Cathy Purple Cherry
photo by Durston Saylor
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? Charlottesville, Virginia – in fact, this is where I am currently building my second home! If I didn’t say Charlottesville, I would probably say Spain.
What are three words to describe your style?
Classical. First and foremost, I am a classical designer, however I love layering elements of bohemian or maximalist aesthetics to a project to bring vibrancy into otherwise very stately settings.
Clean. I like very clean elements with very bold pops of color. Southwestern adobe feeling.
Rustic. I love rusticism transfused into modernism, transitional with mountain home elements. This influence stems from my time going to school in Colorado.
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? My childhood bedroom was intensely bright yellow and covered in Snoopy posters and stuffed animals.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? I bought a large carved door from an Indian temple to install in my entry foyer – it is truly a unique work of art.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be? Anouska Hempel. She infuses old with new, excels at bringing the outside in, and creates settings that feel very ethereal. I love the compositions that she puts together.
No room is complete without art.
People think of me as traditional, but I am really bohemian.
Things you omit from:
• A flower arrangement: Baby’s breath
• An hors d’oeuvre platter: Olives with pits
• A bar cabinet: Beer
A song for:
• Dinner at home: Anything by the Beatles.
• Working at your desk: I’m never stationary in one place long enough to hear anything!
• Going for a run: Any country song.
Biggest Vice? That I work too much.
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? Free People clothing.
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? My clothing includes an array of styles, which reflects my design sensibility of designing across all genres.
Who is your star crush? When I was a child, my crush was David Cassidy. Today, I would say Kevin Costner or Hugh Jackman.
What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest when you see others do it? For most of my clients, I avoid silk or viscous fabric for any upholstery or rugs, but I don’t mind when others implement those materials because they can be very beautiful.
If there were a fire, and you could only keep one design book, what would it be? Houses of McKim, Mead & White.
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? Although it is extremely gratifying to finally see the fruition of a highly creative and complex design project, what I really want to be remembered for is always doing the right thing, being a great advocate for my clients and their projects as well as for the special needs community, and for being a good mentor to those I have taught.
photo by Durston Saylor
A Few Favorites:
Movie: Doctor Zhivago
Book: My childhood favorite was the Little House on the Prairie series.
Scent: Lavender
The fabric you always come back to: Bouclé
Dream project: My dream project is actually one that we recently completed. It is a stunning 10-structure waterfront estate located on 150 acres of land. Located on Maryland’s idyllic Eastern Shore, the estate encompasses 44,000 square feet of luxury…the epitome of grandeur in the form of a private sanctuary.
Meal: Pancakes with bacon
Drink: Sweetened iced tea
Hotel: My bucket list includes staying in an over the water bungalow in a beautiful destination, soon!
Travel Destination: Spain
Artist: I am currently enjoying the work of David Wiseman. And I have always admired the great work of the impressionists.
A cause near and dear to me: Any programs for services for individuals with special needs, and the Ronald McDonald House.
Thing to collect obsessively: Shoes!
Era in the history of design: I love the flapper era of the 1920s.
Museum: East Wing of the National Gallery of Art
Paint Color that always looks great: Sherwin Williams Austere Gray – a gray, sagey green.
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: Anouska Hempel
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? Both!
