Welly Lai is a designer specializing in interior, furniture and architectural designs. With 10 years of experience on commercial and residential projects, her portfolio demonstrates this diverse range of creativity.
Welly moved to New York City in 1992 and attended School of Visual Arts where she studied interior design, graduating in 1995 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. To further advance her education in design and architecture, she enrolled at Pratt Institute and graduated with a Master of Science degree in Interior Design in 1997.
David Kleinberg Design and Associates, David Howell Design and David Rosencrans Design Studio are some of the interior design and architectural firms in New York City that Welly worked with to gain experience in commercial and residential projects.
Founding Station Design, Inc. with architect Mark Castellani (RA) in 2000, Welly has since been the design principal on many projects in the New York City area. The most distinguished projects to date with Station Design have been the gallery Karkula (2000), the office of Marc Anthony Productions (2001), the restaurant Sol Y Sombra (2005) and on-going hospitality designs for a mid-town Manhattan hotel (2007).
The expression of Welly's inspiration is a balance between functionality and imagination. Her visions are conceived within spaces that are modern, fluid and always accentuate the unique characteristics of each site.
Welly Lai Studio was launched in 2007 as a boutique design studio incorporating all of these assets.
COMMERCIAL PROJECTS
KARKULA - MEAT PACKING DISTRICT SHOWROOM
The idea was to create an ultra-minimalistic gallery for owner John Erick to display lifestyle elements like furniture and art pieces.
Drawing inspiration from the neighborhood vibes and the location's architectural assets, a leather façade was created to complement the characteristics of the Meat Packing District.
An existing sky light was the key inspiration on how platforms were proportioned and laid out. Merchandise as icons, and a sense of progression and discovery - this space has a spiritual feel, and it calms you and encourages you to savor what this gallery has to offer.
Design Principal: Welly Lai
Project Architect: Mark Castellani
MARC ANTHONY PRODUCTIONS - SOHO OFFICE
This production office for chart-topping Latin singer-songwriter Marc Anthony represents one of the best examples of how one can work and entertain in luxury and style.
The space has a dramatic, clean and modern feel using multi-colored lacquered wood, frosted Plexiglas and suede fabric.
Starting with a frosted glass entry door and velvet rope, cork flooring and wall panels were selected for their rich visual look and acoustic quality. Custom white cabinetry provides storage for audio-visual components and a leather countertop backlit with ambient lighting.
Design Principal: Welly Lai
Project Architect: Mark Castellani
SOL Y SOMBRA - UPPER WEST SIDE RESTAURANT
All the design components at this popular Upper West Side restaurant deliver a rustic and authentic tapas experience.
The restaurant bar features an impressive display of select wines, delicious tapas dishes in a frameless show case that was designed to entice the guests' appetites.
Custom lighting fixtures combining vintage Moroccan lanterns with modern fabric lampshades above the bar were to enhance the restaurant's romantic atmosphere.
Design Principal: Welly Lai
Project Architect: Mark Castellani
TOLOACHE RESTAURANT - THEATER DISTRICT MEXICAN BISTRO
This festive Mexican bistro is an 80-seat, two-story space in Manhattan's Theater District.
It is dramatic and stylish, featuring imported tin lanterns and hand-painted Talavera tiles from Mexico. With a terracotta tile-clad classic brick oven as the centerpiece of the main dining room, the design integrates banquette seating along the walls and at the ceviche station.
Highlighting a wide selection of quality tequilas, seats at the travertine bar counter offer views into an open kitchen where you might catch a glimpse of celebrity chef Julian Medina of Mexico City at work on his native haute cuisine dishes here in New York City.
Design Principal: Welly Lai
BARCA LOUNGE - GREENWICH VILLAGE BAR & LOUNGE
Design additions were required to complement existing conditions at this Greenwich Village hot spot.
The interior is stylish but restrained, casting modern Spanish highlights against the traditional existing interior. The effect is simple modernism that enhances the relaxing environment.
New furniture, bar display and upholstery design deliver a brighter mood and atmosphere to transform the previously French restaurant into a Spanish tapas bar and lounge.
Design Principal: Welly Lai
Project Architect: Mark Castellani
RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS
RIVERSIDE BOULEVARD PENTHOUSE
Inspired by the client's taste for luxury and world travel, the challenge was to design a boutique hotel suite experience within an unfurnished two-bedroom Trump Place condominium. Through sleek style and rich colors, we brought a first class experience into this white box.
A striking custom entertainment center in the living room was carefully designed to accommodate the client's high-end audio and visual components. Ambience and atmosphere are provided by strip lighting concealed within the cabinetry and light cove above the dining table.
Design Principal: Welly Lai
Project Architect: Mark Castellani
General Contractor: Napoleon Contracting
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS APARTMENT I
This was a complete gut renovation of a three-bedroom apartment for a couple and their two daughters. The motivation was to maximize their space through better organization and by multi-tasking design solutions with growing children in mind.
Feng Shui concepts that evolved from a ba-gua analysis with R.D. Chin, result in a fluid and spacious plan that integrates an open kitchen, dining room and private living quarters.
