The interiors and housewares conceived by Hollywood-based designer Barbara Barry evoke red-carpet nostalgia.
Like a wide-eyed fan huddled on the wrong side of the velvet rope, the home industry is gushing over her take on lived-in sophistication.
That’s Barry in Henredon’s Art Deco furniture updates, Boyd’s sleek light fixtures, Kallista’s vintage-looking mirrors, and the Wedgwood China wedding dishes that capture the romance of a grandmother’s hand-me-downs.
It follows that Denver’s design community selected this visionary to kick-start the Denver Art Museum’s annual Design After Dark fundraising efforts later this month. Barry also will grace invite-only events at the Denver Design District’s Henredon showroom.
We caught up to the designer at her 1940s home in the Hollywood Hills to talk about her impact on the way people live.
Q: Tell me about the room you’re in right now.
A: I’m in my bedroom. It has pale, pale celadon walls and a very pale celery ceiling. I like the way the light bounces around this room. It’s not decorated; it’s just stuff I like. In my house, I iron my sheets, and I polish my silver. Because it’s not about how much we have, it’s about how the things we have serve us.
Q: What are the most beautiful spaces you’ve ever seen?
A: I am always drawn to the simplest idea on the largest scale possible – Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors, the Alhambra, the Parthenon. It moves the soul to be in such profound spaces.
Q: To you, what are the hallmarks of great design?
A: Great design is simplicity. … A simple white, freshly ironed linen napkin pulled across your lap … a soft down pillow covered in even softer sheeting, or fine bone china brought to your lips revealing the color of green tea. … These things seem small and insignificant, but they are not.
Q: Can homeowners achieve great design on a budget?
A: What I really think they want is a well-lived life – something in return for all the hard work and something of value to spend their money on. You can take this simple idea and expand it as large as you like to make a home of simply beautiful things that serve you well.
Q: Talk about influence and inspiration.
A: My influences have always been travel and nature. … I travel more than 50 percent of the year. No matter where I am in the world, I search for a sense of beauty. Like being in the Kyoto Market, where there are these big wonderful tubs filled with 15 kinds of miso – yellow, wheat, mustard …
Q: You used to salvage and revamp old furniture. Is that something you still do?
A: I continue to buy pieces that speak to me. I look for form and clarity of line. It has been a lifelong search for the perfect line … in a chair, a teacup, a dress or high heel …
My house is filled with odd purchases that I have made over the years and somehow they all work together.
Q: What’s up next for you?
A: The sheeting line Barbara Barry Dream is going to Macy’s. I’m also hoping to do luggage, because I think the woman traveler has been neglected.
I’m not trying to be a brand in every category. I’m just trying to give some design sense to things that make life function better.
Q: Do you have any Colorado connections?
A: When I first left school I spent time in Aspen. One of my very first jobs was … to work on an Aspen Victorian.
And I have a sister who lives in Westcliffe. I often dream about Colorado and its amazing seasons and quality of light. I think that there’s a great spirit in Colorado.
Staff writer Elana Ashanti Jefferson can be reached at 303-954-1957 or ejefferson@denverpost.com.
