← Talk Shop with Ariel Okin: A Fenimore Lane Production
Talk Shop with Ariel Okin: A Fenimore Lane Production
Global Style, California Cool: A Conversation with Peter Dunham
00:52:41
Loading summary
Transcript216 lines
- [00:00]
A
I'm very happy that I by some sort of just gift, gift of the fate or whatever, I always loved making things. And so for me making things allowed me naturally to have products and I don't know why, how it came about, but I did and I had the energy to start making my own textiles for projects for clients and then doing show house and then people asking me where to get my fabrics and then that led to a fabric collection and then to a showroom of our own in Los Angeles and then that led to people wanting about the furniture that was dotting around the showroom and welcome to Talkshop.
- [00:38]
B
I'm Arielle Oken, a New York based interior designer, writer and editor looking to bring a little bit of magic into our homes every day. After years as a writer and editor in the interiors world, I founded my own editorial site, Fennimore Lane in 2020 and the Talk Shop Interview series was born. Each week I delve into the personal experiences of the top interior designers and tastemakers around the globe. This week I'm joined by award winning LA designer Peter Denham. You may know Peter for his California cool meets international chic interiors, or for his iconic fabrics and wallpapers or you've heard at Hollywood at Home, his one of a kind destination for furnishings, lighting, accessories and vintage pieces. We're huge fans at aoi. Peter was raised in France and went to school in England before beginning his career in New York to work in real Estate. In 1998 he moved to LA and started his interior design company and the rest was history. Five years later Peter launched his fabrics and wallpaper collection, which has since become a beloved industry resource, to house a growing collection of handcrafted furniture, textiles and vintage finds. Peter opened Hollywood at home in 2007. His flagship showroom, located in LA's La Cienega Design Quarter, is a bucket list destination for design lovers and his New York showroom, opening this past fall in the New York Design center is worth a visit. Pierce Peter's first book, the World of Peter Global Style From Paris to Hollywood is out now with Van Dome and I was so excited to be able to chat with Peter about his retrospective of his work, how he got started in the industry and the main principles of his ethos on design. Please join me as we welcome Peter Denham to the podcast. Peter, thank you so much for coming on the show. I'm so excited to chat with you.
- [02:20]
A
Ditto.
- [02:21]
B
I have been poring over your book since I got it and we love your textile line like we use it all the time at our firm. And I've just been so excited to get to chat with you and hear all about your story. I loved. I read your book cover to cover.
- [02:38]
A
Oh, wow.
- [02:39]
B
And I loved reading Untraditional Path into Design and how you ended up getting there. And so we'll talk about all of that. But to kick off the conversation, we always ask everyone who comes on. Can. Can you describe your style in three words or less?
- [02:55]
A
Yes. Having looked at my book, you could probably describe it better than me. I would say atmospheric, layered.
- [03:03]
B
I would say fun for the third.
- [03:05]
A
Okay. Fun. Okay.
- [03:07]
B
Your textile line is just such a happy. It's joyful. And we actually. Our book came out today for pre order, but the COVID is a living room that we did and it's all. It's your e. Cat on your Hollywood at home chairs in a dining room.
- [03:24]
A
Oh, great.
- [03:25]
B
Yeah, it's so. It's just such a fantastic line that we just love to use.
- [03:30]
A
We're already connected.
- [03:31]
B
Yeah, exactly. And for those listening, tell us a little bit about yourself and where you are almost, you know, sort of at this point in your life right now.
- [03:40]
A
Well, it feels like I'm slightly in, you know, a kind of a pivot point because design's obviously my second career. I left university and very influential designer friends who I had at the time, by some luck of the draw, said, oh, no, no, no, dear boy. It's a very. It's a terrible way to make a living. Don't do it. So I thought we listen. And my father said, well, if you really want to go to New York, why did you think about real estate? And I'd never really thought about real estate. It just grown up in France and going to school in England. Real estate wasn't really an industry in the same way that you think about it in the States. So that was my first career, which was working in real estate, which I loved. The big thing I think I realized that led me to design is I really like the transformative element of real estate. I love looking at a property, an apartment, rundown, beaten up old house or whatever it was, and figuring out what I could do with it. What could I get out of it more almost like a developer does. Yeah, yeah, that was kind of the first thing. So I feel that I'm sort of an inflection point that I've done these 25 years now of being based in Los Angeles and now Los Angeles and New York and facing you know, the next 20 years with a different set of tools. As you know, we Obviously opened our showroom in New York, which is a kind of big picture of us and very exciting. And it feels like a homecoming because I obviously lived in New York for 15 years and have a lot of friends and lots of experiences there. So it feels in a way that the book, without it intending to be, was kind of, oh, what this kind of reset.
- [05:23]
B
Interesting.
- [05:24]
A
What is the next phase looking like? And I think that the market around us is changing a little bit for design services, for product. I'm very happy that I, by some sort of just gift. Gift of the fate or whatever. I always liked making things. And so for me, making things allowed me naturally to have products.
- [05:45]
B
Yeah.
- [05:45]
A
And I don't know why, how it came about, but I did. And I had the energy to start making my own textiles for projects for clients, and then doing show house, and then people asking you where to get my fabrics. And then that led to a fabric collection and then to a showroom of our own in Los Angeles. And then that led to people wanting to buy the furniture that was dotting around the showroom and the vintage that I'd been hoarding, let's be honest, so that, you know, one step went into another. So come to.
- [06:16]
B
To.
