what is your idea of perfect design happiness? THE MOST SATISFYING MOMENT IS WHEN YOU SEE THE SYNERGY OR SHARED ENERGY BETWEEN THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS COMING TOGETHER IN SOMETHING AS GOOD OR BETTER THAN YOU ORIGINALLY CONCEIVED OF IT.
what is your greatest fear in design? I DON’T REALLY HAVE ANY SPECIFIC FEAR AROUND DESIGN. IT IS SUCH AN ITERATIVE PROCESS, YOU CAN ALWAYS BACK UP A FEW STEPS AND WORK TOWARD CREATING WHAT IT IS YOU WANTED.
which historical design figure do you most identify with? NANCY LANCASTER, CHANEL, JOHN FOWLER.
which living designer do you most admire? BUNNY WILLIAMS, MICHAEL SMITH, AND VICTORIA HAGAN.
what profession other than design would you like to attempt? ART HISTORIAN, COWGIRL.
what is your greatest design extravagance? ART AND ANTIQUES.
when and where were you happiest with your design? I HAVE ALWAYS ENJOYED CREATING MY OWN LIVING SPACES.
what do you consider your greatest achievement in design? BRINGING AN ENORMOUS NUMBER OF WELL-DESIGNED PRODUCTS TO AN ENORMOUS NUMBER OF PEOPLE AT AN ACCESSIBLE PRICE LEVEL.
if you died and came back as another designer or design object, who or what do you think it would be? I WOULD LIKE TO COME BACK AS AN AMAZING ORIENTAL RUG THAT MOVES TO AND FROM FANTASTICALLY INTERESTING LIVING ROOMS AROUND THE GLOBE, WHERE I COULD WATCH AND LISTEN TO ALL THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN THOSE SPACES. PLUS, GREAT RUGS ARE NEVER TOSSED; THEY ARE PASSED DOWN OR SOLD TO OTHER FABULOUS HOUSES!
what specific design related talent are you lacking that you would you most like to have? I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO PAINT & RENDER THE DESIGNS THAT APPEAR IN MY HEAD BY HAND, BUT I DON’T DRAW VERY WELL.
what is your most treasured design related possession? THE PAINTINGS THAT HUNG IN MY MOTHER’S HOUSE AND A PAIR OF ROSE QUARTZ ELEPHANTS.
what do you regard as the lowest depths of misery in design? STRIP MALLS, FAUX COLONIAL ANYTHING, THE A-FRAME.
what curse word do you most frequently use? SHIT & MOTHERFUCKA SEEM TO BE THE MOST OFTEN UTTERED.
what is your favorite design related word? JUXTAPOSE.
what is your least favorite design related word? CURATED.
what turns you on in design? THE PROCESS AND SEEING IT ALL COME TOGETHER —THE THRILL OF THE HUNT.
what turns you off in design? PRETENTION AND TACKINESS.
what is your motto in design? DON’T OVERTHINK IT.
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ABOUT PROUST ON DESIGN | Answered by our design icons, these must-ask questions come from a 19th century parlor game made popular by Marcel Proust, the French novelist, essayist & critic. Proust believed the direct questions and honest responses that they elicited revealed the true nature of the individual. For this column, we have put a design related spin on the traditional questions. While this method has been used by many journalists throughout the years, we were primarily inspired by The Proust Questionnaire, which appears monthly on the back page of one of our all time favorite magazines, Vanity Fair (also Krista’s alma mater). Read all of the previous Proust on Design questionnaires here.