dhome - Jan Showers

BEST DESIGNERS 2016
Time & Again
Designers plot their favorite era of influence.
1650-1720
1725-1750
1770-1790
1800-1820
BAROQUE
ROCOCO
NEO-CLASSICAL
EMPIRE
(Louis XIV)
(Louis XV)
(Louis XVI)
JAMES McINROE
TRACY RASOR
BETTY LOU PHILLIPS
CATHERINE DOLEN | JULIE STRYKER
1933-1965
1960S
MIDCENTURY MODERN
GONZALO BUENO
1970S
DEBRA OWENS
RANIA NASSER
LINDA FRITSCHY
LESLIE JENKINS
NOW
BARBARA DASEKE | CHERYL VAN DUYNE | DAN NELSON | DAWN BERGAN | JEN MAULDIN
| KARYN DISMORE | LINDA BAKER | LISA HENDERSON | MARY ANNE SMILEY | SHERRY HAYSLIP
1980S
AMY BERRY
1920-1950
1925-1937
1880-1910
1840-1870
HOLLYWOOD REGENCY
ART DECO
ARTS & CRAFTS
SECOND EMPIRE
EMILY JOHNSTON LARKIN
ALANA VILLANUEVA | BRANT McFARLAIN | BRECK WOOLSEY
GLEN BOUDREAUX
ELIZABETH WHITE
JAN SHOWERS
| JASON JAMES JONES | LESLIE TURNER | LISA SORENSON
MARY BETH WAGNER
(in order of timeline) 19th c. Italian Rococo sofa, $14,850/Ceylon et Cie; Empire candlestick,$5,500 for pair/John Robert Clark Antiques; Amethyst velvet tufted chair, $12,900 for pair/Jan Showers;
Vincent Cafiero for Knoll lounge chairs, $9,800 for pair/Collage; Italian Marcello Fantoni lamp, $3,200/Jan Showers; 1980s barstools, $2,240 for three/Again & Again;
Made Goods “Elba” chandelier, $3,100 /Mecox
IF YOU HAD TO PICK ONE CHAIR:
Overall, designers considered Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Chair the most iconic seat in the house,
followed by the Platner Lounge Chair, the Eames Lounge Chair, and the Greek Klismos.
(left to right) Barcelona Chair, $5,429/Design Within Reach; Platner Lounge Chair, $5,456/Design Within Reach; Eames Lounge Chair & Ottoman,
$4,935/Design Within Reach; Scala Luxury brass “Klismos” chair, $9,500/Laura Lee Clark
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COURTESY OF VENDORS
The
winner!
BEST DESIGNERS 2016
1
Splurge!
When spending a pretty penny is a good idea.
Artwork: It can maintain or
gain value with age, unlike
most furniture; and you get
to enjoy it, unlike stocks and
other investments.
–AMY THOMASSON-RAMIREZ
39
%
of designers
said to ante up
for artwork.
2
Luxurious bed linens and
towels and one grand piece of
art. –GLEN BOUDREAUX
tantly, has meaning to them
and adds to their history.
An antique mantel, distinctive
accessories, and landscaping.
Cedric Hartman lamps.
–BETTY LOU PHILLIPS
–JAMES McINROE
F. Schumacher “Walden
Quail” wallpaper.
Fabrics. I can smell a cheap
fabric a mile away.
–BRANT McFARLAIN
A great coffee table because it
is always the most important
piece in a room. –JAN SHOWERS
Rock crystal chandeliers (one
of my favorites is the Castalla
chandelier from Ebanista).
Splurge on anything that
moves you emotionally and
you will never regret it.
–CATHERINE DOLEN
–JASON JAMES JONES
Charles Birdsong lampshades.
A fabulous chest—antique or
not, drawers or doors—you
can use for years in many different rooms.
–JOSEPH MINTON
Acrylic with a pop of color.
(I would go for pink!)
1. Castalla chandelier, to the
–JOHN PHIFER MARRS
–ABBE FENIMORE
trade/Ebanista 2. Porter
*Sorry, Abbe, we went with blue!
Teleo “Floral Graffiti” and
Any midcentury piece of
furniture. –ALEX MONTANA
–SHERRY HAYSLIP
3
–SUSAN BEDNAR LONG
Fabulous pillows finish off
any space. And because they
require so little fabric, go for
the most luxurious options
to complement your color
scheme. –DEBRA STEWART
A unique wall treatment,
whether for walls or ceiling
(like Porter Teleo).
Spend on a sofa.
A unique chandelier or ceiling
fixture—something over scale
and dramatic that will be the
focal point of the room.