- [06:16]
A
I've done that for 25 years. I got sort of pushed into doing a book, which I'm very grateful for. I was kind of reluctant to do it.
- [06:24]
B
It's so wonderful. And I feel like you get into so much about, you know, everything you just talked about, your passion for making things, and that chapter about your first townhome that you gutted and that process and what that was like and the transformation. I feel like you really get the full story with the book, and it's very personal, which I, you know, not all book. I think what sets your book apart and I found it so interesting was that it's almost like a diary, like a personal diary of your, you know, the 25 years that you've spent in the industry and how all the things you did before design kind of led you to. To the last 25 years.
- [07:02]
A
Oh, thank you. I mean, honestly, the publisher is amazing.
- [07:07]
B
Yeah, they're wonderful.
- [07:08]
A
They had a great team. I had a wonderful editor with Stephen Drucker, who's a legend in the business. And there was a fantastic book designer called Celia Fuller, who works at Von Dome, who really time she would, well, let me just try a chapter, see how you like it. And then I would gasp, okay, let's go on to the next one. You know, so that was made the process, and you Know, that's where my kind of hesitation to put my story forth. Maybe I'm very English that way, but just kind of. I felt shy about it. And then I realized, okay, well, you know, all the pictures that we've taken lovingly over the past two or three years and some much earlier, she combined the textiles, and it made for what I felt was a joyous story and a joyous book, which is great.
- [07:54]
B
Yeah, it is. It's really. It has. It has such energy through it, which not, you know, not everything jumps out at you like that. So it's. It's wonderful. So what drew you to want to move to the States originally? And then what. Where was that moment when you realized design was your calling?
- [08:11]
A
I'm culture American. My father's half French, half American, so I definitely grew up with a 25% American approach interest. But I grew up very much as a European, a kind of French, French, English kind of upbringing, more than American. But I came here when I was 4:15 for the first time I came to New York, and the minute I spewed out to the midtown tunnel, I was like, oh, I had an aha moment. And this is why I felt at home. Because, you know, it was very much a gypsy, you know, sort of an expat, but not an expat, and a very British education from the age of 8 on. But we didn't have a home in England. So it felt, you know, I won't say confusing, but because I felt at home in all these places and entitled to belong to these different, you know, very different nationalities. But when I stepped off out of that midtown tunnel with steam coming out of these pipes, and I think they're still there. And I was like, okay, this is it. And then so I came back for my gap year between school and university. When you go up to Oxford, Cambridge, you have to take a year off. And so I said, oh, I'm definitely going back to New York. And I was going to come for two or three months, and I stayed seven. I took a sublet in the Village and worked at Bergdorf Goodman and met tons of people and jumped into New York, and it felt. I totally felt at home. And so as soon as I graduated and spent a little time in Paris, I was like, okay, I'm going back to New York. And it was a very easy transition, I have to say. Maybe out of ignorance, whatever it is, but. Or confidence. But New York was very welcoming to me, and I'd kept up with friends who in and out of New York. So that was very easy. So that's kind of how, you know, my move to America was. And then after 15 years in New York, I fell in love with somebody who lived in Los Angeles by accident. He was a friend of several of my friends. I came here for Memorial Day one weekend, and that's what ignited. I spent a year going back and forth telling myself, wow, this I can. This is going to be great. And then I landed here. El Nino ish March with lots of rain and stormy weather and everything. Thought, well, what am I going to do now?
- [10:34]
B
Oh, my God, that's so funny.
- [10:36]
A
So I started flipping houses because I just flipped a house in the Village that was kind of a crack house. And I spent two or three years, like dumpster diving and finding all this great vintage. It was literally. That's why I love more about the process of construction and design than anything else I did. Because this building. I Knew what an 1840s house should look like. So it was a lot of fun doing it, and I learned a lot. And then I took that with me when I moved to la. It was almost like kind of a marketable commodity that I had, right?
- [11:12]
B
Being able to turn something around like that.
- [11:14]
A
And I started flipping houses. And I started with one that kind of was my fantasy of California, which is this kind of one story, 50s ranch house in the hills. And I had in mind this fantasy of those David Hockney paintings of the 60s of, you know, people standing in front of their Truesdale house. And. And that was the vision of California I had. And that was the first house I did, funny enough, and that was good. And that led me to do others. And then people started asking me if I would help their friends. And one thing led to another. You know, I think my first project had a budget of $25,000. I said, of course I can do.
- [11:55]
B
This, but that's how it goes, right? This is how I started. I didn't go to school for design either. People would come over and be like, oh, I love your place. Can you help me with it? And then suddenly I was doing more of that than I was doing my actual day job that I should have been doing.
- [12:11]
A
I mean, I don't know about you, but I realized when I did my first $25,000 project and installed it, a thing completely hit me over the head like a baseball bat. And that is this emotion, which, looking back on it, I realized was creative satisfaction. Yep, up to them, I had created satisfaction in the. The project. First flip thing I did in New York, which wasn't intended to be a flip at all. It was intended to be my house. And, you know, and the excitement of doing it and seeing it all come together, for sure. But it's. When I actually did a full fledged couple of rooms, I was like, wow, this is fun. This is great.
- [12:51]
B
It's so engaging too, when you have a client because you get the personal story from them and then you can weave that into your work. And it's just so satisfying to be able to deliver that to someone and then they're so happy with their new space. And it's interesting, you know, how you highlight the difference between flipping and versus having a client. I think that personal element comes in and it just makes it even that much more gratifying.
