By: Carolyn Kemmett
Equestrian diverts years of dressage culture into national design projects
Designer Daniel Cordova is serious about livability.
Portrait by Colby Rabon
The founder and principal designer of an ambitious studio, Daniel Cordova maintains two offices in California — Los Angeles and Santa Barbara — and one in Asheville. He crosses the country frequently, serving clients on the West Coast and in Western North Carolina, as well as in Aspen, Cape Cod, and other picturesque places.
But his earliest influence was Santa Fe. Cordova’s family roots go back centuries in New Mexico; he says, “The high-desert landscape is one of the most beautiful places in the world … the light and vistas are so inspiring to me.”
Additionally, the designer’s laser focus and fine approach were honed in a demanding arena: the riding ring.
It sounds like your experience with horses seriously shaped your aesthetic and work style.
I was immersed for years in dressage, a classical European equestrian sport that requires intense discipline and a highly connected relationship between riders and horses. I was solely focused on horses for a long time, and thought I wanted to be a professional equestrian. The precision of dressage definitely influences my visual sense, attention to detail, and work ethic.
How did design win over dressage?
At 16, I moved from my family to Los Angeles to train with a riding instructor, and eventually experienced some intense burnout. I left that life behind in my mid-twenties and then dove into the design world.
You dove deep, too — and advanced your career with some of the best, as well as designing spaces for celebrities such as Ryan Seacrest, Michael C. Hall, Jami Gertz, and recently Marc Cherry, the creator of Desperate Housewives.
I’m grateful. I worked for [LA designer] Jeff Andrews and learned so much, and then had the privilege of working for renowned designer Kerry Joyce [also of Los Angeles] as his Director of Interiors. That allowed me to work on diverse projects across the country.
What was your aim when you went out on your own?
I founded Cordova Studio in 2016, and wanted to approach design with an equestrian mentality. With design, architecture, and horses, we’re creating something that should stand the test of time rather than just being pretty for right now — that’s wasteful. I don’t want to do projects that need to be redone every five years. We work on major renovations and new construction, creating homes for clients whom I’ve sometimes known for years. We do second homes, or we might have the fun of getting a second go at something we created years ago.
How does lifestyle come into play?
The design plan is going to be very different for a retired couple who travel frequently and a young family with kids and pets. I try to fill the gap that exists between what a client wants their home to be and what the home itself wants to be.
So you’re listening to the architecture, too …
A space’s livability is preserved by working outward and ensuring that rooms hold furniture properly and that lines of sight and views to the outdoors exist. Proportions should feel good … a kitchen, for example, shouldn’t be so massive that it becomes echoey and unpleasant.
What’s your view, then, on the popular open floor plan of recent decades?
There’s a reason why certain floor plans have always worked. I have no problems opening it all up if there’s a softness to it, but nobody wants to live in a banquet hall. When we create delineations between spaces, it can feel quite inviting.
You fell in love with a house in Fairview, didn’t you?
Yes, my mother lives here, and when visiting for the holidays, I’d walk her dog past this great 1940s stone house nearby with a barn on the land. I was definitely covetous. One day I saw a “For Sale” sign. I had no intention of buying a place, but in 2018 I purchased it. While sinking my teeth into that home’s beauty and making it mine, I’ve built a clientele here.
It’s interesting that both areas where you work have gone through traumatic natural disasters — the wildfires in California and Hurricane Helene here.
True. Having been in both places impresses upon me the design community’s responsibility to create healthy, sustainable environments in a way that will help rebuild neighborhoods so they’re around for the next century, at least. The urge is always to rebuild quickly, but we need to do it thoughtfully, too.
Cordova Studio, Asheville, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara, 805-587-2008, daniel@cordovastudio.com, cordovastudio.com.