A Favorite Spanish Artist

During a recent trip to Napa Valley, I stopped into Caldwell Snyder Gallery in St. Helena, (they also have locations in San Francisco and New York), and there I found a wonderful artist from Spain who I would like you to know about.

The artist I am so taken with is Regina Saura. She is from the Ampudan region of Spain where she lives with her husband and daughter. Her work is fresh, vibrant and lively. It fits perfectly with the latest taste in classical interiors, which honors the comforts of tradition, but invigorates the spaces with a nod to the modern. She works in mixed media, with collage on top of paint, and text -stream of consciousness poetry -added last. Her colors are radiantly harmonious. The lines are simple and sure.

Isn’t her work delightful? The lines speak of a French style, found in some of the posters and paintings of the late 19th century, perhaps Toulouse- Lautrec.

Wouldn’t this piece be wonderful in a breakfast room, a dining room or kitchen? The blue is actually a medium cornflower blue and is simply luscious! I hope the colors show up well on your moniter, because they are remarkable.

I really do enjoy finding new artists and sharing them with my clients who are so pleased to discover that perfect piece they have been looking for.

I notice that often even the best interiors are lacking a certain level of refinement without high quality one-of-a-kind artworks. Collecting wonderful art like this for your home will add depth and personality to the interiors that are created just for you by your interior designer. Collecting also adds to the culture of your community, supports the artists, and provides inspiration to all who see and appreciate your selections. Without artworks, a home will forever feel sterile and unfinished.

If you have trouble selecting art yourself, trust your designer to guide you to wonderful artists or refer you to a talented consultant. That will make the entire process educational, exciting and just lots of fun. And you don’t need to spend a fortune. Many wonderful large canvases and smaller sculptures are available in the $8000-$15,000 range, with prints and monotypes often being around $3000.

You might consider selecting some of your paintings early in the project to create the best effects. Integrating the lighting, preparing the wall support required, and selecting the accent colors in your rooms to feature your art will create a unique space that is truly yours alone. When the room and furnishings are completed, hang that piece and feel the magic!

Jane Antonacci Interior Design

“Bold. Creative. Engaging."

Our “Mediterranean Modern” project just got noticed! These are some of the words we have heard used to discuss this project. One of the favorites of all of my projects was just published in Gentry Magazine, which is a magazine for the “Gentry”, or land owners, on the Peninsula here in the Bay area. Click on the link, GENTRY MAGAZINE, and go to page 204 to see the entire spread for yourself.

Photo ©2004 Doug Salin

Thanks, Gentry, for sharing my work with our little world!

Ethnoglamour Trend Confirmed

I just had a minute to go through my stack of design magazines that are waiting patiently for me to give them some attention. And there I found the February edition of Italian AD (Architectural Digest). On the front cover was the following: “Trend: Design etnico”. Now, I don’t speak Italian, but I knew enough to translate that into a confirmation of my blog titled “Ethnoglamour, is it a trend?”. So now we know for sure, yes, it is a Trend! And you heard it here first…….

Jane Antonacci Interior Design

My Mid-Century Affair —

One of my many passions is mid-century Parisian furniture! When given the opportunity to incorporate an exquisite piece from that era into a design I am working on, my heart races with anticipation. However, as is often the case, modifications must be considered. You see, often times I find the scale of mid-century pieces a bit off for the larger homes here in Woodside and Atherton where I create many of my interior designs.

I am sometimes challenged to find the perfect item for one of my client’s interiors. When I did this Mid-Century Paris sitting room recently, I wanted a large, contemporary table, but with the careful restraint and innovation of the best designers of that period. However, the real vintage tables of that period are rather small by today’s standards. So, what to do?

Photo ©2004 Doug Salin

My flame was kindled and the affair was about to commence. I was charged with creating a unique, one of a kind piece that would set off the interior and distinguish it from the mainstream things we are saturated with daily. Developing something completely new is not only an intoxicating challenge but it stretches me artistically too.