“Fluidity” wallcoverings, to the
First the bones, then the art.
trade/David Sutherland
–EMILY JOHNSTON LARKIN
– PAUL DRAPER
Gorgeous handmade tiles.
The pattern, color, and texture
they add to a kitchen or bath
sets the backdrop like nothing
else. –ERIN SANDER
Lamps! There are too many
cheap lamps out there, and
they just ruin a great room.
Zuni Zebra tile,to the trade/
– RHONDA GRUBBS
Ferrell + Lewis Mittman 6.
Foundational pieces—a
custom upholstered sofa or an
outstanding dining table.
–SHELBY WAGNER
4
3. Lapis Lazuli lamp, $12,000/
Empressive Geo Designs 4.
Exquisite Surfaces 5.
McLaughlin Collection Azure
tables, to the trade/Edward
Jute herringbone rug, $59$679/West Elm 7. Glass leaf
I always encourage clients to
find a piece of art that transcends joyful feelings—a piece
that adds beauty and interest
to the room, but, more impor-
chandelier, $549/West Elm 8.
“Frame” canopy bed, $6995
$799/CB2 9. Nate Berkus
mirror, $40/Target 10. Carlo
Matelassé bedding, from
$135/Peacock Alley
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WALLCOVERINGS, TABLES, RUG: CHRIS PLAVIDAL; ALL OTHERS COURTESY OF VENDORS
–CATHY KINCAID
–BRECK WOOLSEY
BEST DESIGNERS 2016
Design Rules
Steal a few ideas from their playbooks.
A neutral color palette with
pops of color in art and accessories keep any space timeless
and classic. –ALEX MONTANA
Don’t hang art too high, and
always use down or down
substance for pillows.
A clean design plan is a must
before the decorative finish
can be considered.
–ELIZABETH WHITE
–MARY ANNE SMILEY
Excellence will age gracefully. –AMY WALTON
Remember to design good
lighting into each project.
Always address the architecture and light in a space
as a primary focus. With
these details in harmony, the
design will flow with greater
ease. –ERIN SANDER
–CHERYL VAN DUYNE
I pair really unusual colors
and use things from all time
periods. –CYNTHIA COLLINS
RUSS PETERS
Eliminate clutter.
–KIM FURSTENWERTH
Go for comfort first.
–JOSEPH MINTON
Pick a beautiful fabric you
love and design the room
around it. –DAWN BERGAN
When something is right,
you feel it immediately. If
you have to stare it down for
a few minutes, it’s not.
I place a table and a lamp
beside every chair/sofa.
Design needs to be practical.
Who wants to sit in a chair
with no light for reading and
no place to set a drink? –JAN
–LESLIE JENKINS
Always have at least one
quirky item that you love
in each room of your
home, preferably a one-ofa-kind piece with some age
to it—something with soul.
–MARY CATES
Add color, mix, repeat!
– RHONDA GRUBBS
Use symmetry in the major
room components.
– STEPHEN DUNN
SHOWERS
Live with what you love.
–TRACY RASOR
–RANIA NASSER
A great bench or ottoman,
in a beautiful patterned
fabric or texture,
works in any room.
–LIZ LANK WILLIAMSON
50/50
2
BLACK & WHITE OR COLOR?
It was dead even, with half of our designers drawn to the graphic beauty of black
and white, while the other half yearned for color—and plenty of it.
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3
Black and white with
a touch of taupe.
–SAMANTHA FISHER
PILLOWS AND LAMP: CHRIS PLAVIDAL; ILLUSTRATIONS ALESSANDRA OLANOW; ALL OTHERS COURTESY OF VENDORS
1
Don’t neglect the fifth wall
of a room—the ceiling.
Our signature colors are
Benjamin Moore’s Palladian
or Wyeth Blue. –BILL CATES/
Strike a balance between
timeless and trendy.
They share their biggest decorating no-nos.
Pet Peeves
I don’t like to be uncomfortable
in a room. I really don’t like when
scales are off: massive armoires,
oversized light fixtures, and rugs
too small for their rooms.
–CYNTHIA COLLINS
Accent walls—just paint
your room one color. If you
want to be bold, be bold.
DAWN
BERGAN
CHARLOTTE
COMER
LESLIE
JENKINS
Rugs sized like postage
stamps? Not on our
watch!
Beige. –AMY BERRY
Beautiful pieces only create
beautiful design when they
relate to each other as a
whole. –LISA SORENSON
Too many elements in a
space yelling, “look at me.”
