Broadway. A book that featured his work, Style by Saladino, was published in 2000.

Personal

Saladino's late wife, Virginia, was also a designer, and the two collaborated on several commissions. Their son Graham now works for his father's company.

Habitat

Saladino has downsized his digs in recent years, selling his much-admired house in Manhattan—a converted carriage house from the 1860s—and Robin Hill, his country estate in Connecticut. But he's still far from slumming it. In addition to an apartment at the Olympic Towers that's been featured in House & Garden, he also has a 2,500-square-foot home Montecito, California that he creatively dubbed Villa Dilemma. For the manse's roof, he imported 14,000 antique, moss-covered terracotta tiles from France.