- [13:15]
A
I agree. I mean, I think you are designing it for someone and so there's that extra element of, I guess you could call it even tension. But you're. You're making it for them. It's not for you. It's not just your fantasy.
- [13:30]
B
Right. It almost makes you push the boundaries a little more out of your. Your personal comfort zone so that you can get to where they want it. And then five years later, after you moved to LA in 2003, you launched your incredible textile and wallpaper collection, which we love so much. Talk a little bit about that and how that started. And it's grown so much over the years. And now you have two showrooms Bicoastal.
- [13:57]
A
I was always, without realizing why, but I was always kind of collecting textiles as I went along. I like particularly tribal textiles. Indian, North African, Middle Eastern, African, African. You know, that's when I went to this kind of what I call organic geometrics. I grew up very much under the influence of David Hicks, who was my best friend at school's father. His eye went to a much more rigid geometry, and I like mine a little bit looser.
- [14:28]
B
Yeah. And you can see that in the collection. I mean, it's definitely in different ways and different patterns.
- [14:35]
A
Yeah. So, I mean, you know, there's that influence, but I also like the romance of these places around the Mediterranean that spoke to me very much. So that's kind of why. So I was always collecting these textiles without really knowing many years before ever thinking or dreaming that I'd be a designer. So as I started doing projects, there were things I wanted that weren't available. Because when I started, you know, the market was really dominated by these big players, you know, Clarence House.
- [15:03]
B
Right.
- [15:04]
A
One end, Pindler the other, you know, very big institutional textiles that weren't necessarily speaking to a more artisanal product that I was looking for. I always wanted to take. Oh, my God, that vintage textile I had. I wish I could find enough to do a whole room or some curtains in a room. So then on one trip, I made a friend in Jaipur who said he could oversee block printing for me if I ever wanted to. So that's how I started it.
- [15:33]
B
So cool.
- [15:34]
A
And Marion McAvoy, the kind of the legendary editor who started Eldercore in America and who went on to House Beautiful and created a year and a half of amazing issues of House beautiful.
- [15:46]
B
Yeah.
- [15:47]
A
Pushed me to do a show house. And so, Peter, you have to do it. And I said, marin, I don't have any money. I don't have an assistant. They're expensive. What are you talking about? No, no, no, no. You have to do it. I want you to be part of it. And she published me already. My apartment in. In New York, in El Decor in the Village. And, you know, she saw something in me, which I clearly didn't yet at the time. So we did one. I did a kitchen. And then the second time, they did it again. I did a bedroom, and I did these textiles that I'd been making for clients, and everyone started asking me, so that's how I did it. It was very much textiles that were very personal to me, that I'd seen, wanted, collected, and wanting to use. And honestly, from that first show house room, all of them are still in my collection.
- [16:36]
B
Yeah, I feel like you have some that are kind of almost like cornerstone, kind of like heritage patterns of your brand, and then the new ones add in. But I'm. I love that you don't ever discontinue them because they're. They've become kind of iconic.
- [16:52]
A
Well, they're very much the ones that were the most personal to me. You know, I think everyone's work, when it's really personal to them, is probably their best. And like, everything personally you go through, ups and downs, is. You know, there's certain things you come across that feel like, oh, wow, that's so. I love that so much. And then things like, okay, I guess we should add that to the line because we need a stripe or we need a little fabric. It becomes a different decision. But ultimately, the ones that really feel authentic to you, probably the ones that maybe work the best. I don't know.
- [17:24]
B
Yeah. Yeah, I think it's. I mean, that's like, with art in general, I think the ones that have the most personal connection usually end up being the ones that feel really Original and interesting. Do you think your design style evolved after moving from New York to la?
- [17:38]
A
Yes. I'll tell you why. Because my boyfriend at the time when I met Bralet had grown up in Los Angeles on very different experiences than mine. I mean, he was very sophisticated and traveled the world and everything else, but he was very into comfort, and I'd never been hit over the head with the sense of comfort in the same way. So he kind of drilled into me this idea of comfort and order, which, you know, New York spaces are small, and people want chic, they want style, and they're quite willing to sit on a dining room chair that you can fit a buttock and a half on. In la, people don't. You know, I learned very quickly I had to have furniture that was comfortable, and other clients were also asking for that as well. So I think that there's definitely a sense of ease and comfort that came into it from my lips. Obviously, the weather is warmer and it's a little bit more casual, so that probably opened my eyes to maybe a little bit less urban.
- [18:39]
B
Yeah.
- [18:39]
A
But I would say my general sort of what I enjoy is a mix of, like, texture and smooth and of what I call puddingy furniture, which is sort of upholstered stock furniture and bony pieces in a room that was there before. And I think, you know, very much a mixture of, like, natural woven material, like sisals or wicker or rush, you know, bringing that into a room was there already.
- [19:07]
B
Yeah. That layered kind of bohemian element was there also. I mean, your childhood. Childhood growing up in France and England, I think you were in so many places. You took a little bit of each of them with you as you went.
- [19:20]
A
Definitely, definitely. And I spent my summers in Spain when my parents bought a house, God bless them, in the late 1950s. And I had very strong Mediterranean element of sort of, you know, stone and, you know, those Californian colors that were very natural to me. So I think that's why moving to California was, in a way, natural to me, because I've grown up with. As my happiest place of the year was our house in Spain.
- [19:48]
B
Yeah.
