Designer Friday: An Aspire Exclusive Interview With Greg Roth
Two decades in the design industry have led Greg Roth to design commercial and residential spaces with an artful sense of color informed by his career in architecture, interior and graphic design. Sticking with his Southern California roots, you can find Roth’s designs in the most soothing, airy, and transformative of spaces. Greg is the Senior Interior designer for not one, but two firms, CarbonShack and Home Front Build, and his designs can be found up and down the Western Coastline. Take a peek into these bespoke interiors for this week’s Designer Friday, Greg Roth.
This home that sits on the Marina del Rey with breathtaking views of the coastline was designed by Greg Roth. Utilizing the natural light from the floor-to-ceiling windows, all of the modern art and hand-selected furnishings flourish in a bath of salty sea air.
Andrew Joseph: What’s a guilty pleasure you have?
Greg Roth: Chocolate! Actually, it’s my husband’s flourless chocolate cake, which he makes me each year for my birthday. Light, fluffy, luscious and deeply chocolatey. And GF to boot, so that’s always a bonus. Almost makes me wish for more than one birthday per year (Almost)!
Andrew: If you weren’t a designer, you’d be a ….?
Greg: An artist! I studied fine art at Brown University and RISD, and have always admired the commitment and dedication that full-fledged artists pour into their work. If kids’ college funds and career and retirement planning were of no concern, I’d live the life of paint-smudged jeans!
Andrew: What’s the best thing that happened to you this month?
Greg: It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago, so: my husband’s flourless chocolate cake!
In this lush bathroom, you can find amazing custom vanities that perfectly compliment the soothing blue tile wainscot that drench the room.
Andrew: Are you a pet person? Why either way? Dogs or cats?
Greg: I grew up with dogs and cats and gerbils and a parakeet, so definitely yes. My husband, not so much. But a few years ago, after several years of our kids cajoling and begging, we finally got a dog – a poodle/Shih Tzu mix, named Colton. Well, my husband fell fast and SUPER hard, and those two are now INSEPARABLE – I mean, like, pining at the door when he’s away (Colton, not my husband. Though, sort of also…).
Andrew: Style (or design) icon?
Greg: Definitely my grandmother, Margaret. When she remodeled her Miami Beach home in the early ’70s, she selected pieces that showcased her incredible sense of style and taste, from custom slate-topped chrome console tables to Baker lounge chairs, from Knoll breakfast room set to LaVerne bronze coffee table. Her Barcelona chairs, sitting in my LR today, continue to inspire me and my aesthetic. (They’re also Colton’s go-to perch, so Grandma Margie’s influence continues from the Beyond!)
From an untouched original 1992 construction, to an upgraded interior with modern art and unforgettable custom furnishings, Roth made this room minimalist yet luxurious.
Andrew: How would you define your work in three words?
Greg: Warmly customized comfort.
Andrew: What’s inspiring you in life (in the industry) right now?
Greg: Since we specialize in how people live in and use their homes, we are thoroughly engaged in the current paradigm of at-home life. Our clients, of necessity, are more focused than ever on their home life, and as a design-build firm, that presents us with precious opportunities to help people recreate their homes to suit the specific needs of their current worlds. We are grateful and appreciative of that, and do not take it for granted. And we are seeing that the industry is responding as well, with increased residential offerings that make working, hanging out and staying healthy in our homes more appealing and comfortable. Of course, this all comes about in unprecedentedly disturbing and tragic times- we are all affected by fact. But the resiliency and inspiration to forge ahead despite dire happenstance brings us hope and motivates us to up our design game. We’re accustomed to dramatic transformations in the design world, so in a certain way, it feels like a natural inclination to seek and elucidate the potential beauty in unfortunate circumstances.
