A Classic Touch

Every now and again, you get the chance to meet someone whose passion and dedication to design is exhilarating.  Recently for me, that someone is Interior Designer Jamie Herzlinger, whose refined style is infused into every element of her aesthetic, from history to art to music.  So when homeowners in Paradise Valley needed to remodel a design project gone rogue, Jamie stepped in, started over and gave the house a classic touch.

Vie: Tell me a little about the people who live here. How involved were they?

JH: The couple that live here have grown children and dogs. They were familiar with my work and reputation for delivering the expectations to my clients. Although the house is in Arizona, they did not want an Arizona looking house. Well, that's where I come in. Once we got the concept down, we created hand drawn renderings for a romantic overview, and they were quite confident.

Vie: You managed to inject so much colour into this place, and it flows so beautifully. From soft to bold. It’s energizing. And the dining room..faint!

 JH: Your perception of color scheme is right on! The house does go from soft to bold. My firm is always involved with the interior architecture; we are contracted or we work with the architect. The soft to bold is the rhythm that all good design gives off. It's like music, piano to forte and back!  Being from the mid west, they love color, and at the same time the house design idea was to have the feeling of a classical home in northern California. The dining room is wall papered in stunning hand painted paper from Gracie! Then I had the idea to frame the panels as this is a more modern usage of formal papers. The drapery fabric is from Bergamo which is one of my most cherished fabric resources!

Vie: And in the powder room, a dramatic surprise?

JH: I spent a lot of time in San Francisco while working on this project to really get a feeling for what my clients were after, and I came across that sun burst mirror, a beautiful example from the nineteenth century and the rest was a blast. I love powder rooms. Everyone sees them; they should be a surprise, elegant and textural!

Vie: Is this an element of your signature?

JH: Again you are correct! My signature always has a dramatic element that is elegant and functional.

Vie: I see French design, and New york, a balanced mix of classic and modern. How do you define this space?

JH: The interior design is most definitely that of French inspired coupled with of course New York and San Francisco. I would call this a true classical modern.

Vie: The floors are spectacular! What do you call that pattern?

JH: The floors I had made from American Black Walnut. The pattern is a very old French pattern called, Parisienne!

The hidden curtain hardware is an amazing detail, that only a designer can bring to the table.    

"This is a great and beautiful detail in a design where you want clean lines, the drapes to show but you don't need the hardware to be front and center. You can achieve this with a crown molding of six to eight inches in depth. If you have one set of window coverings you need to hold the crown off the wall at least eight inches. If you are using two sets of draperies, a good idea is to hold the crown off the wall by twelve inches.

Vie: I heard a little rumor recently; you made it on a prestigious top 20 list?

JH: You are too sweet! The rumor is very exciting! I made the top twenty interior designer firms in the U.S. according to Traditional Home. This group is being called the "New Traditionals", and they will be featured in the premiere issue of Trad Home magazine which is the online collaboration of Traditional Home magazine and Lonny.

Vie: And there is another exciting project you have in the works. Tell us about your shop.

JH: I am very excited about the opening of my online shop. I travel a great deal and I receive emails and calls every week from people wanting to purchase something they have seen, asking for a resource or where to go to get "the perfect" accessory. So I decided to start, the same way I start a project. I have always enjoyed making collages of all the pieces that go into a project. My inspiration ranges from the perfect dress, vintage gloves, jewelry, shoes, handbags to great antiques. From the flea market in Paris, to shops in New York and LA, even my favorite dealers in the most sought after vintage clothing! I love the idea of being able to buy a fabulous magazine rack by Dorothy Thorpe too an incredible Pac Rabanne inspired coat, all in the same place, and knowing that the quality and accessibility is at one's fingertips!

Thanks Jamie. A pleasure, as always, to chat with you and be inspired by you..

Photography by: Werner Segarra Photography Inc