Showers in the Forecast
By Meg R. Sparwath
Best known for her glamorous interiors, Jan Showers is one of the most famous designers in the United States. And with her new furniture collection debuting in the city for the first time, Atlantans can infuse a dose of Showers’ contagious style in their own homes.
Showers, who has been an interior designer for 25 years, started her collection in her hometown of Dallas five years ago when she realized that she was having a lot of pieces custom made for her interior design clients. “I would find a great antique chair, but I needed three more of them,” she explains. So she took the next logical step and started her collection, which is influenced by her love of 1940s French and Directoire furniture styles. Showers is known for her deft use of rich textures and materials. Woods such as beech, sycamore, and mahogany are finished with French polish, while upholstery choices include polished leather, pig suede, zebra hide, cowhide, satin and silk, each of which changes the style of the room dramatically.
Now available in six cities, her mix of chairs, tables, desks, consoles, mirrors, lamps and banquettes speak for themselves. Throw in one of her white cowhide rugs and you’re set.
Most of all, Showers believes in timeless design that never gets boring. “There is an art of mixing periods and styles,” she says. “I always include the unexpected—whether it be a color combination, a texture combination or a combination of periods.” What is the most common design mistake she sees? “Scale. If you don’t have the right scale, the most beautiful furnishings in the world won’t make the space.”