Barclay Butera - Barclay Butera Getaways and Retreats

Barclay Butera

Getaways and Retreats

Photographs by Mark Lohman

Barclay Butera Getaways and Retreats

Digital Edition 1.0

Text 2013 Barclay Butera

Photographs 2013 Mark Lohman

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except brief portions quoted for purpose of review.

Gibbs Smith

P.O. Box 667

Layton, Utah 84041

Orders: 1.800.835.4993

www.gibbs-smith.com

ISBN: 978-1-4236-3301-3

My passion for interior design took hold when I became the new business development associate for my mother, Karen Butera, who runs a highly regarded interior design firm. Working alongside her on her various projects, I soon realized that her exceptional level of taste and attention to detail was the key to her incredible success. The experience and training I received during those years was the most priceless education one could get. She taught me about the art of symmetry, combining colors and layering textures with patterns, but most of all she instilled in me a work ethic of honesty, dedication and perseverance. Watching her attain every goal that she set for herself gave me the drive and motivation to succeed in becoming who I am today. I express my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude for changing the course of my life and for the tremendous role she has played in my professional endeavors. Mom, this book is dedicated to you with love.

When all is said and done, the vast majority of our lives are spent within a very narrow region of the map: our borough, our neighborhood, our zip code, our side of town. As a result, we cant help but become creatures of habit, developing daily routines from which we rarely stray. We find ourselves shopping at the same local markets, frequenting the same quaint coffee shops and dining at the same handful of restaurants. We really get to know all the charming little nooks and crannies of our hometowns, and it is in these places that our fondest memories are made.

For the most part, I find comfort in this consistency and even revel in it; but at the onset of each season, I feel myself craving a change of scenery, an escape to break up the monotony and push my inner reset button. The only remedy for this hankering to realign my state of mind is to take a vacation; to retreat to a place where I can exchange the familiar for something unique and unknown.

I am a person who delights in all seasons: the timeless serenity of summer, the stimulating preparedness and crisp wistfulness of autumn, the hasty and robust outset of spring, as well as the peculiar industriousness and oddly bipolar indoor/outdoor exhilaration of winter. I have found that I seek out retreats that both soothe and invigorate me, depending on the season. Retreats transport me back to fond passages of my life or forward to long-anticipated chapters of contentment.

When I was a child, my vacations were primarily dictated by the three-month breaks between school years and were always synonymous with summer, water and sun. We would travel as a family to the coasts and shorelines of various tropical locales, and I would soak up every moment of the day playing in the saltwater and basking on the sandy beaches. This is where my true love of everything nautical began. As a teenager, I developed a great passion for skiing and was lucky enough to make the trek to several picturesque mountain resorts during the winter breaks of my high school years. The smell of fresh pine and feel of the crisp mountain air on my face as I raced down the slopes gave me a genuine appreciation for the great outdoors. My college days brought opportunities to study abroad in several countries, where I was influenced by the astonishing beauty of other cultures and their unique treasures. It was on these retreats and getaways that my eyes were opened to a new way of seeing things, and even today, I continue to draw on these experiences for inspiration in my designs.

Whether our escape is to a tranquil desert spa, rustic mountain lodge, scenic seaside resort or picturesque villa, we all have our own version of the perfect getaway, and we all feel the same sense of anticipation as the day of departure to our chosen landscape approaches. But no matter how wonderful our vacation is, the thirst for comfort takes over and we find ourselves eager to return to the familiarity of home. Once there, we can instill in our surroundings a look and feel that will saturate us with that which we have sought out: the icy blue and silver landscape of winter; the rusts and shimmering golds from the burnished woods of fall; the exhilarating and colorful rejuvenation of spring; and the uncluttered nautical culture of summer. Seasons will always bring change, and the places we go and the experiences we take part in will continue to influence and shape our lives.

Overstatement aside, spring is all about rebirth and rejuvenation. From the initial budding blossoms of the cherry trees to the first crocuses bursting from hardened soil, the world is coming alive once again in a celebration of new beginnings. Whatever ones ageand I mean thisgetting through the cold, bleak winter and enjoying the privilege of witnessing the miracle of spring takes years off your life. Seeing the world come into bloom once more, one cant help but feel the desire to hope, plan and dream again. The winter landscape of charcoal, graphite, amber and grey is shattered into oblivion by the arrival of color in the form of vibrant greens, bold reds, dazzling purples and brilliant blues. Bare shoulders are exposed and open-toed shoes make their way back onto the scene. It is impossible for spring to not evoke the blissful sensation of awakening to the sudden concerto of light and color and spaceand eternal possibility.

The arrival of spring packs a mighty punch to the senses; the contrast of the vivid blue sky against the bright white clouds, the lovely scent of flowering gardenias and star jasmine, the prickly sensation of freshly cut grass between your toes, the merry ballads of the birds out and about chirping once again. In response, I like to expand my spring palette with various tones of cream and ivory, celadon and happy shades of beige. And always spots of color, riotous color wherever a dark corner exists. These rooms dont need overcrowding with rugs and occasional tables and tabletop accessories; in fact they suffer from it. There needs to be space for growth and expansion and culmination. The naked floors and newly opened doors collaborate with light colors to make movementany movementthat much easier and more playful.

The arrival of spring is truly a license to edit, purge and streamline. Youve got all summer to luxuriate in constancy and comfort; so, for now, stop where you are and take notice of the drama unfolding everywhere around you. Lean into your life again and be a part of the pulsating beat of spring.