Day of Design with Barclay Butera

Thanks to bqphoblography for the blog "Day of Design with Barclay Butera" and the great photos from the event at Arizona Design Center!

I recently had the pleasure of shooting an event at the Arizona Design Center with guest speaker Barclay Butera. I find all creative fields fascinating and am particularly interested in interior design, having studied it before falling in love with photography. Barclay is amazing, not only in his visions and the scope of work he's accomplished at such a young age, but in his persona. He has a lot of pride in his work and especially the relationships with those he's creating for. And, I'm guessing he still has at least a few more decades of ideas to treat us with.

Positive energy creates positive energy.

All photos by BQ Photography.

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Barclay Butera & The Design Process

Thanks to City Living Girl

for her post "Barclay Butera & The Design Process."

I am often asked by people who are thinking about decorating, how to begin. I always recommend looking at design magazines to become inspired and create a wish list. By adding your favorite images to a design folder it will be easier for you to stay on track.

Designer, Barclay Butera has simplified it even more. Recently, he designed four lifestyle collections of fabrics (many are 100% linen) and new zealand wool rugs for Kravet based on, Beach; Town & Country; Mountain; Desert & City. His book, Barclay Butera Living In Style attests to his winning formula while highlighting his beautiful work.

It was a real treat to meet Butera at DCOTA last week. And I was really pleased to learn that all of his custom furnishings are hand crafted, hand finished and hand upholstered in the United States. And all waste is returned to his providers for recycling.

His designs are so cohesive, inviting and well styled. I absolutely love his blue & white vignettes and can find ways to mix and match them all day long. Love the classic toile with an unexpected animal print....

When it comes to decorating in these economic times, he recommends, and I totally agree, investing in timeless furniture and pieces that you will have for a lifetime. Here you can see how accessorizing then can make all the difference and transform a space with designer lamp shades, throw pillows and coordinating porcelain objects.....

While he uses tropical elements like sisal, rattan and plants in his Beach vignette, his designs are more sophisticated than beachy or theme-like and can really work in most situations. He describes this linen sofa as the little black dress of the room from which he can then accessorize. Love that!

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Top 10 Designer Tips - Traditional Home

Top 10 Designer Tips from Traditional Home:

Barclay Butera says "Find Your Little Black Dress"

Find your “little black dress. Design is like fashion. Every home, like every woman’s wardrobe, benefits from a little black dress. In my family room, the oyster-colored Belgian linen sofa, along with the raffia on the ceiling and the sea-grass rugs on the floor, work like the little black dress—they are a versatile starting point for building a fashion statement. They create a neutral palette that allows me to accessorize with a mix of patterns on the throw pillows and on the chair cushions. These are my punches of color. Pattern on pattern works best when you go all the way—don’t fear it. Variations of blue and white work in my family room. I could change the ‘fashion’ of the room in one day with loden green and chocolate on pillows alone, because the raffia, sofa, and walls are all neutral. Don’t try to match exact colors; don’t be afraid to layer patterns or texture. The subtle changes in wall color, blended with rich textiles, can be compared to fashion where a blue paisley silk blouse and chocolate wool gabardine slacks are worn together blending texture and color. Just think ‘fashion’ when decorating.”

See complete list here.

Barclay Butera for Kravet - San Francisco Design Center

Photos from Barclay's appearance in the Kravet showroom in San Francisco.

Book-signing set-up: everything in place!

Deborah Ogden with Barclay Butera

Kari McIntosh watches as Barclay signs her book

Barclay Butera and Lauren Shelby smiling for the camera

Clients in line, waiting patiently: Liz Diaz, Linda Sullivan, Kari McIntosh, Justine MacFee, Deborah Ogden (perusing Barclay's fabrics)

Kravet showroom staff: Julia Cavallaro, Ed Paulsen (owner), Leo Segura

Kravet showroom staff: Savannah Amerson, Julia Cavallaro, Leo Segura

More photos to come, stay tuned!

First Person with Barclay Butera - New Jersey LifeStyle

Thanks to Felicia Lowenstein Niven of New Jersey LifeStyle

for posting her interview with Barclay Butera.

Wyland Wing Chair

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(pp. 8-12)

"Inspired by ... Barclay Butera," from Design Vignettes

Thanks to Yvonne Blacker of Design Vignettes

for her post "Inspired by ... Barclay Butera."

My autographed copy.

As promised, I wanted to share with you some designer words of wisdom from the Barclay Butera lecture last Tuesday (October 27th) at the Boston Design Center.

First, I have to say, Barclay was California-handsome dressed in a gorgeous cinnamon-orange blazer that contrasted beautifully with his signature colors of navy blue and crisp white (which when he stood in front of the image below during his slide show, it was a perfect example of the value of adding that punch of contrasting color.)

Kravet fabrics as shown in Living in Style by Barclay Butera

A photo-op at the Kravet showroom.

Besides being blessed with boyish good looks, Barclay came across as being very gracious and soulful. His presentation on “Decorating in a New Economy” actually addressed concerns that many of us have today ... how to stretch decorating dollars in a respectful way and still achieve satisfying results that make both designer and client happy. While his lecture was geared toward the design professional, the same strategies can be applied by those who decorate their own homes.

