Timeless Interiors

By Kathryn M. Ireland

Escape into eight fabulous high-end homes—and discover the process behind their designs—in this book from the star of Bravo's Million Dollar Decorators.

 


From stateside townhomes in New York, beach houses in the Hamptons and Malibu, and ranch homes in California to farmhouses in the English countryside and Southwest France, this collection of Kathryn Ireland's interiors moves up and down the sliding scale of formality.


 


As Timeless Interiors demonstrates, a Kathryn Ireland–designed space, no matter how playful and unorthodox, is always inviting and livable. As her fabric design business thrived and expanded, so her interior style began to incorporate elements from her expansive travels—paisleys, ikats, and madras—taking on a lively globe-trekker chic appeal.


 


"One of today's most influential interior designers." —House Beautiful


 


"Lush, layered rooms steeped in color and texture are Kathryn Ireland's signature. The designer showcases eight of her favorite projects and details the creative process behind each of them. Tips include finding color inspiration, her go-to shops and sources, and the magical power of designer-client friendships." —Traditional Home

 


"One of the leading interior and textile designers in the United States." —Los Angeles Times

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Nov 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9781423630326

Kathryn M. Ireland

Kathryn M. Ireland is among House & Garden's "10 to Watch" architects and designers expected to influence 21st-century style. For the last decade, House Beautiful has named her one of the top 100 designers in the United States. She is the author of Kathryn at Home,Creating a Home, and Inspired By. . . . She divides her time between Santa Monica, California, and Montauban, France.

Book preview

Foreword

There is nothing more comforting and sexy than intimate spaces. When these two feelings come together in one room, the result feels magical. Anyone who has ever visited Kathryn’s Santa Monica home has experienced this firsthand. She is a master at setting the mood.

Having met hundreds of designers in my career, I can tell you there is no one quite like Kathryn Ireland, and I am quite sure everyone in the design industry would agree. She has a vivre for life that makes you want to drop everything and run away with the circus. I always find myself feeling swept away when I spend an hour with her and can only imagine how anyone feels if they are lucky enough to have a home filled with her high energy and appreciation for the past.

It’s a wonder to me how she can use so many different patterns and textures, surround them with found objects and antiques and make them all feel woven together with ease.

I hope you will enjoy getting swept away, as I have, when reading through the pages of Kathryn’s latest book.

Photo of a desk.

Introduction

As with any exciting romance, the secret to mutual giddiness and gratification is inexplicable chemistry. An interior decorator can have a client with exquisite taste, a bottomless budget, endless time, outrageous sophistication, and totally motivated to work well together; but if there’s no synergy, it’s a non-starter, because good vibrations can’t be fabricated. The unpredictable spark with a client that inspires gorgeous work may be fickle, but it’s the source for what, in my experience, is the sine qua non of a knock-out residence.

I always say the client makes the decorator. That’s what this book is about. Of the eight homes I selected for my fourth book, the common denominator is the extraordinary rapport that developed between the client and me. And it shows. These photographs represent every variation of constructive and creative interaction. Sometimes the client wants to be completely hands-on, sometimes less so. Sometimes it’s love at first sight, and sometimes the love evolves. But in every case, the joy of spirited collaboration is embedded in the work and still reflects back to me over time. I am always blindsided when this magic happens. Despite some push me/pull you moments, working on these homes with each and every client was a joy in real time and a joy in retrospect.

And it was fun. That’s why I keep doing it.

Photo of a tub.

A Spanish Revival Home

Palos Verdes, California

When I moved to Los Angeles, the architecture that really turned my head was Spanish Colonial Revival. With a distinctive vocabulary of thick adobe walls, recessed windows, decorative wrought-iron work, and terra-cotta-tiled roofs, the style became emblematic of the California look and is perfect for a benign, balmy climate that allows indoor/outdoor living all year long. When I bought my first house, I bought in this style, and renovating it taught me what works and what’s absurd in the Spanish Colonial Revivals built between the World Wars of the last century, the heyday of the design. A few years ago I completed a full-scale restoration