Stephan Weishaupt is heading west with Avenue Road’s well-edited approach to interiors.
Stephan Weishaupt has always led a well-curated life. Growing up in a family of architects, industrial designers and passionate art collectors in Munich, Germany, he was exposed to the masters of mid-century-modern furniture from a very young age. His childhood home was filled with their iconic pieces, inspiring a lifelong inclination for good aesthetics and the impetus for Avenue Road, the upscale furniture showroom he founded in 2007 alongside Canadian design idols George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg. In 2014, Weishaupt took over as sole owner, and has since elevated the brand to new heights. This fall, Avenue Road will expand to the West Coast with its first Vancouver location.
When the retailer opened a decade ago, the concept of curation at home was rare, but it has since become a hallmark of the brand. "We try to show things that you don't typically see together," says Weishaupt. "I'm always interested in putting our pieces in the most interesting context, like combining a Brazilian mosaic with something that is very contemporary." The mosaic piece Weishaupt is referring to is a breathtaking tiled wooden console by the late Paulo Werneck, reimagined by his grandson Gaspar Saldanha in 2012. It's displayed in the Toronto showroom alongside such varied pieces as Michaël Verheyden's ultra-sleek marble-and-bronze cast objets and Jorge Zalszupin's mid-century imbuia wood bar cart. Avenue Road is the exclusive Canadian destination for many coveted lines and collaborations including the Rug Company and fashion designer Raf Simons's eye-popping textile collection for Denmark-based Kvadrat.
Though they house masterpieces from Niemeyer to Lobmeyr, Avenue Road's showrooms are the antithesis of a look-but-don't-touch ethos. Its New York outpost in the city's Flower District boasts an apartment space that can be merchandised for a client's private appointment. "The goal is always to create an environment that isn't intimidating," says Weishaupt. The forthcoming Vancouver space will reclaim a heritage building in the city's Gastown neighbourhood. Its 12,000 square feet will focus on the concepts of ritual and entertaining.
Weishaupt's own homes are perhaps Avenue Road's best showcases. In Miami, his 1932 art-deco manse is filled with an eclectic mix of vintage and contemporary furniture, offset by beachy artwork by David Hockney. "A lot of designers I have worked with have come up with some ideas for my homes that have made them special and different," he says. In Toronto, Weishaupt remodelled his new Edwardian-era house in the Cabbagetown neighbourhood (pictured here) with contemporary flare, and filled it with pieces from Bruno Moinard and Van Rossum. His art collection is "more impulse purchases rather than calculated investment purchases," he says. "I live with it, so it's not that the pieces just go into a crate and sit in storage. I have quite a bit of my personal art hanging in our showrooms, too. The idea is to have something that describes me more as a person."
For more information, visit http://avenue-road.com/.
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