–AMY THOMASSON-RAMIREZ
Chandeliers that are too
small. –CATHERINE DOLEN
Valences. –ASHLEY AVREA
Spaces that feel anonymous.
CATHEY
–DEBRA OWENS
Lamps that finish at different heights in the same
room. –BETTY LOU PHILLIPS
Modern with modern, and
interiors that are all new and
not collected. –JAN JONES
Matchy, matchy, matchy.
Over decoration.
–BRANT McFARLAIN
–ELIZABETH WHITE
TV shows that make everything look so easy and fast.
Knowing where all the
room’s accessories were
purchased. –SUSAN BEDNAR
An over-designed room and
too much fringe.
Trends—I hate the overexposed. –PHILIP THOMAS
–JOANIE WYLL
LONG
–LIZ LANK WILLIAMSON
VANDERFORD
Round rugs. –JULIE STRYKER
Too fancy. –EMILY SUMMERS
–MARY CATES
Unfinished rooms.
Nothing good happened in
the 1980’s design-wise, so
the trend to return to them
is not good. –JAN SHOWERS
Textured walls.
–STEPHEN DUNN
You can have a great–looking piece, but if the scale is
wrong, it’s like an ill–fitting
dress. –SAMANTHA FISHER
–LISA HENDERSON
1. Shagreen On The Rock square
table lamp, to the trade/Cory
Pope & Associates 2. Ellis bench,
$7,800/Arteriors 3. Julia
Buckingham for Global Views
“Wiggle” chair, $3,749/Mecox 4.
Bunglo silk pillows, $305 each/
Laura Lee Clark
TO CHOP OR
NOT TO CHOP?
54
%
4
Our designers had strong
opinions when it came to
pillow–chopping. It was a
house divided, with slim
majority of designers
preferring a good karate whack
to those who wouldn’t think
about laying a hand on their
already–perfect pillows—
quelle horreur!
D M AG A Z I N E . C O M
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46
%

THE BEST DESIGNERS
IN DALLAS 2016
We teamed up with local showrooms to select
the best designers in the business.
Kara Adam
Debbie Bagley
Linda Baker
Marci Barnes
Lisa Barron
Dawn Bergan
Amy Berry
Mil Bodron
Glen Boudreaux
Gonzalo Bueno
David Cadwallader
Bill Cates
Mary Cates
Ashley Avrea Cathey
Margaret Chambers
Suzy Childress
Tyler Cobb
Cynthia Collins
Katie Collins
Charlotte Comer
Alice Cottrell
Nikki Cramer
Barbara Daseke
Fran DeLeo
Karyn Dismore
Catherine Dolen
Paul Draper
Paul Duesing
Stephen Dunn
Laura Lee Clark
Falconer
Abbe Fenimore
Samantha Fisher
Mark Fletcher
Linda Fritschy
Kim Furstenwerth
Kay Genua
Amy Gibbs
Debbie Grayson
Rhonda Grubbs
Tracy Hardenburg
Sherry Hayslip
Lisa Henderson
Leslie Jenkins
Jan Jones
Jason James Jones
Cathy Kincaid
Allen Kirsch
Emily Johnston
Larkin
Mauricio Lobeira
Susan Bednar Long
Lolly Lupton
John Phifer Marrs
Lisa Martensen
Jen Mauldin
Meredith McBrearty
Kim McCue
Brant McFarlain
James McInroe
Tiffany McKinzie
Joseph Minton
Alex Montana
Doniphan Moore
Mike Mousel
Rania Nasser
Dan Nelson
Debra Owens
Russ Peters
Betty Lou Phillips
Tracy Rasor
Pat Ratcliff
Joshua Rice
Dona Rosene
Rick Rozas
David Salem
Doug Salzman
Erin Sander
Cristie Schlosser
Ann Schooler
Mary An Shirk
Jan Showers
Mary Anne Smiley
Lisa Sorenson
Debra Stewart
Neal Stewart
Julie Stryker
Emily Summers
Martha Sweezey
Loyd Taylor
Amy Thomasson–
Ramirez
Richard Trimble
Leslie Turner
Cheryl Van Duyne
Philip Thomas
Vanderford
Barbara Vessels
Alana Villanueva
Mary Beth Wagner
Shelby Wagner
Deborah Walker
Amy Walton
Elizabeth White
Liz Lank Williamson
Breck Woolsey
Joanie Wyll
*This list resulted from a
survey of more than 250
local showrooms and
does not necessarily
reflect the opinions of
D Home.
“A List” spiral
notepad, $21/
Bell’Invito
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