A 21st-Century Modernist’s SoHo Apartment
Editor Hyunbi Shin | Photographer Blaine Davis
Ruba Abu-Nimah, a graphic designer and creative director, settled in SoHo, New York, five years ago. Her home is filled with an art collection she has built with care over many years, walls lined with books, and the private jokes she shares with her family in everyday life.
This interview is featured in Magazine C Issue 4 ‘Fauteuil Grand Confort’.
The first thing that catches the eye is your belongings, including all the books. They don’t seem to be mere decor. Are they companions of sorts, or relics that each hold a story?
Everything I own is meaningful in its own right. Even when an object has no practical use, it connects to my interests, like design, fine art, typography, ceramics, and photography. I value surrounding myself with things that are carefully chosen, well designed, and personally meaningful.
Are some of them quiet “inside jokes” that only you understand?
Of course! My home is full of my own jokes, and they’re really precious to me. For example, this plastic figure is Sadness, a character from the film Inside Out. My daughter says I look exactly like Sadness. And if you take your time looking around, you’ll find tiny Super Mario toy cars from Universal Studios hidden all over the apartment. (Laughs)
There’s also a wide range of artwork. You’ve said you always wanted to be an art collector. What criteria or rules do you follow when choosing art?
Most of the work relates to graphic design. For example, I carefully frame and keep May ’68 protest posters I found at a flea market in Paris. They’re historically significant, but very few survive because nobody considered them art at the time. I also own photographs by the renowned photojournalists Larry Towell and Danny Lyon. Finally, one of the pieces I treasure most is a painting by my friend and colleague Sho Shibuya, a brilliant artist. I worked persistently to get my hands on it.
How do you choose furniture, then? I’m curious why you chose the Fauteuil Grand Confort, which has such a presence in the middle of your living room.
When I was choosing my first furniture as an adult, nothing felt right. The Fauteuil Grand Confort was the exception. I’m a modernist at heart, and I’m especially drawn to the Bauhaus philosophy, which is both intellectual and challenging. It’s amazing that furniture from the early 20th century still holds its beauty and value. Just having these pieces in my space brings me great joy. There’s been a Fauteuil Grand Confort in every home I’ve lived in. I’ve never even considered buying another sofa or armchair.
How do you usually spend your time in the Fauteuil Grand Confort?
Mostly lounging. Surprisingly, it fits my body perfectly, so it’s very comfortable for reading or working on my MacBook. Every morning I also sit here with a coffee and get ready for a busy day. It’s the only calm moment of my day.
What object would pair perfectly with the Fauteuil Grand Confort?
If I had to pick just one, it would be the Vitsoe shelving system by the great designer Dieter Rams. I don’t think I need to explain why. I’m a huge fan of Dieter Rams. Once, I brought a shelf from my 606 Shelving System to a party Vitsoe was hosting and had him sign the underside. (Laughs)
You’re currently the creative director at Moncler, right? How do you define yourself as a creative? And how has working with so many global brands shaped your approach to design?
I believe graphic design is the foundation of all communication. My knowledge and skills as a graphic designer helped me understand how to deliver messages effectively to meet the different needs of different brands. I’ve been very fortunate to work with storied brands like Tiffany & Co., Revlon, Shiseido, and Elle magazine. Each brand brought its own challenges, and that allowed me to do meaningful work. Above all, I had the chance to work with the most talented people in the industry.
If your creative philosophy were an object, what would it be?
The iPhone. It’s a design in which form and function come together perfectly.
Outside of your work as a creative director, what inspires you most?
There are so many answers to that question. Fashion, art, history, architecture, music, young people, and culture all inspire me. Still, I think my greatest inspiration is New York itself. The city is always changing and growing, yet it remains a global center of culture.
New York is a place where new ideas thrive, a city that embraces people of every ethnicity, race, nationality, and culture. You’ve consistently spoken about the importance of diversity and representation in the design industry. How important is it to uphold these values, and what do they mean to you?
For me, diversity is essential. I try to share my experience with young people from underrepresented backgrounds in the design industry and to help them grow through mentoring. I don’t see this as a choice. It’s a principle I have to uphold. I’m Swiss, but I was born in Jordan because my Palestinian parents were forced to leave their home in 1948. Since then, I’ve lived and worked in many places, including Italy, London, New York, and Paris. Each city taught me something different and broadened my perspective. I’ve been incredibly lucky. Travel has also been by far my most valuable education and experience. It helped me understand different cultures, learn new languages, and develop a deep appreciation for art from around the world.
I heard you got back from a business trip to Europe two days ago. Have you faced setbacks or challenges in your work?
Every day is different. Above all, I work across several time zones, so it’s hard to keep a regular routine. I try to focus on creative work as much as possible, but at a large company, design skills alone often aren’t enough, and unexpected challenges come up. To overcome them, I work with people who love art and try to create an environment where their creative energy can have a positive effect on my work as well.
If we photographed your home again in five years, what would have changed, and what would stay the same?
In five years, I hope I’ll have moved somewhere bigger. But all of my current furniture will still be with me. If anything changes, I imagine it’ll just be a bit more art and a few more books.
Want to dive deeper?
Issue.04 Fauteuil Grand Confort
The greatness of the Fauteuil Grand Confort, designed in 1928 by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, and Charlotte Perriand, does not lie simply in comfort. It became an icon of modernity through the then-novel concept of the chair as a 'machine for sitting' and the innovative use of tubular steel, the most advanced material of its time. Its form borrows the vertical and horizontal elements, modular concepts, and piloti structures familiar from Le Corbusier's architecture, recalling his assertion that a chair is architecture. In the Fauteuil Grand Confort, machine-pure form, the discipline and order born of a simple structural system, and the interplay between them come together in rich beauty—a truly great chair.
