What is your idea of perfect design happiness?
THE MOST WONDERFUL MOMENT TO ME IS SEEING THE THRILL OF A CLIENT SEEING A COMPLETED PROJECT AND HAVING THE FEELING THAT I HAVE FULFILLED THEIR DREAMS.
What is your greatest fear in design?
I THINK PEOPLE ARE LOSING THEIR INDIVIDUALITY. BECAUSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA THERE’S A SAMENESS. PEOPLE SHOULD AWAYS HAVE THE FUN OF BEING ORIGINAL AND CREATIVE AND NOT LOOKING LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.
Which historical design figure(s) do you most identify with?
PAULINE DE ROTHSCHILD
FRANCES ELKINS
NANCY LANCASTER
MADELEINE CASTAING
Which living designer(s) do you most admire?
AXEL VERVOORDT
FURLOW GATEWOOD
ROBERT KIME
JACQUES GRANGE
What profession other than design would you like to attempt?
I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A NURSERY AND TAKE IN ABANDONED DOGS AND TRY TO FIND HOMES FOR THEM.
What is your greatest design extravagance?
HAVING A GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE WHERE I CAN GROW FLOWERS SPECIFICALLY FOR MY HOME.
When and where were you happiest with your design?
MY NEW STUDIO IN CONNECTICUT.
I’VE NEVER HAD AN INSPIRING WORK SPACE OF MY OWN.
What do you consider your greatest achievement in design?
I DON’T THINK I HAVE A GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT. I’VE WORKED VERY HARD OVER A VERY LONG PERIOD OF TIME TO GET BETTER AND BETTER AND BETTER. I FEEL LIKE THE PROFESSIONAL ICE SKATER OR MARATHON RUNNER. YOU PRACTICE, YOU WORK AT IT, YOU DISCIPLINE YOURSELF AND YOU GET GOOD AT IT. YOU GAIN CONFIDENCE, YOU GAIN EXPERIENCE AND YOU GAIN KNOWLEDGE.
If you died and came back as another designer or design object,
who or what do you think it would be?
A WONDERFUL NEEDLEPOINT PILLOW I HAVE IN THE BARN IN THE COUNTRY THAT SAYS “THE MORE I KNOW ABOUT MEN, THE MORE I LOVE MY DOG.”
What specific design related talent are you lacking that you would you most like to have?
I CAN DRAW, BUT I WISH I HAD THE TALENT OF ALBERT WHOSE INCREDIBLE WORKING DRAWINGS WERE PRETTY CLOSE TO HOW THE PROJECTS WERE CARRIED OUT.
What is your most treasured design related possession?
A PAIR OF PAINTINGS THAT SHOW AN INTERIOR OF OUR LIVING ROOM WITH OUR FURNITURE AND OUR DOGS.
What do you regard as the lowest depths of misery in design?
CHILLY AND ALOOF WHITE ROOMS.
What curse word do you most frequently use?
JACK DANIELS.
What is your favorite design related word?
HARMONY OR TIMELESSNESS.
What is your least favorite design related word?
ECCLECTIC.
What turns you on in design?
MY FAVORITE PERIOD OF FURNITURE IS STILL GREAT 18TH CENTURY ENGLISH FURNITURE. THIS MAY NOT BE IN VOGUE AT THE MOMENT, BUT WHEN IT’S COMBINED WITH A VERY MODERN PIECE, ALL OF A SUDDEN THE OLD LOOKS NEW.
What turns you off in design?
WHEN FURNITURE IS PLACED ONLY AGAINST THE WALL IN A ROOM.
What is your motto in design?
DON’T BE INTIMIDATED BY YOUR POSSESSIONS.
AND, ALSO, DON’T FEEL THAT ANY ROOM IN YOUR HOME IS SO PRECIOUS THAT IT MUST BE SAVED FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS. EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE IS SPECIAL.
IMAGE CREDITS // Images provided by Bunny Williams
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 an interior 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 our previous Proust on Design questionnaires here.
