Elite Traveler Fall 2021

INFLUENCE A DAY IN THE LIFE OF... by Sophie Killip

A day in the life of... Stephen Sills

Originally fromOklahoma, renowned interior designer Stephen Sills spends the majority of his time in New York State, moving between the city and his country home in Bedford, Westchester. However, Europe holds a special place in his heart — especially Paris and London (one of his previous projects was The Connaught Hotel) — and he gets much of his inspiration from traveling, taking particular pleasure in seeking out art and antiques

The first thing I do is… Before I go to bed, I make a list of things I need to do and things that I need to address very quickly. Writing this list before I sleep is the best time to do it, because my mind is calm and I can focus — if I don’t make a list, I’m lost. There are so many things going on. I wake up at about 6am and slowly get up, usually dragging myself out of bed by 7am. You can often find me… In New York, where I’m based and where the studio is. I go into the studio every day — there are always a million questions to answer, things to review, and strange problems to solve. On the weekends I go to Westchester, to Bedford, where I have my country house. It’s such a different pace of life and a great retreat, although I’m always working out there, too. I love traveling, especially to Europe. I love London and Paris, and I’ve been going to Italy more as well. A few years ago, I went to Torino for the first time. It was so charming and wonderful. When I’m on vacation, it always takes some time to fall back into a slower way of living. Everything is so hyper in New York, it’s always ‘run, run, run.’ I try to give myself space when I’m traveling. The only thing I’ll carry is my phone to take pictures. I get so much inspiration from going to new places, often finding new products and ideas. My work is… Incredibly varied. Every day is very different — I can be running around, going to see a client or the artisans I work with in Queens and Brooklyn, or preparing for a meeting in the studio. Our work is very detail-oriented and almost everything is handmade, so I spend a lot of time checking in with vendors and making sure that what we’ve drawn up is executed correctly. There are some amazing craftspeople in the New York area; they can build or make anything we come up with. I love checking in with my team and working with them. Almost everyone has been working with me for over 10 years — some for almost 25 years — so it’s a very tight ship. I’m involved in everything: the planning, the execution, organizing furniture and finishes for storage if the project isn’t ready for them

Stephen Sills, lauded interior designer, at his country home in Bedford, Westchester