REDEFINING LUXURY
Pure Luxe: Heather Segreti is redefining what it means to design luxury
interiors by always pushing the envelope!Xone masterpiece at a time.
Words by Jentzen Michael Shea
To call the interiors Heather Segreti designs “spaces” would be a disservice to her clients, but also her creativity. To many, the interiors she creates can only be labeled as one thing—masterpieces. Heather’s out of the box thinking, creative flair and astute design aesthetic come together to offer design and details that are anything but typical. Her bold colour choices, either through accent pieces, artwork or focal points meet luscious fabrics often paired or contrasted with textiles that explore new boundaries in terms of texture. This combination makes for looks that challenge uniqueness and personify luxury.
It’s no wonder that Segreti has become one of the
“go-to” designers in Canada (and across North America) when it comes to luxury
interiors—whether residential for the more discerning
homeowner, or commercial clients like high end boutique hotels, restaurants and the like.
“you have to give clients the dream; you have to show them
everything that could be”
Born and raised in Northern Ontario, Heather says she “was always very artistic and always into design.” When the time came, she left Sudbury to follow her dream and attend college in Toronto where she got her feet wet helping to draft concepts and designs for commercial spaces, including various city hall buildings in and around the Toronto area, under the direction of Alison Hymas. Early in her career she also took on other agency roles working on a number of projects including Ralph Lauren concepts inside luxury retailer Holt Renfrew. Heather later went to work at Nima Kitchens where the role would change her career path. While there, she was also asked to work on the home of the owners, her first foray into luxury private residences.
Residential interior design would become her focus and just over a decade ago Segreti Design was born. With residential now her permanent focus, she committed to work almost exclusively on luxury homes. The creation of her own design firm and staying true to her aesthetic would eventually lead Segreti to her first ARIDO Award win—think the “Oscars” of interior design.ARIDO Award Winning Interior The esteemed ARIDO award winning project was for clients who were very specific in their request for a unique approach from visualization to completion. While Heather is no stranger to grand requests, her clients had a fairly good idea of their dream interior, she notes, “they wanted a contemporary great room that was both grand but also unexpected.
While their palate was a little more neutral with tones of grey and white, they also really wanted large scale artwork that was bold and unique.” Their tastes stemmed from the cool and contemporary design aesthetic often found in the luxury homes of Miami. Her clients kept an open mind; everything Heather brought to the table was considered and ultimately her clients choice was the incredible large scale stylized photographic nude of a woman in the middle of a nearly floor-to-ceiling mirrored wall. Luckily for Heather, they really wanted to have a bold statement piece, giving her the opportunity to do great work.
“they wanted a contemporary great room that was both grand but also unexpected. While their palate was a little more neutral with tones of grey and white, they also really wanted large scale artwork that was bold and unique.”
Most designers embrace the opportunity to step beyond the comfort zones of their clients, and this is when the magic happens. Focal points of the award winning design consist of the seating in the great room including the Roche Bobois sofa, right down to matching the leather on the custom ottomans that store under the custom coffee table. The hall stairs seem to float as if they are a piece of glass art, and the wine rack with the “X” motif make for a sleek and sophisticated contemporary wet bar.
Heather Segreti is no stranger to making her clients dreams a reality; after all, she believes in thinking outside the box and being bold. One of her main philosophies when designing is that, “you have to give clients the dream; you have to show them everything that could be and then scale it back if you need to.” It’s doubtful, however, that once her clients see her vision they would even think of scaling it back. That’s because Heather Segreti’s designs are as ambitious in their uniqueness as they are masterful in their expression of luxury.
All interior architectural photography by Larry Arnal
Portrait photography byKorby Banner photography and makeup