I was so thrilled that the very inspiring and thoughtful, Vicente Wolf agreed to help launch this series by chatting with contributor and author, Annie Lou Berman. I had the pleasure of interviewing with Annie for the Washington Post last year, and was so impressed with her writing skills as well as her love and knowledge of the interior design world, that I asked her to take on this monthly feature! I hope you'll enjoy our first installment as much as I did!
Your work has been described as modern with a traditional twist but you often use a lot of very non-traditional layouts. When did you start doing this and what led to it? Is this a part of your signature style?
I consider myself a modern designer. I never think of my work as being traditional. I always think in the moment. There may be old pieces but if you think how those old pieces were contemporary at one time, you start to see them in another way. I never look at them as old pieces, I look at their modern sense.
The plans come [together] because I’m always trying to see forward in an uncalculated way. I try to approach a space architecturally, so if a room is square I bring in some curves. If it is curved I bring in a straight lines - some ying and yang. I try to marry straight and curved.
I have always designed with my instinct and gut. It speaks with a sense of honesty. There is a certain amount of intellectual point of view in the design plan [but] not because it’s been thought out and re-thought out. It’s much more natural and organic.
Your interiors are so elegant but also so warm and livable—what is the key to making these spaces comfortable while still keeping your artistic vision? Perhaps it is this naturalness and honesty?
I think so. I think it’s what your sensibility is as a creative person. I’m not formal, I’m not traditional myself, and my lifestyle is very casual. I travel a great deal and I feel very comfortable sleeping on the ground in the jungle or a hut somewhere. When you approach life with that sensibility - whether you are cooking a meal, designing a room, or living your life - it is that thought. It’s not about the pretentiousness but about the emotion of a room.
To me it’s funny that the work seems so calm. My personality is not like that (laughs). I’m the kind of person who jumps out of bed like I’ve been awake for two hours already.
Are you ever surprised by your designs?
Oh constantly. I’m surprised by the solutions and the coloration, or what at that specific moment in the design process I’m selecting. When I did Preston Bailey’s apartment it was teal and lime green and it was so un-me but I loved it and I didn’t ever question the decision.
Most people’s problem [with design] is that they always try to second guess - what do others think, is this right, will I like it, and is it conventionally correct? The chances that your gut is wrong is really small. It’s when you analyze and question that all the insecurities step in. When your vision is from the gut it’s your core talking and the core knows the right thing for you.
You should be a therapist.
You have to be one to try to accomplish what our vision is - you are forced to try to utilize different means - like using a lot of logic to get people to the point where they say “He’s right.”
Your blog, and of course your book, is such a great educational tool for others in the profession or wanting to break in. Did you ever envision yourself in the role of online professor? Have you considered teaching?
I have taught. I think people achieve their goals in different ways through what suits their learning process or capabilities. I learned through experience, through doing things. I learn instinctually.
Teaching is wonderful because I don’t think you give people rules, but give them the opportunity to make up their own minds. In the books I’m not telling people “Don’t think this way,” I only say “I found this to work for me and you do what you need to do."
How do you thinks blogs have changed the dynamic between designers and their clients? Do you think blogs have also changed the definition of an 'interior designer'?
It depends. If you say going online is having the client looking at 400 different dining chairs, I'd rather see two items and choose between the two.
Yes, it exposes people but I don’t think blogs create better dialog between the designer and client. I use it to have a dialog with other professionals in my field, which is a very isolated field. Having the blog allows me to be irreverent in a public way about things most designers feel they better not talk about - whether it’s how much they charge, or problems they are having, or if business is slow. To have dialogs is the only way the industry will grow.
On the blog you talk a lot about students presenting work—what about clients presenting their desires to the designer? Is there a rule of thumb you want people to go by? What is one major guiding principle for a successful designer/client relationship?
Talent and professionalism. I [have a client where] they came to me after working with another designer for a while and they were getting pieces from the designer here and there. I gave them a total concept with drawings, elevations - the whole thing. The sense of comfort that I have a complete vision made the client immediately relax. From contracts to correspondence, presentations make me be more financially, and career-wise, successful.
When you’re designing what traditional period strikes a real chord? And how do always find that perfect balance between both new and old?
When I’m designing there is a vision due to the project’s requirements and my concept. If I’m looking for inspiration in a book and see an 18th century room I may see a very modern application of that space because I’m not looking for a literal translation but an abstract idea.
I see a lot of designers that take something, say “I like this bookcase and I want to do that,” and they are being superficial in their creativity and are looking for a literal answer to their questions. I’m looking for the thing that strikes the match, something that might never end up in the space.
I did a job and saw a sidewalk metal grid like on an elevator and the pattern led me to something that I then designed for the very large job. It’s knowing what you’re looking at is, and that is why my first book is called Learning To See. The more literal you want the answer the harder it is.
When working, do you know at the outset how things will go? Or do you change and add along the way? At what point do you stop considering new elements? How do you stop tweaking?
When the answer is the right one, I stop playing with plans. I don’t try to 2nd, 3rd, 4th guess myself. When I see an answer I like, I stop. It’s a waste of time to say it could be better this way or maybe that way. I think that’s a way of having life pass you buy. The more you second guess and re-shift, the more you loose that spontaneity and that sense of spontaneity is what I think my spaces have.
If you could design a space for anyone who would it be and what particular space?
Somebody who I greatly respect and whose time spent with would make me a richer person-when you sit and talk with them you walk away brighter and more insightful. And somebody nice.
What was your favorite room/house/building when you were growing up?
The apartment we had in Old Havana near the cathedral. I can feel the breeze coming through the windows in that apartment on my face right now-an amazing space. I still have dreams about it. Another is a temple in Bhutan from when I was there 10 years ago.
What style or period are you most afraid of but would love to try your hand at?
Victorian is too pretentious - I would say that. It’s too dark, heavy, velvety - so oppressed and repressed. Or Memphis
If you had to hire someone else to design your home who would it be?
I would say David Hicks because his sensibility was so close to mine, or rather I was close to his because he inspired my work. President Adams. He dealt with a period in a very modern way and utilized out of the box solutions to his problems.
If you had to spend $25, $250, and $2500 on 2 items respectively to make a big bang in a room, what would be they be?
For $25, fresh flowers—you’d get a quick emotion in the room. For $250 I would buy a wonderful set of sheets because there is nothing like getting in a bed with nice sheets that gives you a sense of luxury. Next, for $2500, I would say something comfy to sit in.
If you could only live in one room, what room would it be?
A bedroom. Mine.
How often do you rearrange your own furniture or redecorate your space?
It depends if there is a new pieces coming in. I rearrange when something new comes in.
What was the last piece you purchased for your home?
The last piece I bought was in South Africa. I bought cushions made of felt that look like rocks—they’re marbley and stack on top of one another.
Finish this sentence: no room is complete without…
Something live in it whether fresh flowers or other greenery.
What current trend do you most despise in decorating?
I think the sense of thematic rooms, where everything is one of one theme—whether mid-century or 18th century or anything else. Rooms that only have one thought.
What’s the most surprising reward you’ve had from your career in design?
Success. To achieve what I have achieved has been quite a surprise but a happy one.
