Pam Jaccarino
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live?
In a secluded farmhouse villa in Tuscany.
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? Very girly. French Provencal-style furnishings with white-pink-and-fuchsia floral wallpaper that my mother let me select. I was enamored with the enormous Evergreen tree just outside my window and imagined opening the window to climb down its branches (I did not). Finally, I was afraid of the pull-down ceiling door in my closet that led to the attic…having watched too many episodes of Dark Shadows.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? A portrait painting by Haitian artist Alphonse Fritzner. It was nothing fancy or important but I love the colors and expression of it.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer, who would it be?
The Bloomsbury Group of artists including Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant.
No room is complete without sunlight flooding in from windows.
People think of me as deadline-driven, but I can tend to be a big procrastinator without a deadline in front of me.
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: I don’t love the overpowering scent of lilies.
An hors d’oeuvre platter: If it’s gelatinous, it’s out!
A bar cabinet: Anything that fizzes.
A song for:
Dinner at home: The sound of birds chirping outside our window.
Working at your desk: Jazz in the Background, a playlist on my Spotify.
Going for a run: I’d rather do yoga, so a peaceful Gregorian chant.
Biggest Vice? Freshly-brewed black coffee as soon as I awake.
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy?
I’ll skip the Ambien because I want to be straight when I buy Robert Peake’s portrait of Cecilia Neville from the Christie’s recent auction of Jasper Conran’s collection.
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? My wardrobe is a lot less patterned and colorful and is more pulled together than my design sensibility which leans toward Bohemian, handcrafted, overstuffed…with lots of stuff.
Who is your star crush? All artists and it’s a long list…too many to name, but definitely includes Henri Matisse, John Singer Sargent, Egon Schiele and David Hockney.
What is the one thing you would never decorate your home with, but don’t detest when you see others do it? Minimalism.
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be?
I would probably go up in flames deciding which of my many design and art books to part with!
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? Hopefully to inspire people that the pursuit and appreciation of beauty makes the world, and all of us living in it, a better place.
A Few Favorites:
Movie: Sunset Boulevard, Out of Africa, There Will Be Blood
Book: Anne of Green Gables
Scent: Fresh eucalyptus and/or Santa Maria Novella
The fabric you always come back to: An old-fashioned black and white toile. It is associated with a very particular room and memory from my childhood.
Dream project: Fabric and wallpaper line based on my artwork
Meal: Hamburger and fries, devoured in a terrific dive of a place
Drink: Fiji water on ice
Hotel: Amangiri
Travel Destination: Morocco
Artist: Lately, Baya Mahieddine. But, it’s a rather lengthy list.
A cause near and dear to me: Women’s Rights. I was raised by a feminist.
Thing to collect obsessively: Art supplies. La Maison du Pastel handmade pastels are a particular favorite.
Era in the history of design: I’ve always been fascinated by Walter Gropius and The Bauhaus era. How a group of artists, architects and designers can come together to shape the world.
Museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Paint Color that always looks great: Benjamin Moore Tissue Pink
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: Inès Longevial
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? My two Shih Tzus, Tashi and Tenzin. I may need to get three more as I am inspired by Robert Couturier’s life with five of them.
