Jeffry Weisman
Photo by Grey Crawford
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? That’s a tricky question because we already have homes in San Francisco, San Miguel de Allende and Mexico City…but if I were to add another and neither budget nor accessibility were relevant, I’d vote for Tuscany. Close enough to Florence to pop in for lunch, but quiet.
What are three words to describe your style?
1. Luxurious
2. Edited
3. Unexpected
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? My parents built my room with a desk running the full width of the room below a large window overlooking a jacaranda tree. I had towering bookcases, a large closet, bunk beds so I could have sleep overs and an en suite bath. Much about this room proved very predictive of what I would like as an adult (except bunk beds). The burgundy shag carpet and woven wood blinds with burgundy chenille accents are even sounding pretty good in retrospect.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? A set of six spectacular 18th century French fauteuils which I still adore, even if they are worth a fraction of what I insured them for in the 80’s and 90’s.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be?
Renzo Mongiardino or Albert Hadley (a schizophrenic response, I’ll admit).
No room is complete without candle light.
People think of me as a perfectionist, but I am really a little less obsessive than I used to be.
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: Baby’s breath
An hors d’oeuvre platter: Blue cheese and anything with chopped parsley on top – both disastrous at a cocktail party
A bar cabinet: Nothing!
A song for:
Dinner at home: Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered by Ella Fitzgerald
Working at your desk: Lovely Day by Bill Withers
Going for a run: Ain’t Nobody by Chaka Khan
Biggest Vice? Wood jigsaw puzzles from Liberty Puzzles in Colorado. I adore them and once I start one, I can’t stop.
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy?
Cashmere coats, and Italian dress shirts and shoes. Lots.
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? Totally. I love luxurious materials, beautiful tailoring, and quiet style.
Who is your star crush? James Wolk.
What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest when you see others do it?
Combining a zillion different prints in a room à la Mario Buatta.
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be?
Gamberaia by Balthazar Korab. Published in 1971 and long out of print, a staggeringly beautiful photo essay on one of my favorite Tuscan gardens.
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? Great style that looks great decades later.
Photo by Pia Riverola
Your Favorite:
Movie: Auntie Mame (with Rosalind Russell, not Lucille Ball, of course)
Book: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, Rise the Euphrates by Carol Edgarian, A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, and The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (does anyone have just one favorite book???)
Scent: Aguamadera by XINU (Mexico City)
The fabric you always come back to: La Scala mohair from Gretchen Bellinger
Dream project: Anything for a client with great taste and plenty of money who is not in a hurry and has no interest in micromanaging our process.
Meal: A glass of Bandol rosé with a dozen oysters, a Caesar salad and a roast chicken at Zuni Café in San Francisco.
Drink: A Hendrick’s martini, very dry, straight up with a twist
Hotel: Lutetia Paris, but I’d rather rent a house or apartment
Travel Destination: India and southeast Asia
Artist: Nathan Oliveira
A cause near and dear to me: Planned Parenthood
Thing to collect obsessively: I’m mostly over the obsessive collecting phase but I have a soft spot for gorgeous boxes and anything made out of glass
Era in the history of design: 18th century Swedish and Italian
Museum: The Met
Paint Color that always looks great: Elephant’s Breath from Farrow & Ball (beautiful, despite its unfortunate name)
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: I am so over social media!!!
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? Two miniature poodles, Charrito and Chicharrón