Come home with me ... I am loving“Poppy” from the Hearst Castle Collection designed by Barclay Butera Home.

One of my favorite tips was Butera’s recommendation to change a look of a room by simply adding new accent pillows. I don’t know how many times I have had to explain to my husband why I love pillows so much, but Barclay totally gets it! A dramatic fabric on even one new pillow can completely change the look and feel of a space. I always say a great pillow is like affordable art that is available to most, regardless of budget commitments.

“Monkey in Tree” from my collection ofdesigned accent pillows, now availableat Beth Hylan Design Studio.

One comment in particular that Butera made struck a chord with me ... on those mornings that you may not be feeling great, maybe work is slow or you are just having an off day, sit down and take out some nice stationery and write a note to someone to thank them for something that they have done for you. I thought this approach of practicing gratitude says a lot about who Barclay is and how he tries to live his life. No matter what is going on around us, there is always something to be grateful for.

A Butera-designed room from Living in Style, actual photo by Andrew Abrecht Photography

After viewing the many photos of Barclay’s work in both his presentation and his book (he stated that he has many more in his personal archives ... always take pictures of your work!) I would have to say his style is warm, textural, and classically bold with grand gestures in both scale and pattern. I was so inspired by his love of combining prints (as he mentioned, he is known for his ability to “layer” patterns) that a couple of days later I left the house carrying my favorite zebra print handbag while wearing a leopard print scarf (I never would have mixed animals before, but Barclay does it so well that I had to try!)

Vintage scarf passed down to me that used tobe worn by my very stylish grandmother(more on her in a later post).

In case you want to achieve the Barclay Butera look for yourself, here a few more designer tips ...

Don’t be shy ... dining room by Barclay Butera taken from his book Living in Style photographed by Miguel Flores-Vianna

• Tip #1 ... pick up a copy of his book. I felt like I was holding my breath turning the pages. The rooms are that beautiful.

• Don’t be afraid to mix patterns, styles, periods or places: Shells can reside in a room even with animal prints. As Barclay defines it, it is okay to combine Beach with Mountain or Desert with Town & Country.

• Don’t overdo it with a theme (just because you have animal prints or say antler chandeliers in the room, doesn’t mean you have to have signs like “Deer Crossing” hanging on the wall).

• Textures are the key to hard to resist interiors (leathers, furs, stone, natural wood, etc.)

Large orchid seen in one of the BDC showrooms.

• A large orchid plant is one of Barclay’s all time favorite natural accent pieces (I counted about 36 of them in his book.)

My decorate-like-a-pro tip: pick up one or two orchid plants at your local Home Depot and combine them in one big ceramic pot. Add some moss from your backyard if you are lucky enough to have some and voila – instant style!

• When at all possible, put a great lighting fixture in your space. It will get noticed.

• Tall white pillar candles and glass hurricanes blend with any decorating style.

A favorite of mine as well.

• And most importantly, rooms are meant to be lived in ... enjoy yours!

Here are a couple more fabulous patterns that we saw at the BDC after we were “Butera-inspired” ...

Me running into an old friend ...Sebastian Carpenter Design lampat Blanche P. Field showroom at the Boston Design Center.

My friend Linda in one of her favorite showrooms.

I am planning on recreating this stylish look for a piece that I will put in the Studio. Look for it soon! And when you get a chance, visit Barclay’s blog to read more posts on how he lives with style.

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Barclay's Kravet Collections - from Material Girls

Thanks to Material Girls and the Dallas blog for their post,

"Barclay's Kravet Collections."

I tend to frequent the Kravet showroom in Dallas at least once a week! I always seem to have such good luck there in finding the perfect fabric for a client.

While on a memo sample shopping spree the other day, I came across the most beautiful fabric- it consisted of a soft turquoise and brown leaf print embroidered upon a crisp white linen background.

{Herbarium- Mineral: 30352/1635}

And what do you know, it is a fabric by the distinguished interior designer, Barclay Butera! I could not get this fabric out of my head all week. It became the jumping off point for an entire room design for that client.

I must say that all of Barclay’s fabrics and rugs for Kravet are so completely stunning…and the fact that he has also selected a forty color palette of paint from Benjamin Moore that will complement all these textiles, makes them that much more appealing!

His paint colors are organized into four divisions-
Beach (i.e.: Ben Moore’s Blue Toile 748), City (i.e.: Indian River 985), Mountain (i.e.: Great Plains Gold 1077), and Town & Country (i.e.: Krisp Khaki 234).

To learn more about these fabric divisions and get further Barclay inspiration, be sure to read his book, Living in Style.

Here are a few additional photos of Barclay’s Kravet fabrics to get your creative juices flowing:

These to me are such calming fabrics. They aren’t loud or overdone in the least bit. Fourth from the left, is my fabric crush- Herbarium.








Now let’s just hope that my client selects the color scheme that had Barclay’s Herbarium fabric in it! (fingers crossed!)


And one more photo for the road…Barclay’s Tufts for Kravet Carpet. How great would this look with a bit of chocolate brown?

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