Kathryn M. Ireland - Timeless Interiors

Kathryn M. Ireland Timeless Interiors

Photographs by Tim Beddow

Digital Edition 1.0

Text 2012 Kathryn M. Ireland

Photographs 2012 Tim Beddow

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.

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ISBN: 978-1-4236-2286-4

To Victoria, a client, a friend, and an inspiration. A tireless partisan on behalf of her family, her work, and her philanthropyand all who are dear to her heart.

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 Kathryns 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.

Its 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 Kathryns latest book.

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 theres no synergy, its a non-starter, because good vibrations cant be fabricated. The unpredictable spark with a client that inspires gorgeous work may be fickle, but its 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. Thats 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 its 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. Thats why I keep doing it.

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 whats 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 of a ravishing Wallace Neff design in Ojai, California, one of the highlights of my career. So when my client Leslie Burke acquired a 1924 Roland E. Coate house in Palos Verdes, I was thrilled to work on another Spanish Colonial Revival by a marquee architect. On my first visit, I was bowled over by the spectacular views of Catalina Island and Santa Monica Bay from the terrace. Worth every moment braving the elements in the dead of a Southern California wintercardigan weather!

From the exterior, the rambling house exudes classic Spanish Colonial Revival charm, complete with a canopy of bougainvillea tumbling over the entrance. Upon entering, I was anxious to see the spatial orientation of the rooms, the condition of the woods, plastered walls and tiles. I was curious to discover what was left of the Coate original. I couldnt have been more delighted. The house was in pristine condition. With whitewashed plaster walls, minimal window treatments, and typical high ceilings, a well-preserved Spanish Colonial Revival is a canvas. Once youre inside, almost anything works. Almost.

Leslie and I edited the furnishings from her contemporary former home down to a handful of itemsincluding a grand pianoand I went to work, bearing in mind that the house would be inhabited by four children, so comfort and resiliency were key. We shopped locally in L.A. at my favorite haunts for authentic furnishings and accessories that would underscore the tradition of the style but not dominate the overall look.

The Murano glass fixture over the kitchen table, bedroom chairs, and a contemporary Tim Woolcock painting were found on a European buying trip. After mentioning to Robert Kime on a walk in the English countryside that I was on the lookout for a really magnificent four-poster bed for my clients master bedroom, he led me to one of his barns. Inside, he showed me a rare nineteenth-century Anglo-Indian bed with a fabulous checkered history that included a tour of duty at a palace in Jaipur! This showstopper is now the centerpiece of the most regal room in the house.

The living room is formally arranged, but I conceived the parlor beyond it as a relaxed family room. In both spaces, the comfort factor is palpable. The doors and windows embrace the vistas as part of the rooms dcor. I kept the color palette neutralin washed whites, rich creams, and soft caramelsto temper the dark wood of exposed beams and flooring.