- [19:48]
A
Where the sense of airiness and freedom and sea and sky and, you know, kids come for meals, but otherwise you're on your own, do whatever you want kind of thing just came naturally to me here, where, like, places like Ojai speak to my visual youth. You know, places like Santa Barbara, you know, the really beautiful aspects of California that. That exist. Relate back with that.
- [20:14]
B
So interesting. There must have been a little bit of, like, A homecoming feeling when you got to la, because it blended all of those experiences.
- [20:22]
A
It did. Because also, in a weird way, LA has all these different types of houses. We have Tudors and we have Georgian and we have the, you know, northeastern clapboardy houses and we have, you know, modern houses and super modern houses and deco and, you know, we've got all these different types. It's kind of a wonderful place to learn because you need to make all these different styles kind of work in, in a contemporary lifestyle, you know, and making the most of them and making them relevant to their space. So it's a really great place to learn if you're going to learn how to cope with different styles. And I love all the different layering of architecture, the fact that people really build their fantasy houses here.
- [21:09]
B
So true. And you get exposure to so many different styles and layers, really. Are there any projects that you're particularly super proud or fond of?
- [21:20]
A
There's. I mean, I would say that there's a house I did in Aspen which was a ground up house. And I'd worked with these clients for a bit, for quite a bit, for a few years. And then they decided to build their sort of future. The house, you know, where they were probably going to retire to. Where they were. They're not, not there yet, but they were thinking ahead. And I think the husband really wanted to fish and the kids wanted to ski and they spend, you know, it's their country house in a way that a country house in England feels like, oh, that's part of your soul, your happy place. And they very much wanted a traditional house like a farmhouse. And I recommended Mark Appleton, who's an architect from Santa Monica and Santa Barbara. And that was a great collaboration, but it was really very much a house where every aspect, indoor and outdoor, of the house was sort of reclaimed, repurposed. We bought barns in Tennessee and, you know, brickwork somewhere else and stonework and every bit was really well thought out.
- [22:27]
B
So cool.
- [22:28]
A
And the house feels very timeless and it's fun to be able to do something that people walk in and say, when was this house built? You know, it's kind of confusing people and blurs. Was it a conversion of barns? Which kind of is what it looks like.
- [22:42]
B
Right.
- [22:43]
A
But that's a project I feel very proud of where we were able to really scour for amazing architectural features. You know, we have an, an island in the kitchen that's made from two, you know, 1830s Pennsylvania shop counters. I mean, talk about the holy grails that we jam Together to make an island.
- [23:06]
B
Wow.
- [23:06]
A
Kipstown Island. And there were just things like that that we're able to go out and source where that. It really feels fantastic.
- [23:13]
B
So that's a beautiful one in your book too, I think. I feel like one of the lessons that I took away from your book also, which kind of. I feel like this project is the great teaching vehicle for this. But you go out and you go to reclaiming yards and architectural junkyards, and you find all of these elements that kind of can make a home feel like it's got patina and it has a life before it's been built. And I think that's what makes your spaces feel so alive and like they have a history. What do you think your favorite thing about working in design is? Is it that personal element?
- [23:50]
A
I think it's really. I mean, I find it really exciting to arrive. I'm gonna. You can believe this if you want, but so shithole. I've watched there are plenty in la, you know, there are plenty of stuff. And seeing something in this property and being able to impact it, to move it. So that's. To me, the first thing is like, okay, what gets my real juices flowing. It's like, okay, what's the potential? What can I do to get the people 150% of what they put into this project? So whether it's additional space I found under the crawl space, whether it's moving the house to get a better angle or a better approach to the house with a better driveway, whether it's, you know, like, the inventiveness is what excites me. The kind of the part where you think, wow, that's cool, or wow, you know, I can stand back and say, you know, I earn my fee just on that one idea.
- [24:51]
B
Right. Because the ROI just alone. And also it's so interesting because that was really how you started. I mean, that was kind of what your real estate.
- [24:59]
A
Yes.
- [25:00]
B
Career and your flipping career was. And so it seems like that. That spark when you first get to a project, no matter how you're, you know, where you're doing it, is the most exciting part.
- [25:11]
A
For whatever reason, living on all these different places that my parents lived in or the schools I went to and all this stuff is there is this need to nest within me. There's this need even if I'm nesting for other people.
- [25:25]
B
Yeah.
- [25:25]
A
I enjoy this creation of nests where people feel at home, where people that have a lot of atmosphere. I would way rather a house have atmosphere than elegance.
- [25:37]
B
Yeah, that makes sense.
- [25:39]
A
I would rather people come in and feel good and not necessarily know why they feel good.
- [25:44]
B
Right, right.
- [25:45]
A
Or they feel excited when they walk in. Because I mean, I've been to so many impressive looking houses that I think this so dull.
- [25:54]
B
Yeah. They don't have the charm.
- [25:56]
A
It's just like the stone on the floor looks like kind of boring. And it's very impressive. And it's like, you know, oh my God, it's like this big, big frigging house and there's nothing interesting to look at on the wall. There are no books, there's no.
- [26:10]
B
Yeah. There's no charm, really. I love that you dedicated a whole chapter in the book to atmosphere because it's so important.
- [26:18]
A
I mean, that to me is the most important thing, you know, that is the one that relates to the people the most.
- [26:24]
B
Yeah.
- [26:24]
A
And if the people want to be. I always think of like, what type of house do you want? You know, most of my clients want to be the house house that all their kids, friends want to come and hang out at.
- [26:36]
B
Yep.
