M (GROUP)
by Susanna Salk for 1stdibs
“Our first official project together was outfitting a bachelor loft in the Village for a doctor,” says Hermes Mallea of his design debut with partner Carey Maloney. “We had a graffiti artist do a mural in the dining room and commissioned furniture and lighting from struggling artists everywhere. We were young and idealistic.” While the pair have gone on to outfit numerous stellar apartments and homes around the world with their firm “M (Group),” their first design foray still rings true. “We look back at photos of what we first did and love it,” says Maloney.

Both Mallea and Maloney had the benefit of growing up surrounded by people and places that inspired and piqued their style senses. For Mallea, it was visiting his great-grandparents’ house in Cuba when he was just a child; the exotic smells and sounds sumptuously linger with him to this day. “It was the antithesis of my design-barren hometown of Miami,” he says. “Everything about it was exotic: the ivy- covered arcades, the riot of plants, kooky fountains, the crunchy sound of walking on seashell paths – and of course, there were lots of family members there for me,” he says. “It was all about combining the senses to make a successful environment.”

Far away in Beaumont Texas, a young Maloney was being equally stimulated, surrounded by rich Southern architecture, live oaks, and Spanish moss. “I was definitely the son of house-proud parents,” he says. “My mother loved to haunt antique and junk stores on a weekly basis and was an exquisite gardener and landscape architect.”
Architectural inspiration finally came in spades for Mallea when he turned fifteen and his family moved to Madrid for two years. “I walked all over that city,” he remembers. “Nothing made me happier than finding a crumbling convent I’d never seen before where I would convince the old nuns to let me in.” Returning to the states, Mallea went on to receive a Bachelor’s of Architecture at the University of Miami and polished that off with studies at Columbia’s Historic Preservation program where “I learned it was OK to love the fine arts while still being an architect.” Maloney meanwhile aimed to take his MBA and proficiency in Mandarin Chinese straight to China, but two months at a conservative Texas bank convinced him he needed to switch gears. “So I moved to New York and basically begged for a position at Christie’s.” A job in the Estate Department proved invaluable as he got instant entrée into great houses all over the country. Mallea also experienced malaise with “the corporate life,” even amidst a prestigious Boston architecture firm that specialized in preservation. The men’s circuitous paths finally crossed when Maloney began work with decorator Juan Pablo Molyneaux. Within a matter of months after meeting, Maloney had convinced Mallea to not only move to New York but hang out their own design shingle. “As soon as I met Carey, we were realizing we should be out on our own,” says Mallea. “That was twenty-six years ago.” M (Group) now comprises a staff of nine people and boasts projects ranging from Acapulco (a Modernist house complete with two pools) to Paris (with an apartment overlooking Notre Dame) to Manhattan (one of their new townhouse projects still holds the record for highest price in its size) to Palm Springs to even Ohio about which Maloney says, “The clients there had a world class contemporary art collection. Their dining room was hung with Mapplethorpe nudes. What brave souls they were.”

Currently, M (Group) is involved in several projects in the West Village. “After years of working mostly on the Upper East Side,” says Mallea, “it is fun to be working in one of Manhattan’s most historic, intimately-scaled neighborhoods.” And as much as they love staying local, the pair are devoted to all kinds of travel. “Our clients panic when they hear we are off to Goa or Lisbon,” says Maloney. “They know when we return they’ll be subjected to some new ‘thematic’ urge. Usually the themes are so subtle only we know they are there.” Be it six weeks exploring the architecture of southern India, beach time in Vieques or Paris for a weekend, “our journeys always invigorate,” says Mallea. Equally energizing is the intense volunteer work he and Maloney have done for The New York Public Library over the past two decades, most recently spearheading efforts to insure the library’s preservation of its preeminent gay and lesbian collections. They even recently met with Mariela Castro in Cuba on its behalf. Cuba has become a frequent style stop as Mallea is currently deep into researching a book on the island country’s residential architecture. With four trips already under his belt this year alone, Mallea was lauded by a Spanish academic group for his efforts to spotlight both the history of Cuban buildings and its builders. “They called him ‘a beacon,’” says Maloney. “We love that.” Rare downtime is spent in Columbia County in their self-proclaimed “1960’s Mafioso-built country house,” which the mobsters called “The Casino.” Wherever they are, the process of being inspired is as important as its end result. “We both love information and sifting through for what we like and what we don’t like,” says Maloney of the process. “It’s all one big wonderful stew.”

FASHION
Brunello Cuchinelli http://www.brunellocucinelli.com/
Tods
We’re easy… and not fashionable….

FABRICS
de Le Cuona http://www.delecuona.co.uk/
Rogers and Goffigon linens and wools

ENTERTAINING
Cocktail parties – peanuts, plentiful booze, and entertaining people.

COLOR
Hermes Orange
Donald Kaufman Color Collection http://www.donaldkaufmancolor.com/

TRAVEL
The Indo-Portuguese magic of Goa. Amazing houses, beautiful colors, lush landscapes, gilded wood, and enormous colored Bohemian chandeliers.

GARDENING/FLORAL
Our friend Carolyn Gregg’s flowers are the prettiest – she makes it look simple (and it isn’t).
Lots of one material – almost any flower looks great if there is plenty of company (daisies come to mind…)
Dumbarton Oaks in the Spring (Georgetown, Washington DC) http://www.doaks.org/gardens/
The ‘new’ public gardens in Paris –
Parc Andre Citroen, ,
http://www.paris-walking-tours.com/parcandrecitroen.html
Parc de Bercy
http://www.paris-walking-tours.com/parcdebercy.html
Promenade Plantee
http://www.paris-walking-tours.com/promenadeplantee.html


BOOK

Anatomy for Interior Design – a favorite….



ART/DESIGN
A George Rickey sculpture from Maxwell Davidson Gallery, http://davidsongallery.com/artists/grid.php?a&n=George_Rickey
a Nok terra cotta sculpture, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nok
the films of Tacita Dean in Chelsea now. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacita_Dean

MUSEUMS
Musee Quai Branley, http://www.quaibranly.fr/en/
Menil Collection http://www.menil.org/

SHOPPING
Hard for us….
Bergdorf Mens,
Desert Hills Premium Outlet Mall in Palm Springs where Tods & Hogans are almost free!

RESTAURANTS
Le Voltaire in Paris, http://www.monocle.com/webprogrammes/Quality-of-Life-Index/Le-Voltaire-Paris/
El Munich in Buenos Aires

MUSIC CD
Accentus – choral transcriptions by Laurent Equilbey. http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id8156
Anything by Peruvian Susana Baca http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susana_Baca

HOTEL
Palacio de Seteais – Sintra Portugal, http://www.portugalvirtual.pt/_lodging/costadelisboa/sintra/tivoli.seteais/index.html
Chateau Marmont – the hillside bungalows (a Hollywood Mid Century dream come true) or the inside suites overlooking Sunset Boulevard – never by the pool.
Palacio Duhau, Buenos Aires; http://buenosaires.park.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp
Hacienda Uayamon in the Yucatan. http://www.starwoodhotels.com/luxury/property/overview/index.html?propertyID76

GIFT
For kids: the complete set of New York Public Library’s Book of Answers (ITALICS) series, because we all need answers. http://www.thelibraryshop.org/products2.cfm/ID/3456/c/nypl-publications
For Luddite adults: the New York Public Library’s Desk Reference.(ITALICS)
http://www.thelibraryshop.org/products2.cfm/ID/15408/c/nypl-publications

For the tech savvy, a Rosetta Stone mouse pad from the British Museum gift shop. http://www.museumize.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCodeD85&Click1782