Circles of glass, different shapes and sizes, hang on pendants around Mary Gilliatt`s neck.
She`s asked, What are those? She responds by taking one of the circles and snapping it open to reveal antique rimless eyeglasses. Another is like a monocle, and a third is a gold-encrusted circle of a magnifying glass. She mugs, holding them up to her eye and putting on various frowns and smirks and remarking that you never know when you might need a magnifying glass.
Gilliatt is an internationally known interior designer with 25 books to her credit, and her personality reflects the theme she emphasizes in her work: Interior design doesn`t really work unless it`s comfortable as well as attractive.
A tall, good-looking woman, she combines that attractiveness with a comfortable, homey personality spiced with a quirky, dry sense of humor and spoken with the English accent that comes from living in that country for most of her life.
Her latest book, ”Mary Gilliatt`s New Guide to Decorating” (Little, Brown, $40), combines style and design with how-to. There are sections on different styles-modern, country, etc., all well illustrated, and there are also sections of nitty-gritty, detailed information on such matters as tiling a wall, laying a carpet and painting a room. In other words, a book for all reasons-you can just look at the pictures and get ideas or follow instructions on how to cut and apply ceramic tile.
Several pictures in the book are from Gilliatt`s own homes, although they`re not identified that way. One is her bedroom in her New York apartment, suffused with a warm glow that comes from soft oranges and beiges. Another is the living room in the rural barn in upstate New York that she has converted into a home, and yet another is of her apartment dining room, graced by a rustic old hutch, an 18th Century Irish table and 19th Century elm chairs.
”My own style? Oh, I am definitely eclectic,” she says. ”I`ve always longed to build a very modern home, and if I did that, it probably would end up looking old. I think most people are eclectic; it`s hard to be a real purist.”
Gilliatt has been designing interiors for many years, and she says that one of the biggest changes she has seen is the attention to detail and the desire for quality.
”When I first started coming to America, everything was new, new, new. Now people are renovating, they`re living in older homes, and they want to put back detail. That, and they want quality.
”People are more and more looking at their home as a haven, a place to get away from the world, and they want comfort. The kitchen has changed a great deal. The use of the VCR has revolutionized the time we spend at home. And it`s comfort, good comfort, that people want.
”A house can be very beautiful, but if it`s not comfortable, I say it`s a failure.”
As well as writing her books, Gilliatt designs wallpaper and fabrics, is negotiating with a cable network on an interior design program-”a little like a decorator`s `This Old House` ”-and has put together a correspondence course on decorating that will soon go on the market for about $700.
People are able to dress themselves beautifully, she says; so there`s really no reason they can`t design their own interiors beautifully (and comfortably) also.
But it is scary, she acknowledges. Making a mistake with a dress is a lot different from making a mistake with a sofa.
Among the most important things in furnishing a space, she says, is not to rush and to have a sense of your individual style.
”If you`re not sure of your style, start buying lots of magazines and cutting out pictures of rooms, things that appeal to you. Do that for a few weeks, then pull them out and look at them. Chances are, there will be certain common themes (in what you`ve cut out) that have appealed to you.
”Never go shopping without a plan. Don`t be swayed by what others tell you. Don`t be swayed by the latest fashion, in color or anything else.”
She makes it all sound very easy. Comfort, color, beauty. What more could one want in a home? –