- [26:37]
A
And it's not just friendly in a big pool and a full refrigerator. It's when they feel welcome at where they're at ease. And that's what I try and do in my houses. I'm not the one to come to. If you want a house that looks really pompous without any good reason. If it's authentically pompous, like, give me Chatsworth.
- [26:59]
B
Right. That's a different story.
- [27:01]
A
Give me an amazing house. I can do fancy pumpers that way. But I'm always gonna bring it down to earth a bit. So it's approachable. I mean, one of my projects in the book is this beautiful Paul Williams house, which was done, I think in 28, and it's on 16 acres in Beverly Hills, which is extremely impressive to most people. Certainly was to me.
- [27:21]
B
Yeah.
- [27:22]
A
But the house isn't the biggest house in Beverly Hills by any means. It's probably 10,000 square feet, but. But it's beautifully sighted. It has very nice bones. It has a perfect layout. But because the owner is kind of a prominent producer and he has a great collection, you know, he is a very hospitable person who, you know, wanted people to feel at ease and comfortable in his house. And so it's not all about knocking you over the head with like the Jean Michel Basquiat over the sofa, but was on the COVID of the Basquiat retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It's the fact that you walk in and it feels Warm and inviting, and there's places to explore. And the shyest person who may need to go there for whatever reason still feels they can belong there.
- [28:15]
B
Oh, that's so beautiful. That's such a warm way of thinking about the function and purpose of design. I love that because that could be.
- [28:24]
A
A very pompous house. I mean. Yeah, but it's a friendly house and the owner is friendly, and it made sense for him because of the industry where there's so many different people coming to you.
- [28:37]
B
Right. They're hosting all the time. Yeah. But I think you find that. That atmosphere across the board and everything you do, I feel like that's like your. Your rule number one is like, if it doesn't feel authentic, scrap it. And. And we're trying something else. Like, it has to feel warm and approachable and layered and interesting and like one of one for it to make sense. Is that what you would say is like the design rule that you always follow.
- [29:05]
A
I don't know whether it's a design rule. It's just in my spine. I mean, it's just part of my stem cell thing. You are hiring me to make your house feel good, to make it. For whatever reasons, whether it's just yourself or whether it's to entertain or whether it's for your kids or family gathering. I'm going to get down to the nitty gritty of what is important to you. And, you know, like Billy Baldwin used to quote all the time Diana Frieden saying, you got to give them what they never knew they wanted.
- [29:37]
B
Right.
- [29:39]
A
You know, and people don't necessarily know, but then when they're there and it's done and they feel good. I mean, I had a client who's grousing about the problem project and how much it was costing, and I was like, you don't understand. And I stood him very sweet. I took him aside. She has lived in this house, in this property for 28 years. And for 28 years, she's wanted to live somewhere else.
- [30:03]
B
Yeah.
- [30:04]
A
Or in a different way. So now that she can have it and you're doing it, make her happy. Because the alternative is going to cost you way more money. You know, it's going to be much more expensive to you. So when it was done, he was the one who was the happiest and proudest. And he purrs around his house and shows people his house, and he's thrilled with it.
- [30:27]
B
And he never knew that that's what he needed until.
- [30:30]
A
No, he never knew about this sense of quality, of life that designers can bring to people's lives.
- [30:38]
B
Yeah, no, it's really true. What do you think is some of the best advice for designing that you've ever received and. And from who, if you're willing to share?
- [30:48]
A
Well, I mean, obviously they're just very basic things. Like David Hicks would always say, look, start with the carpet. That's what he told me. And then there was another. Because it's so much harder to put everything back into a carpet. And it obviously made sense when people had a lot more use a lot more Persian carpets and all that. It's really hard to backtrack at room.
- [31:08]
B
Yeah, yeah. And you also had so much exposure throughout your career with mentorship.
- [31:15]
A
And I did. I was very lucky. I was very, very lucky. I think that as somebody pointed out to me. But that's because you were interested. I guess if I was really interested in baseball, I probably would have met interesting people in baseball because that's kind of what my personality is like. But very interested in design and the creation of houses. And so to me, I like. I was always attracted to designers wherever I could meet them and had. It's. You had admiration and interest in what they did.
- [31:46]
B
That's a really good point for people listening to who are trying to get into. We have a lot of people who listen who, you know, they're pivoting careers or they're early in their career and they want to become a designer. And I think that's a good point that, you know, when you're really interested in something, mentors can kind of find you. Like, you don't have to. It happens naturally in that way without.
- [32:05]
A
Like, you formal education. And God knows I'm going at the end of the month SCAD Savannah College of Art and Design, if I can wrap my tan around that, which is an amazing. But I do not have one hour of formal education in design. And I'm going to speak to the alumni for that alumni weekend.
- [32:25]
B
That's amazing.
- [32:27]
A
And the moderator of the whole thing, so we're going to speak right into that. And so I would say that in terms of advice of places, it wasn't really advice, but it was habit that was drilled into me is to go and visit and visit and look at places and be curious. And like, when I first moved to la, I went to see every single house open to the public. I could see on obscure Wednesdays of every odd month or on, you know, once a year, whatever it was, I would go and see on my subsequent trips during the year, going back and Forth to see everything so I could kind of get a feel. I would go to open houses to get a feel and understand houses. I would. I grew up. My mother would schlep us to Sissinghurst, which was near my boarding school in Kent. Like, all the time. We'd go to Knoll. I mean, everywhere I go, the first thing is, okay, what, What. See here, I'm going to Atlanta. What can I see here? I want to see some house that was done, you know, in 1780 or something. Or I want to see a house that was. You can visit, but that was built in the 50s, you know, by Frank Lloyd Wright or something.
