Barbara Sallick
Design by beth webb photo by Richarad Powers
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would it be? Paris
What 3 words describe your style?
Classic and timeless
Minimal with exceptions
Well-built and beautifully crafted
Tell us about your childhood bedroom: I had a pair of twin beds with rattan headboards painted white. The room had floral wallpaper and soft blue wall-to-wall carpeting. This was all chosen by my Mother---I was not asked for my opinion.
What was the first investment piece you bought for your house? My husband and I received a very generous gift from my father and used it to buy an 18th century American walnut fall-front desk. It was such a big investment for us at the time and we were so proud of ourselves. We bought it from the prestigious antiques dealer John Walton in NY.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be?
Jean-Michel Frank
No room is complete without: BOOKS.
People think of me as very measured, but I am really very opinionated.
Things you omit from:
Flower arrangement: Chrysanthemums, carnations and most things pink.
An hors oeuvres plate: Anything messy/no dribbles down the front of my shirt.
Bar cabinet: Liquor---I’m a wine and champagne girl
A song for:
Dinner at home: My Valentine by Paul McCartney from the Kisses on the Bottom album
Working at your desk: I mostly need silence-- unless its Mozart or Aaron Copeland
Going for a walk: Scott Joplin/ragtime/Maple Leaf Rag
Biggest vice? FRENCH FRIES
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping what would you buy? I would buy a Candida Hoffer photograph
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility? Absolutely. They’re classic and timeless and tailored (perhaps to a fault) and beautifully crafted.
Who is your star crush? Colin Firth
What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest it when you see other do it? I’d never use bold wallpaper in my own house----I’m too much of a minimalist. But, I’m crazy about seeing all the brilliant ways designers use it, especially in powder rooms.
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? I want to be known for reinventing bath style. When we started Waterworks in 1978 no one really cared about the bath. Today it, much like the kitchen, is the epicenter of the home.
design by zoe feldman photo by Stacy Zarin Goldberg
A Few Favorites:
Movie: Pride and Prejudice/the version with Kiera Knightly. The photography is gorgeous, the architectural folly is stunning and Catherine deBerg’s candlelit dining room is memorable.
Book: The Year of Magical Thinking and other Joan Didion books
Scent: INDELIBLE by Frederic Malle
The fabric you always come back to: Mohair/ texture and rich colors
Meal: Anything at Voltaire Paris
Hotel: Aman Grand Canal Venice
Travel Destination: Venice or Marrakesh
Artist: Cy Twombly, Raphael Peale
Cause near and dear to me: Game, Set, Cure a tennis fundraiser founded by my Granddaughter Annie to benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
Things to collect obsessively: Trying to deaccession but in the past, I’ve collected 20th century hand wrought silver, 17th and 18th century blue and white Delft 17 , 18 and 19 century brass candlesticks. I keep these things in my dining room and light all the candlesticks for dinner parties.
Museum: Musee des Arts Decoratif, Paris
Favorite to follow on IG: @waterworks, which showcases a lot of our clients’ brilliant work and @Doxie.World
Dog or cat: Lulu a 12-year-old wire hair dachshund
