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Homes

Front Porch: She gives homes a 'soul'

By ELIZABETH BETTENDORF
Published February 10, 2006

Los Angeles interior decorator and fabric designer Kathryn M. Ireland isn't your ordinary designer, though her red and white floral business card doesn't exactly say so.

Raised in Scotland and London, she has worked as an actor, designed a line of women's clothing, run a public relations firm, and produced music videos and movies.

But color was always an influence from the time she was a child. She loved bright clothes and the colors she saw on family vacations to Egypt and other exotic locations. She also loved the shape of buildings and furniture.

"Architecture also played a role in my influences," says Ireland, whom House and Garden magazine named one of 10 emerging designers and architects to watch. She spoke last week at a conference at the Design Center of the Americas near Miami. "I was always affected by light and proportion, particularly at the 15th century homes in Italy, where I spent summers."

When Ireland moved to Los Angeles from London 15 years ago, she opened a design shop featuring her signature eclectic and difficult-to-find treasures from London and Paris.

She eventually started designing a respected line of homey fabrics, a decision that evolved out of a need to offer more interesting selections to her celebrity clients. That list includes Steve Martin, Steven Spielberg, David Mamet, Fran Drescher, producer Lorne Michaels and Caroline Schlossburg Kennedy. (Martin became a client after he came to dinner and told Ireland he wanted his house to look like hers, she says.)

"She is clearly inspired by tradition, but her work isn't stuck in the past," says Karen Carroll, editor and vice president of the interior design magazine Southern Accents and a fan of Ireland's work. "She has a really wonderful way with color and I love her sense of style."

Ireland's fabrics, which include a lot of hand-printed hemps, paisleys, florals and tickings, are meant to be "kid and dog friendly," she says.

She describes her decorating style as "blending the traditions of England, the history of France and the bohemian lifestyle of Santa Monica."

A dog owner and mother of three young boys, Ireland was inspired in 1997 by an 18th century French quilt that didn't survive the wear and tear of her active family. She loved the reds, greens, yellows and blues and decided to carry the colors through in her line of fabrics.

"I have no formal design training and I never went to art school," she explains with a laugh. "But I do know a lot about having a family and living with animals. That antique quilt lasted a couple of hundred years until it got to my house and the boys and dogs started jumping on it."

A fan of combining flea market finds with elegance, Ireland hates clutter and recommends keeping only the stuff that means something.

She is an advocate of having a home with "soul" and hates perfection, which she calls "sterile."

"With lots of boys and their friends all jumping on the sofas and standing on the tables, I know that a house has to be livable. Nothing can be too precious."

Her recommendations for decorating for an active family are characteristically laid-back.

For starters, she advises keep a clipping file of things you love, and "don't avoid good fabrics."

Scotch Guard everything. That way you can just spot-clean disastrous spills.

"You can also find some good throws or have them made in complementary materials," she notes. "Use one while the other is in the wash."

And don't be afraid of using lots of color, or white for that matter.

"You shouldn't fall into the trap of thinking everything has to be dark," she says.

Ultimately, go for an overall "put your feet up and relax" effect that encourages guests to linger comfortably.

"And if you make a mistake, fine, so what?" she says, shrugging. "One of the reasons people often like beach or vacation houses more than their own homes is because of the feeling of casual comfort, that nothing is too important."

[Last modified February 9, 2006, 09:10:11]