Jay Reardon
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? We love our home on Isle of Palms, SC but also our second home in Athens, Ga that is down the street from our daughter Meghan and her family and three grandchildren.
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? I shared it with my brother. Two twin beds with a book rack on the headboard for nighttime reading.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? When we were first married (50 years ago) we bought a Baker tortoise-shell bamboo brass table we have used in all of our homes throughout the years. Timeless.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer, who would it be? Our daughter, Meghan Garrard.
No room is complete without proper lighting that is adaptable for the room’s various uses.
People think of me as serious, and I am but I am really, just passionate about whatever I choose to engage in
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: Cactus
An hors d’oeuvre platter: Cheap Cheeses
A bar cabinet: Licorice Flavors
A song for:
Dinner at home: Pandora’s Calm Station
Working at your desk: Bruce Springsteen ‘Let your Motor Run ‘
Going for a run: ‘Amarillo by Morning’ George Strait
Biggest Vice? Overeating
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy?
Cooking gadgets and grilling tools
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? Conservative, textured and tonal.
Who is your star crush? Tom Hanks
What is the one thing you would never decorate your home with, but don’t detest when you see others do it? Chrome
If there were a fire, and you could only take one thing what would it be? Albert Sack
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? Classic design that was well built.
Mark Hampton working at his desk in the country. The desk was later produced by Hickory Chair.
A Few Favorites:
Movie: Old Yeller
Book: Tom Sawyer
Scent: Rosemary
The fabric you always come back to: Khaki
Dream project: Completing our home in Athens, Ga
Meal: BBQ, Collards, Corn
Drink: Gin and Tonic
Hotel: The Barbizon in NY (closed now) but they made me feel at home while traveling
Destination: Tuscany and Ireland
Artist: Monet
A cause near and dear to me: The Salvation Army
Thing to collect obsessively: Recipes
Era in the history of design: Federal Period
Museum: Museé d’Orsay
Paint Color that always looks great: Weathered Gray
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: I don’t
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? Paddington was our Favorite Dog, now gone. He was a VERY Small Yorkshire terrier with a BIG Heart that soothed and comforted me for fifteen years.
