Claudio Rotondaro
CLAUDIO ROTONDARO, has been a resident of Palm Springs, California, since July 2020, and a 30-year resident of Los Angeles prior to that. Claudio grew up in a high-rise on the beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the 1960s. Inspired by the architectural achievements of Oscar Neimeyer, whose buildings he saw daily, Claudio decided to forgo his studies in economics and move to the United States to study architecture and become a U.S. citizen. After apprenticing in a commercial architectural firm in Santa Monica, Claudio formed his own business, Claudio Rotondaro & Associates, in 2001 and proceeded to design private residences that can be seen in the greater Los Angeles area.
Having grown up in a family of Italian descent, food was an important part of his upbringing and resulted in his becoming an accomplished cook. Combining his architectural skills with his culinary expertise, he found that he had a niche skill that was in demand—he was an architect who knew how to cook and, therefore, he was called upon to design efficient, functional kitchens and to often “fix” poorly designed existing kitchens. Staying true to his design ethics, the kitchens he designs embody both function and aesthetics equally.
Claudio’s fine furniture can be seen in the many homes to which he has contributed. Working closely with clients, interior designers, contractors, and engineers, he has designed furniture in living rooms, libraries, kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, powder rooms, foyers, and cabanas in the Los Angeles area for over 20 years.
Out of his love for high-end furniture and his desire for suitable lighting in his own home, Claudio designed end tables in 2009 that were illuminated by strings of lights placed within the tables. By using his tables as a source of lighting he found he could both decrease the use of ceiling lights, while minimizing the number of lamps in the room.
It was 2016 when Claudio purchased a Philips Hue bridge and attached it to his wi-fi router. Then he replaced the conventional light strips in his tables with Philips Hue LED smart light strips. Since then he has been discovering the many ways of interfacing with his tables. For instance, after downloading the Philips Hue app on his cell phone, he discovered that he could turn all the tables on or off simultaneously, whereas previously he would need to switch on each individual table manually. He was able to conveniently dim all the tables as well.
Sensitive to the color of the light during the day versus at night, he programmed a “bright” white light for day (5,000 Kelvin), and a “soft” white light for evening (2,700 Kelvin). A programmable, wireless, wall-mounted remote, which he purchased next, then gave him the ability to switch on the tables upon entering the room. He programmed the remote to display a variety of pre-programmed colors (kelvin) and brightnesses (lumen), which he could cycle through by pressing the “on” button.
Over the next couple of years, many new third-party Philips Hue apps started appearing online. By downloading apps to his phone (and tablet), he was able to experiment with apps that flickered like a candle or simulated passing clouds. When he found apps that had an audio component, he connected them to a small Bluetooth speaker. Now, he was able to simulate several environments and switch between them instantly: a rainforest with ever-changing greens and the gentle sound of rain; the blue and whites of the ocean coupled with the sound of the surf; the flashes of lightning with the roar of thunder. Specialty apps became available for various holidays complete with theme music: the green of St. Patty’s Day; the reds of Valentine’s day; the fireworks of the 4th of July. Suddenly, his living room became an orchestra of sights and sounds. And promised future applications include the synchronization of the lights with his favorite movies!
In 2019, Claudio added voice recognition to his tables. Now, voice commands can turn tables on or off, or dim the lights for television viewing. He is now able to control the tables either by voice, by smart phone/tablet apps, or a wall-mounted remote—whichever option is most convenient at the moment.
After applying for various patents, he introduced “The Dunn Collection”, a line of tables that skillfully combines rift white oak with sturdy, frosted plexiglass and smart lighting. (The tables are available in both “Natural” and “Espresso”.)
Claudio is looking forward to continued success with his line of furniture and an expansion of offerings.