- [33:34]
B
Yeah, that's such a good point.
- [33:36]
A
Looking and really wanting to look, look, look, look is very important to me, but I think everyone who goes into design has this innate sense of wanting to create habitats. If you don't have that, then you should maybe do something. Frustrations in being designers that you have to live with.
- [33:59]
B
Yeah. And you have to really love it. Yes, it's very true.
- [34:03]
A
It's one of the most important aspects if you don't really love what you do. I mean, a lot of people come wanting to work, you know, when they apply for a job and they want to come, and I'm. And, like, I try to dig down, okay, what is exciting you in this? What. What made it? What was the spark? What are you interested in?
- [34:22]
B
What do you think your home says about you?
- [34:26]
A
Well, I'm doing this called sitting in my little tiny library at home. I would say that it's. It shows a lot of different interests. It shows sort of a sense of relaxed balance and order, that I'm not supermanic about order.
- [34:43]
B
Yes. Yeah.
- [34:44]
A
But on the other hand, that everything is sort of like, in its place. Ish. That it's been resolved, but that it's not uptight. I think that's what it would say.
- [34:55]
B
Yeah.
- [34:55]
A
I think it would say again, like, I want to welcome people into my life and make space for them because my house is definitely very well set up for that. I hate the idea of trophy entertaining rooms that, you know, unfortunately, living room and dining rooms are so often relegated to. I love to have fewer rooms, but make them really be good for me to watch my laptop in or read, or my boyfriend to be able to paint or make jewelry in the corner with his waxes just as much as people come and feel, you know, and have places to cluster.
- [35:34]
B
Right.
- [35:34]
A
But I think when you come in, there's like, there's a whole staircase full of African masks, and now there Are not a lot of places you walk into in LA that have like 30 African masks staring at you, I would imagine.
- [35:48]
B
No.
- [35:49]
A
So what does that say? Oh, it says like, he's a traveler.
- [35:52]
B
He's like a collector.
- [35:54]
A
Interesting. Yes. He's a collector, He's a traveler. He's interested in stuff a little outside my average orbit. I want it to make me look interesting.
- [36:06]
B
Well, you are interesting too. I mean, you.
- [36:08]
A
It's not even trying to be honest because I. I don't like an empty wall, you know?
- [36:14]
B
Yeah. And it's like those things have come and accumulated in your life from your travels and from the things that you are drawn to and you've collected them over time. And then you find this house that works for you. And so the functionality element combines with the personality element. And then you've got this awesome entryway that kind of tells so much about who you are and also is different than everything else. I think that's like the crux of your work. Like, it's unfussy, but it's very cool because it's. You don't find it elsewhere and it's. Everything is one of one or found somewhere unique, and then it has this interesting mix between it.
- [36:55]
A
I mean, I'll find poetry in that. I mean, that's enough of something. Trying to create a little bit that esoteric thing of, like, poetry. Places can be poetic or they can be sterile. And if there's something, even if it's just. And I try and get the landscaping to participate in lot in that. I'm always like, let's just use the landscape around us to the greatest thing, to create this sense of dappled light on decomposed granite paths and this sense where the senses are just excited, although rested.
- [37:32]
B
And it helps to create a sense of place, too. I mean, that's sort of what you did with that house in Aspen. You kind of brought the outdoors in with the different stones that you used and the reclaimed woods and all those pieces. And I think it's a really good tip for those listening too, to sort of. The house isn't just about, oh, I have to fill this room with furniture. What is the sense of place where the house is sited? Where is it? What can you bring from the exterior indoors?
- [37:59]
A
Yeah, definitely. For me, the sense of place is very strong. It's really hard for me to go to the desert and do a Georgian house.
- [38:07]
B
Right.
- [38:09]
A
It's really hard. I mean. Yeah, but then when you get into desert, there are lots of different. Different aspects of being in the Desert, you know, do you. Do you go minimal? Do you go tribal? Do you bring in a lot of nature? I mean, you know, and that's where.
- [38:27]
B
The personality comes in.
- [38:28]
A
There are a lot of different ways to. To approach it.
- [38:32]
B
What are some of your favorite places to shop for home?
- [38:35]
A
Well, I definitely like anything vintage, so I'm definitely a live auctioneer addict.
- [38:42]
B
Me too. It's really dangerous.
- [38:45]
A
Yes, it is. I love going to the Rose bowl, to be honest. I love. I mean, I'll go to house sales, I'll go to Christie's. I think this thing of getting the one off opportunity is very exciting. So I love, love that a lot. I'm a big believer in the auction volume.
- [39:05]
B
Where do you find inspiration?
- [39:08]
A
So, you know, so I find going to museums and going to see a lot of gallery shows inspires me a lot. I think other people's creativity inspires me, but it's a subliminal type of inspiration because I'm not necessarily going to do that exact same thing. But seeing what somebody had an idea with, you know, papier mache that they managed to do these sculptures with, like, oh, God, that'd be cool. On a wall or to do a fireplace with, or just sort of. It goes into the big kind of compacted, recycled bin of inspiration. So I find that that's a really big one for me.
- [39:49]
B
I was so inspired in your book about the. The where you talk about milk paint and how you. You figured it out and you did it yourself and how you inspired to do it. I think it's, you know, when you expose yourselves to so many different things, it sets off a light bulb that then you wouldn't have otherwise thought of. And then you're creating something new from that inspiration that you had.
