The 44-year-old decorator is known for her bold interiors, and her resume includes the Viceroy Hotel chain and boutique projects like Maison 140 and the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills. Then there are her product lines: home furnishings sold at Bergdorf Goodman, sheets for Sferra, rugs for the Rug Company and wall treatments for Schumacher.
"I've always loved fashion, and growing up my mother was a thrift store, flea market and auction junkie and so I would always tag along," she said. "With my interiors, fashion has been so influential." The WSJ asked her some questions about her style:
I ask a lot of clients what their favorite colors are and they say, "I don't know what I want to live in." I say, "Go in your closet and look at the majority of what color is in there; that's the color you're going to like living in."
The biggest décor faux pas, hands down, has to be unnecessary clutter. That is what drawers are for.
My favorite hotel is the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, for its beauty and its history, although it does need a renovation. The bar there is so chic—it's just an amazing piece of architecture.
For lunch, I frequently get the same thing from Erewhon, a natural-foods market in Los Angeles. It's this drink with about 10 different things in it like beets, kale, ginger, lemon and half an apple. It probably takes me three hours to drink—but I love the taste.
My guiltiest pleasure is a great bottle of Amarone red wine; it's the only alcohol I drink.
When you entertain, you must have good lighting! For cocktails I like to serve Champagne, and for hors d'oeuvres, warm nuts are the best.
If you want major drama in your home, quick and easy: paint. You can do it yourself. And don't forget your ceilings. Painting the ceiling adds depth.
My advice to people who rent but want to redecorate is large-scale art.
The best thing I ever bought is a vintage Oscar de la Renta short gingham dress that I wore to my rehearsal dinner the night before my wedding.
I always wear the perfume Aqua Universalis by Francis Kurkdjian.
I knew I had made it in the business when I was finally able to stop waiting tables.
*images via the wsj