The layout provides a quiet section for the parents toward the back of the apartment and locates the children's room in the middle, separated from the living room with a set of French doors and nautical porthole windows on the wall.
Color palette for the residence consists of soft tones, pickled white-finished rift-cut oak wood, graphic forms and sleek lines.
Design Principal: Welly Lai
Project Architect: Mark Castellani
General Contractor: Napoleon Contracting
Feng Shui Consultant: R.D. Chin
UPPER EAST SIDE APARTMENT I
This was a custom design project on a three-bedroom apartment for a major label music mogul and was finely tailored down to the last inch. The goal for the more public space in the apartment was to create an exotic and chic entertainment area.
Custom upholstery designs were required to complement the client's antique collection which includes an elaborately detailed Chinese wedding bed in the lounge space.
Tucked behind the entertainment area is a jewel-toned powder room. The kitchen features Roman travertine countertop and backsplash, custom rift-cut oak cabinetry, Gaggenau appliances and Sub-Zero refrigerator. The bar is a light box with an onyx countertop.
Design Principal: Welly Lai
Project Architect: Mark Castellani
UPPER EAST SIDE APARTMENT II
Continuing into the private quarters of this three-bedroom Manhattan apartment, the idea was to create an out of this world bedroom suite.
The focal point of the master bedroom is an antique opium bed with a custom canopy of sheer exquisite Indian silk. The master bathroom is floored with river pebble stones, the tub is a mosaic of Moroccan tiles, and the mirror has a built-in flat screen television.
Completing this one of a kind suite are a walk-in closet and day bed area for lounging.
Design Principal: Welly Lai
Project Architect: Mark Castellani
BOERUM HILL TOWNHOUSE
This living room and dining room was designed for a couple with three young children.
The goal for the living room was to preserve the elegance of classic details and accentuate the high ceiling. The design provides a variety of display and storage solutions that are both stylish and practical. It also doubles as a home office and piano playing area.
We integrated a flat screen television behind glass panels so it would not become the dominant feature in the living room or compete with the working fire place below.
Units of display shelves and drawers with painted glass panels make a great backdrop for the clients' antique American farm table. Strip lighting provides ambience and accent for a collection of objects on display.
Design Principal: Welly Lai
Project Architect: Mark Castellani
General Contractor: Napoleon Contracting
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS APARTMENT II
A simple kitchen and bathroom renovation for an urban bachelor.
The kitchen's color palette is primarily gray tones set off by a granite countertop and backsplash and slate flooring contrasting with white glossy finish cabinets. Mood lighting under the cabinets makes a great entertaining atmosphere for making cocktails.
In the bathroom, frameless glass shower enclosures and dark limestone wall tiles are a perfect combination for the stylish professional.
Design Principal: Welly Lai
Project Architect: Mark Castellani
MIDTOWN STUDIO
By strategically relocating closets and opening up non-structural walls, we were able to provide our client with a bigger bathroom and open style kitchen.
Color palette for the apartment consists of soft tones, natural maple wood flooring in the living room, lime stone bathroom floor and Bisazza glass mosaic wall tiles.
Design Principal: Welly Lai
Project Architect: Mark Castellani
Project: Karkula
Project: Karkula
Project: Karkula
Project: Karkula
Project: Barca Lounge
Project: Palmeras
Project: Sol Y Sombra
COMMERCIAL SERVICES
Whether you own a restaurant, showroom, gallery, boutique, office, clinic or spa, to excel in today's competitive marketplace, you will need help establishing a professional image and presence.
Design Service
Custom-tailored design solutions for all aspects of your commercial project, including furniture selection and space planning, millwork, cabinetry, retail displays, lighting design, colors, materials, storefront design, signage, corporate identity and graphic design.
Our design service may also include sourcing an appropriate contractor, licensed architect, filing and expeditor services and project management.
RESIDENTIAL SERVICES
Creating a true lifestyle for my clients and not just simply the look of one has always been my focus on each project. I will create a personalized space that's uniquely your own.
Design Service
Custom-tailored designs for all aspects of your residential project, from furniture selection and space planning, millwork and build-ins, bathroom and kitchen renovations, closet design and organization, lighting, colors, materials, window treatments, art and accessories, even outdoor landscaping and garden design.
Our design service may also include sourcing an appropriate contractor, licensed architect, filing and expeditor services and project management.
FENG SHUI CLINIC
Drawing upon the best of Feng Shui philosophy and contemporary design ideas, our Feng Shui Clinic can be applied to any residential or commercial services.
Our consultation will help you find positive energy that can be implemented into your space. We begin with a ba-gua analysis of your existing floor plan, which will reveal proper furniture alignment, find balance in the use of light and identify complementary colors, textures and materials.
Our objective is to link architecture, interior design, and furnishings to boost the eight key areas of everyday life: fame, marriage/commitment, children/creativity, helpful people/travel, career, knowledge/spirituality, wealth/power and balance.
WELLY LAI STUDIO
335 State St., Suite 5B
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(917) 379-1948
Photography by: Vital Agibalow
Web Design by: LeoLa Design