Patina Modern – Club 1683 Member

Pilar Guzman and Chris Mitchell are the dynamic renovating and remodeling duo behind the design/build firm, Patina Modern. Established in 2021, the firm blossomed out of the principals realization of “how much we love the process. It’s a labor of love in the labor itself.” Their devotion to redesigning, rebuilding and reinterpreting inspired a new business for them and the saving of very special historic homes for the rest of us.

Self-proclaimed “incurable restoration junkies,” Patina Modern (also the name of their new book) specializes in reclaiming neglected properties and lovingly bringing them back to life.

Chris and Pilar’s Brooklyn brownstone, the first of their restoration projects, not only helped fuel their love of renovation, but also established their deep commitment to restore each of their properties with a fresh take on “living.” Use of authentic materials was and is a must, but not at the expense of 21st century comforts.

Additionally, their selections of finishes and details are always meticulously considered. Their mantra: reuse where possible, adapt when necessary and create new as appropriate — “balancing history with our own trove of new design ideas.”

Today the Vario 400 Series Gas Cooktops offer the same flexibility and performance with updated refinements.

Patina Modern designs and builds with a reverence for how finishes, fabrics and furnishings will age or “patina” over time. The term patina literally speaks to “the surface appearance of something grown beautiful especially with age or use.” Chris and Pilar specialize in sussing out the most interesting pieces and components that will indeed, age beautifully over time.

Pilar, a three-time former editor of such renowned media outlets as Martha Stewart Living, Cookie and Conde Nast Traveler, has an editor’s eye for good things. Impeccable taste and a worldly perspective make her particularly adept at sourcing, design and styling. Chris, former chief business officer for the Conde Nast culture division also knows a good thing when he sees it. His business savvy and design eye are the perfect complements to Pilar’s, making them an exquisitely powerful design and construction duo.

“As rescuers, if you will, of the White elephants: those shingle-style ‘cottages’ that enchanted the well-to-do and bohemian artists alike since New Yorkers first decamped to the Hamptons for the summer months over 100 years ago, we care about history and legacy and building things that are meaningful. Working with the Gaggenau team allows us to deliver on our promise of a making the ‘perfect pick’.”

Working principally in New York and on the east end of Long Island, Patina Modern has methodically elected to work one project at a time. Often expecting to live in the restored property until selling it, the firm continues to search out neglected properties that deserve a second life.

Patina Modern projects have been widely published in print and online including Architectural Digest, Bloomberg Pursuits, Robb Report and Martha Stewart Living.

Their newest book, Patina Modern: A Guide to Designing Warm Timeless Interiorsby Artisan Interiors, described as: written by “Chris Mitchell and Pilar Guzmán, design obsessives who both want the same thing: rooms that are spare yet warm, layered yet clean, current yet timeless. Rooms that never forget the real humans—with all their needs, hopes, emotions, aspirations, and even spills—who live in these spaces. Over the course of six ever more ambitious home renovations, they’ve cracked the code on how to achieve this.”