- [40:11]
A
I would say that that's true curiosity. The other day I was, you know, for book signing in Martha's Vineyard. I'd never been to Martha's Vineyard before, and I got. And we had a couple of hours and so we arrived at the airport and I said, okay, can we hire you by the hour? We have like two hours spare. We want you just to drive us around the island, show us all the food, and, you know, in two hours, I think I got a pretty decent idea of what at least the topography and the mood of Martha's Vineyard is, which is different than anywhere else I've ever been, actually. It's kind of like the Hudson Valley meets Fire island or something, or Mont. Or Montauk. You know, you've got.
- [40:52]
B
There's beachy and not as it's very like undone.
- [40:56]
A
It's countryside meets beach. My favorite combination. And you know, with stone walls and big trees and houses far apart or not even visible, but these meadows. And it's very, very beautiful in a way that I found appealing. But how did I find out about it was just not by going to Edgartown and going to the bookstore and signing books out, but it was by getting in the car and saying, and show me. I want to see what topography is.
- [41:26]
B
We're going to get into our take 10 now, which we asked 10 questions. Rapid fire at the end of every episode. They have nothing to do with design really, but we always like to ask them. So what is your favorite food?
- [41:39]
A
Sushi.
- [41:40]
B
Favorite drink?
- [41:41]
A
Tequila.
- [41:44]
B
Favorite film?
- [41:47]
A
There's so many. I like Conversation Piece.
- [41:51]
B
That's a good one.
- [41:52]
A
I think that's a really one that I really like. I mean, I absolutely love. I am love.
- [41:59]
B
Oh, that's a beautiful movie. Yeah.
- [42:02]
A
Takes place. I think it's his most successful movie by far. I love any of the Merchant Ivory movies. You'll notice. I don't really like any sci fi movies. I don't like that much action movies.
- [42:17]
B
Yeah, well, they don't have that human element to them, really. They're not like. They don't have atmosphere.
- [42:23]
A
And of course, everything that's in the film is sci fi. Comes to pass because they research what's coming down the pike and spacemen and whatever is happening. I'm not that interested. I actually like the romance of the past in the present rather than the future in the present.
- [42:40]
B
I feel that way too. Favorite hotel?
- [42:43]
A
Well, it's Fort Ahelia in Maheshwar.
- [42:48]
B
Oh my God. I've never heard of it. I'm gonna look it up.
- [42:51]
A
I first saw it in the world of interiors. Third plug for world of interiors. And I was just like, oh my God, this place. Another friend of mine went, she said, oh, I go there all the time. I love it. So then I decided on a trip to India to go out of the way. It's. It's kind of out of the way. It's in indoor. It's this absolutely spectacular small fort. That's the last ass said that the current Maharaja of Indore has this beautiful 15th century fort with very steep walls.
- [43:25]
B
Wow.
- [43:25]
A
On this extraordinary river in this town, which is a very important Hindu town with the river flowing the banks with praying places. Anyone who's listening who can go. It is unforgettable experience.
- [43:42]
B
That's so amazing. That's like a bucket list yeah, it's.
- [43:46]
A
It's a. That I wanted for England really worthwhile. And I'd go back in the in a heartbeat.
- [43:52]
B
Favorite city.
- [43:53]
A
It's a hard one, but I would say probably New York.
- [43:56]
B
I know I'm biased, but I would agree with you.
- [43:59]
A
New York's the one that never fails to excite me.
- [44:02]
B
There's just so much going on, always in different layers.
- [44:06]
A
And I think the most exciting creative people. I think the. The best museum, the best exhibitions, the best theater. I mean, you could say a lot of this about London. It's just a different vibe with it, you know?
- [44:22]
B
Yeah, different vibe. Favorite bedding? We always ask designers because everyone is so particular about this.
- [44:30]
A
I love bedding that I get from Deborah Sharp linens.
- [44:34]
B
Oh, okay.
- [44:35]
A
It's made in a small factory in Florence. It's beautiful quality. She does the most beautiful embroidery and also colors. I have a big partiality for blue sheets. What I call that kind of Stephanie's blue. This one is skyish. Blue sheets. I really love. Yeah, but I love her, baby.
- [44:59]
B
I love that answer. It's another one that I'm gonna look up. Tea or coffee? And how do you take it?
- [45:05]
A
So both. Definitely both.
- [45:09]
B
I love that. Shows you are half English and you've got 25 years of America in you too.
- [45:16]
A
Well, you know, I mean, listen, America doesn't cover. Cover coffee on its own, but there's a time for coffee that you need to like, get out the door to be revived. And then there's tea. So I really only really love one tea, which is this, this. This very fine matcha tea from Mariachre that comes in sealed containers. And you ask, and it's not super hot, but that's really reviving and refreshing. I really love that.
- [45:46]
B
Yeah, that's like a ritual.
- [45:48]
A
Yeah, it's really, really good. And then coffee, I like small batch coffee. French press. That's my go to for coffee. Coffee.
- [45:59]
B
Favorite playlist or music to listen to.
- [46:02]
A
Wow. I mean, if I'm gonna think of like music, I would say the Eagles is. Probably has a huge repertoire that I go for Romantic California a lot. So yeah, that's what I would say for that.
- [46:16]
B
And weekend activity.
- [46:18]
A
Well, we're very fortunate here that we have very beautiful hikes and you need to slightly like in everything motivate yourself to go and do it in that la. But that is a really wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning.
