Tom Scheerer
photo by Francesco Lagnese
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? Ha, I’ve got houses in East Hampton, the Bahamas, Maine and Paris. If I could have a sixth it would be in Greece, for sure. But I’m happy renting there every June.
What are three words to describe your style? 1. Clean 2.Cheerful 3.Informal
Tell us about your childhood bedroom. It was small , maybe 11 ft square , the twin beds pushed to the corners flanking a double out-swinging casement window. My bed was on the left, alongside a second such window. I carry the memory of sleeping by this window looking up into the trees and the sky. I try to recreate this very experience as often as I can.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? A 17th Century Flemish kas. I “won” it at Christie’s. It was cheap. The back had holes cut for television cables, which I put to the same use. It’s been in several NYC apartments to Charleston where I once had a “country house”), to the Bahamas, and now back in New York.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be? Rory Cameron.
No room is complete without something alive...a plant, a tree, a goldfish.
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: Flowers. I am happiest with a kookie plant.
An hors d’oeuvre platter: Anything that requires a second bite.
A bar cabinet: Coconut flavored rum
A song for:
Dinner at home: Anything Bill Evans
Working at your desk: Anything Bill Evans
Going for a run: When I ran (a long time ago) it never occurred to me to listen to music.
Biggest Vice? Eating dinner in bed with my “TV friends”
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? I have an extremely limited and regimented wardrobe with minimal seasonal adjustments. Khaki pants mostly, purple checked shirts or pinstripe pocketed polo shirts (saves on laundry), Hanro boxers, Uniqlo socks, tracten jackets in all seasons.
Who is your star crush? Most recently Sarah Paulsen, Barack Obama, Josh Thomas (watch it: Please Like Me)
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be? Vogue’s Book of People, Places, and Houses.
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? Suitability. Reading the client correctly and doing something for them that seems just right on them.
photo by Francesco Lagnese
A Few Favorites:
Movie: Too hard a question. I’ve seen 60 years worth. The Last Emperor?
Book: Easy! Tom Scheerer Decorates!
Scent: 4711......I’m third generation.
The fabric you always come back to: Lisa Fine’s Samode print
Dream project: A house Greece where I can apply the same sensibility as did John Stefanides
Meal: A Spring rematch of my Fall lunch at Arpege. 14 courses and every single one worth having again
Drink: Sometimes there’s nothing better than a glass of iced water.
Hotel: Et Hem, Stockholm. The coziest, best decorated hotel ever.
Travel destination: Back to Japan as soon as I can.
Artist: A Gauguin Tahiti painting would look nice above my sofa.
Thing to collect obsessively: Caned objects, bamboo objects.
Era in the history of design: 1930’s America. Team Adler and Elkins.
Museum: Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature in the Marais. Around the corner from my house there.
Paint Color that always look great: Benjamin Moore’s White Dove
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: My 87 year old mother. Gagaidol. She’d love more followers.
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? None. I travel.