Here, size was what counted most. With the perfect dimensions defined, I researched all my favorite books on this style. I had purchased a small boat load of books on my last trip to Paris, and the excitement mounted as I studied them. My favorite of the lot is Les décorateurs des années 40by Jean-Louis Gaillemin. What was the definitive style of the period? What materials were used? What were the many different styles that were created? How did they balance the pieces in each room? What design elements set the tone of the genre? This book had all the answers. I couldn’t have been happier.


As I perused, I noticed that grand gestures, inlaid materials, and simple leg styles were distinct traits of the period. I found an image of a chest-on-stand by the design team of La maison Dominique. The chest was ebony, (yes, the real, endangered wood species!) and it had a genuine ivory (also endangered!) inlay in a ribbon type of pattern. Oh, it was beautiful and seeing it made me swoon!

So that was it. My plan was forming. Of course, I needed to adapt the design and scale it to fit the table, and make it out of renewable resources. I did the imaging using Photoshop. After many different ideas were tried, I settled on the design and layout. I was exhilarated! But what materials would capture the period and still be sustainable? Even when being daring one must always consider the environment. My favorite workshop in San Francisco, LXRossi, worked with me developing and fabricating the piece. Mr. Rossi told me about the Tagua nut, a seed pod that look very much like ivory and has the consistency of clay so it can be easily carved and shaped. For the wood, I settled on using alder and painting it in a faux macassar ebony, highly polished and lacquered to give the look of the hand rubbed finishes of France.

I considered many leg styles and I ultimately settled on a simple tapered style. To finish it off, I opted to make it a two-tiered adjustable top. The lower tier can be used for magazines and the other debris that coffee tables tend to accumulate. The upper tier can be raised from a height of 17” to a height of 24”. This makes it a more practical height for serving hors d’oeuvres and drinks. No more leaning over to grab the Dom Peringnon!

And so my affair was at an end, a fete accompli! My passion united with and inspired by that of Ruhlmann, Jacgues Arnet, Andre Arbus, Jules Leleu, Gilbert Poillerat and all the wonderful designers of that breakthrough period of design resulted in a unique, one of a kind table not to be missed in this warm and wonderful, art filled room.

Photo ©2004 Doug Salin

Thank you my amours, you changed custom designed furnishings and me forever!

Jane Antonacci Interior Design

Tribal Art and Textiles

At the Tribal Art and textile show in San Francisco this past weekend, I was surprised by the number of dealers there from Europe. Brussels, Paris and Munich were well represented. The items available from the Europeans were fabulous African carvings, Persian rugs, and Aboriginal carvings and textiles.

One dealer did an amazing display using aboriginal carved bowls that were an elongated oval shape, mounted on the simplest of wall brackets. The result was a very modern, sculptural look. That is the genius of these tribal artifacts. The simplicity of materials and design meet the criteria of the most modern of decors.

There were fewer Eastern European dealers there this year than in the past. Do you think the Suzani trend is losing steam? There WAS a beautiful one here in unusual shades of blue from Gail Martin Gallery in New York , pictured below. I’ll have to remember it for a bed covering in the next guest suite I do for my lucky clients. With cornflower painted walls and ivory trim….Fantastic!



I was disappointed that there were very few really beautiful carved Buddhas. They are becoming harder to find every year. Perhaps I need to start going to shows in Japan next year to find the perfect one for me!

Wonderful jewelry, smalls, and textiles and as hangings for pillows were available to bring that Asian twist to my next contemporary project. Definitely worth spending a beautiful spring day there! Check it out!

Jane Antonacci Interior Design

Ethnoglamour Design—is it a trend??

This weekend, I was thinking about the use of ethnic art and artifacts in contemporary interiors. There are so many unique textiles and decorative objects that can be used in rooms, but use too many of them and it looks Very Santa Fe, 1987.

A great way to use them is as sculpture in an otherwise clean and glamorous interior. Some examples include the use of an Ethiopian chair used in the Parisian 1940’s-style room shown here, which I did in a showhouse in 2005. It adds depth and an exotic note to the contemporary art collection, and you can also sit in it! It’s wonderful lines resonate with our more primal selves, and remind us of the African influences in the works of the great modern artists like Picasso, Braque, and Leger.

