Barry Williams
Flower: Peony
Color: Dark green
Paint: Farrow and Ball and Benjamin Moore
Must-have item that costs less than $50: Extra, extra long shoe horn from Ikea
Sheets: I am sleeping on Peacock Alley couture right now and love them
Candy: Does baklava count? I don’t eat candy, but I ate every piece of homemade baklava that was delivered to my office at Christmas!
Museum: Le Louvre
Local museum: The Kimbell
Art gallery: Knoedler & Company in New York; Kristy Stubbs in Dallas
Hotel: Hôtel de Crillon, Paris
Local restaurant: Charlie Palmer at The Joule
Fabric: Carnavalet by Fortuny or Melograno by Colony/Scalamandre
Antiques store: Carlton Hobbs, New York
Candle: Cassis Nectar by Burn
Book: Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Chair: I sit in the Herman Miller Aeron chair every day at home and at the office
Guilty pleasure: Buying expensive antique furniture
Photographer: Bruce Weber
Scent: Green Irish Tweed by Creed. I also wear Melegrano by Ortigia.
Marilyn Rolnick Tonkon
Flower: Orchids
Color: I love them all
Paint: Benjamin Moore. They have a great range of whites and off-whites and big color book samples. I especially like OC-95, a neutral that’s
a good background for lots of color schemes.
Must-have item that costs less than $50: Prime rib
Sheets: Switzer in New York—well-priced and lovely bedding
Scent: Norell
Candy: Hershey’s dark chocolate—alone, with nuts, and with peanut butter
Art gallery: Dragon Street has a great group
Hotel: Hôtel le St-James, Montreal—fabulous small hotel
Local restaurant: Salum
Museum: Hermitage in St. Petersburg
Candle: Archipelago “Luna”—delicious
Fabric: Bergamo & Coraggio
Antiques store: E.C. Dicken’s Griffon collection
Local store: Neiman Marcus
Chair: My little Ken Allatt mohair loveseat
Television show: Squawk Box and Antiques Roadshow
Guilty pleasure: Internet bridge
Cheryl Van Duyne
Flower: Peony
Color: Blues are my personal favorites
Must-have item that costs less than $50: Tablets/pens
Sheets: Leron
Scent: Jasmine or honeysuckle vines
Candy: Mom’s penuche
Museum: British Museum, London
Art gallery: MOMA, New York City
Hotel: Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Bangkok or Hotel Plaza Athénée, Paris
Local restaurant: The French Room for the atmosphere
Antiques store: Huge antique dealer in the country outside Brighton, England—French, English furniture, porcelains, accessories
Local store: Barneys New York
Candle: Beeswax. No special brand.
Book: All-time favorite—Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte; current book—The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Chair: Eames lounge chair
Television show: Discovery Channel
Linda Fritschy
Flower: Succulents from Urban Flower Grange Hall
Color: Chartreuse
Paint: Sherwin-Williams and American Pride
Must-have item that costs less than $50: PJs from Target
Scent: Lavender
Candy: Whole Foods chocolate cocoa-covered truffles
Museum: Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris
Local museum: The Nasher
Art gallery: Dunn & Brown
Hotel: Akergill Tower, Scotland
Local restaurant: Houston’s for ahi tuna salad
Fabric: Raoul Textiles
Antiques store: The Mews
Book: Gifts From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Chair: Bird Chair
Television show: Modern Family and How I Met Your Mother
Guilty pleasure: Long three-hour lunches with friends
Michelle Nussbaumer
Flower: Double peonies—when they are in season, I have a standing order
Color: Vermillion red
Paint: Geranium red by Benjamin Moore
Must-have item that costs less than $50: Weekly manicure
Scent: Rive Gauche by YSL—I’ve worn it since seventh grade
Museum: The Cairo Museum for antiquities; the Museo del Prado, Madrid, and Museo Picasso, Barcelona
Local museum: I am an ambassador for the Dallas Contemporary, so obviously that is first on my list, but I should also mention that I adore
the Rothko Chapel in Houston
Art gallery: Gagosian Gallery, New York City
Hotel: The Rambagh Palace in Jaipur
Local restaurant: My staff and I love takeout from Jack’s Prime—the juiciest and most sinful hamburgers in town and very close to the
Design District
Antiques store: JF Chen Antiques, Los Angeles—it’s a treasure trove of insanity
Candle: My own personal fragrance that I created more than 20 years ago. It has a gardenia base. Available at my showroom.
Fabric: Osbourne and Little at ID Collection, but right now for a project in London, I am using a Jim Thompson Gemstone Malachite fabric by ony Duquette, which is very scrumptious
Book:Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Candy: Cherry sours
Guilty pleasure: Sleeping late, but with four children, it’s not always easy. And, no, I don’t feel guilty about it.
Photographer: Richard Avedon
Sherry Hayslip
Flower: Antique roses from our office courtyard
Color: Pink and orange, clashing against each other
Paint: Sparkly automobile paint used unexpectedly, such as the Mercedes pewter we once used on a boys bathroom vanity
Art gallery: Gagosian, New York City
Must-have item that costs less than $50: A small blooming plant in an old rose pot goes in any decor, whether formal or casual
Sheets: Voile, preferably vintage, always white, ivory, or blush and often trimmed with tone-on-tone embroidery
Scent: Vanilla, citrusy grapefruit, Christmas scents, or the smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies
Museum: Victoria & Albert Museum, London; MOMA, American Folk Art Museum, and Museum of Arts and Design, all in New York City
Hotel: Villa San Michele, Florence
Candle: Vanilla candles from the grocery store
Fabric: Fortuny and anything from Sabina Fay Braxton
Antiques store: L’Antiquaire and The Connoisseur in New York
Chair: A c. 1760 Gainsborough chair obtained years ago from the Rose Driver
Television show: The second episode of The Deep End—my daughter is in it!
Guilty pleasure: Tudormania, reading in the bathtub, and the outlet mall outside Florence
Photographer: Lynn Blodgett
Local store: Vinya Design and Consign has a great mélange of interesting furniture and objects
See our list of the Best Designers in Dallas 2010.