- [46:33]
B
It is the be. The ability to be outside just in LA is so nice. And even though everything is spread out to your point, like, you have to get in the car and go drive to go take a hike. It's just. You don't get that here, really. In New York, it's.
- [46:46]
A
And I'll tell you, my other ones, going to the farmers market in Hollywood is absolutely my favorite thing to do on the Sunday day. It's really important. It feels like, oh, my God. I'm dealing with the spirituality of food and nature and what grows seasonably. And I meet friends and you feel good with other people. And in New York, I do the same thing. I have a place in New York and I'd very often fly on a Friday, get there Friday night, get up in the morning, go to the farmers marketing Union Square the next day, which is nearby bar. So to me, that kind of. That type of food shopping is like a favorite thing at the weekend. And I would say the other thing I love to do is go to galleries and go to see artist studios. And because that's the time I have to do it.
- [47:35]
B
Right.
- [47:36]
A
And in LA in particular, it makes you very engaged with a very important community. It's very easy to go see artist studios and makers and Saran Nails woodworkers, and that I really love doing, too.
- [47:49]
B
That's. That's beautiful. And it's also so important for designers, too, to be able to go out and meet the community around you. Favorite. This is the last one we ask, and I often think it's the hardest. Favorite design book.
- [48:01]
A
The ones that I was obsessed with at school, and I think they still obsess me. And they're one and all slightly the same with the David Hicks books.
- [48:09]
B
I mean, classic, incredible. Every interior designer should have them.
- [48:15]
A
Yes. I mean, I sat there and pored through every page, fascinated by this, by the combination of colors and types and how he resolved spaces. There was that. You can learn a lot from that. So I would say that's a really good one to me.
- [48:30]
B
I love that. That's another really good piece of advice to end on. Well, a final few words. What are you working on right now? Are there any new projects you can talk about?
- [48:40]
A
Yes. Well, actually, we just started work on a really beautiful project in San Francisco on a hill, facing a park. It's just. And it's one of those kind of. It's like a mini version of a Gilded Age house, kind of that epoch of San Francisco of the 1890s that has got these really interesting spaces that feel very San Francisco. And like, for somebody who likes a sense of space, this has it in droves to work off of that's so cool. So that's really exciting. And then hold on, what else is new? We're working on a couple of really beautiful ground up houses which is very satisfying.
- [49:25]
B
Yeah, it's so fun.
- [49:26]
A
We're working on a historic house by a somewhat famous LA designer architect from the teens. So I mean we're talking about the middle ages for Los Angeles.
- [49:39]
B
Wow. Yeah, I was gonna say that's so.
- [49:40]
A
Rare for LA in Pasadena and that's a really beautiful restoration project. We have a pretty nice. Oh, we're working on this, starting to work on this amazing apartment in, in, in Carnegie Hill in New York. Stunning, beautiful. Like the apartment that, you know, a family should own in New York City with like stunning views.
- [50:04]
B
Yeah.
- [50:05]
A
Open landmarked around you. Just like fabulous.
- [50:10]
B
I love that. And they're all so different which is so much fun.
- [50:14]
A
Yeah, we're doing this modern house in the desert in Palm Springs things. We're doing an apartment in Newport beach where they joined the very few apartment buildings in Newport Beach. So they, yeah, the people put these two apartments together and so I've made a hole out of it. And so with Titchener Thorpe in la, we put, we really fixed this architecture really nicely and it's going to be kind of fab.
- [50:41]
B
Ah, I can't wait to see.
- [50:43]
A
Well, hopefully there'll be enough material to make a second book if I can brag myself.
- [50:48]
B
But yes, you know there will be. There definitely will be. Well Peter, thank you so much for coming on. This was such a joy. Where, yeah. Where can listeners find more about you and your brands?
- [51:02]
A
Well, there's Peter Dunham.com there's Hollywood at home.com there is Peter D. Textiles.com. we're on Instagram the book obviously. So I'm out there.
- [51:20]
B
You know, you can lots of places. I love it. You've built an empire you can sniff.
- [51:25]
A
But I'm very fortunate. I get up every day. I love what I do. It's often challenging. You think so? Oh my God, what do I have to do today? But at the end of the day it's very satisfying and the days go by very quickly.
- [51:39]
B
Yeah, I know. I think we all feel just so lucky that we get to do what we do every day. Like I, I'm always like, I can't believe that this is my job and that I don't have to be in a cubicle. And you know, it's a, it's a blessing to when you love this to be able to, to do it and you do it so well. So thank you so much for coming on.
- [51:58]
A
JEFFREY R. Well, thank you. I'm looking forward to your book.
- [52:02]
B
Oh, thank you. I'm gonna, you know what? I'm gonna email you after this and I'm gonna send you the COVID of it because it's got Hollywood at home and Peter Dunham Textiles on the COVID.
- [52:11]
A
Well, go and pre buy. It pushes the.
- [52:14]
B
Oh, that's so nice. Thank you so much, Peter. You're the best.
- [52:17]
A
Take it easy. Speak to you soon.
- [52:19]
B
Thank you.
- [52:20]
A
Bye, Arielle. Thank you.
- [52:22]
B
That's a wrap for this week's episode of Talkshop. Thanks for listening. We'll be back next week with more thoughtful discussions and amazing guests. Follow us on Apple podcasts, Spotify and YouTube so you never miss an episode. And of course, follow me. Arielokun. See you next week.