Photo ©2004 Douglas A. Salin http://www.dougsalin.com

Alberto Pinto the master of glamour, has a wonderful way with Syrian antiques used in modern interiors. As I studied his book, Alberto Pinto: Moderns, I fell in love again with Moorish/Islamic designs, which are elaborately graphic and exquisitely beautiful. He uses pieces of marquetry in the most glamorous of European apartments and estates. Studying the many beautiful antique pieces he uses in his work, I was reminded of the height of culture that was realized in Persian society and art, while Europe was still in the Dark Ages, fighting with their neighbors. As I think of the Islamic culture of the 12th Century, I can see it as a true cradle of civility art and architecture. It feels like a great contrast to all the stories that are told through the main media today. Once again I felt the truth of the healing powers of art.

But I digress! In this photo, I’ve used an Anglo-Indian chest of drawers in a charming, masculine g

uest room, and it is the star of the show. (I also lined the drawers with leopard wallpaper—more glamour!) Again, just a single piece or the space would become too heavily ethnic and would start to have the Opium Den look popular in the ‘70’s. But with the 70’s so popular again in design, I noticed Pottery Barn has kilim pillows and rugs in their latest catalogue. So it may be a return to the Den! To me, that doesn’t qualify as Ethnoglamour—too much ethno, not enough glamour.

One of the contemporary artifacts I am interested in acquiring that is the Acoma Pottery of Virgil Ortiz. Shown at Kings Gallery in Scottsdale, the pottery looks very today with it’s black and white graphics. And Virgil’s pottery in particular has the glamo factor as his works include questions and comments about gender/fashion/ sexuality. Check it out at King Galleries.

I am considering my dining room right now. I have a collection of very rare Mexican painted gourds, primarily black or teal with multicolored flowers on them, from the 1920’s. I am considering hanging them on the wall, forming an organic, vine pattern and filling it in with modern stenciled flowers in black on a white wall. The entire room would be white with black accents. The only color would be the gourds….What do you think?? If I get the room white enough, it might just qualify for….Ethnoglamour!

Jane Antonacci Interior Design

Wynn Las Vegas- Happy Design

I’ve just returned from a conference at the Wynn Las Vegas. My stay there was fantastic! Since arriving in Las Vegas is always a bit of a shock to the design sensibilities, I wasn’t sure about the design initially. The mosaics in the lobby seemed too bright and wild, every thing seemed overscaled. Then, I got to my room! It was a wonderful shade of coral with sunny yellow fabrics and an amazing 27th floor view of the golf course and mountains.

The quality of the design resonated with me perhaps more than the style. The design was so incredibly thoughtful and well executed. Every detail was well thought out, every need anticipated, every quality carefully considered. This is the way I design for my clients, and to be on the receiving end of the design was very nurturing. I felt that they knew and anticipated my needs and habits and fulfilled them before I arrived. I stayed for 5 days, which is a long time for Vegas. Because of the nurturing and comfortable quality of my quarters, I remained energized and well rested throughout.


The design style was definitely mid century, varying from Deco of the 20’s to Mod style of the 60’s. I wasn’t sure about the Mod style, but it was fully integrated with more refined ideas and worked wonderfully. And the colors were lively, harmonious, and energetic without being bright and or gaudy. The motifs were hand painted and they too were light and joyful.

The scale was something I had to adjust to, but this being Las Vegas, everything seems out of scale initially! Once I adjusted to it, I realized that the chandeliers weren’t a bad imitation of Fortuny silk fixtures. They were huge, but completely in scale with the space, and they worked beautifully with the spaces. Even the hallways leading to the conference rooms were filled with fun, overscaled furniture. Fun furniture, beautiful stones of marble and limestone and ethnic artifacts gave a sense of a well traveled, international clientele.

Even the music, as I left the elevator every day, was well selected. I’d get off the elevator and feel like dancing – even at 7:30 a.m.!

The design direction was seriously well done, but the result was an unusual style I’ll call Happy Design. The world needs more of it!

Jane Antonacci Interior Design