Michael Boodro
photo by Eric Piasecki
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? Paris
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? It had vivid red-and-blue striped wallpaper my mother chose, and a pair of maple beds (I shared the room with my brother). And there was something about it I always felt was not quite right.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? A pair of 19th century cast-iron and cane stools from Nial Smith. He told me at the time they were “miles too good” for me, and he was right. But I still have them, currently in my city bedroom.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer, who would it be? Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
No room is complete without books and laughter.
People think of me as judgmental, but I am really an enthusiast.
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: Asters and mums
An hors d’oeuvre platter: Celery sticks
A bar cabinet: Pernod or Sambuca (I hate the taste of licorice)
A song for:
Dinner at home: Barbara Lewis “Hello Stranger”
Working at your desk: Dionne Warwick “Walk on By”
Going for a run: The Jam “A Town Called Malice”
Biggest Vice? Chocolate. Or actually sugar in virtually any form.
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? Lucie Rie ceramics
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? Yes. Both are tailored, and I am a sucker for menswear fabrics at home.
Who is your star crush? Romain Duris
What is the one thing you would never decorate your home with, but don’t detest when you see others do it? An oversized mural.
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be? Billy Baldwin Decorates. Says it all!
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? Promoting new talents
photo by James Merril
A Few Favorites:
Movie: The 400 Blows, by François Truffaut
Book: Middlemarch by George Eliot
Scent: Christian Dior Eau Sauvage
The fabric you always come back to: Josef Frank’s Celotocaulis
Dream project: Finally finishing all the small details on my weekend house.
Meal: Dover Sole Almondine
Drink: Campari and soda with a slice of orange
Hotel: The Draycott, London
Travel Destination: Rome
Artist: Pierre Bonnard
Thing to collect obsessively: Friends
Era in the history of design: Wiener Werkstatte
Museum: The Met in NYC. And boy do I miss it!
Paint Color that always looks great: Farrow and Ball’s Setting Plaster. We used it in the living room of our weekend house and it looks fantastic year round, in any light.
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: Jerry Saltz
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? I love cats, and I like dogs, but my husband is terribly allergic to both, so no pets.
