Tom is a designer unlike any I have known. He is forthright , no-nonsense and his designs are carefully edited: at no time overdone. He focuses on furniture planning, color palates and texture over the ornate or purely decorative. He has a fine appreciation for art which you will see in his rooms. Tom uses furnishings with curvature in his designs that offset squared edges, furnishings and rooms. You will see mid century modern, bamboo and caning as much as fine antiques, though he mixes them with a keen eye.
Please enjoy our interview, some of my favorite rooms, and then enter to win this book with page after page of the most interesting projects in residential design!
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Grisaille Wallpaper , William IV Pier Table . Slipper chairs from a home decorated by Billy Baldwin |
1) Tom please tell us how your voyage into Interior Design began? Did you lean towards the arts at a young age?
Yes, from an early age ( like 7!) I was sketching house
plans and garden layouts.........all very grandiose no doubt. I developed an
early knack for spacial relationships and scale and could draw up floor-plans
of places I had been with surprising accuracy.
2)
Where do you get your
inspiration to transform so many beautiful homes?
One should do in life what comes easily..... its that
simple.
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Instead of a large Hunting Dog Painting, Tom helped his clients choose minimally framed Modern Photographs; great impact! |
3) Who are others in the design business you respect and did you have a mentor?
I did not apprentice in the business. I went straight from architecture school into the interior design business via a tremendous critical
success at a decorator Showhouse.
As a student of art history and then of the seminal decorators the mentors are
many............Bramante, Ledoux, Lutyens, Elsie deWolf, David Adler, Billy
Baldwin, David Hicks ........mostly through books.
4)
Tom I noticed you pay
homage to the history and style of every property; yet your chic, understated
style is very apparent. How do you accomplish this
feat?
This I would ascribe to having a "light touch".........never being heavy handed. Respect for historical styles should only be taken so far, same for adhesion to color schemes, and for practicality and comfort. It's a balancing act.
5) How would you define your design style?
Classic American decorating with a touch of modernism
8) Readers would like to know, Tom’s Favorite:
Fabrics
and patterns?
Open, airy patterns with lots of white background. Think
Indian " tree of life" patterns
Furniture
styles or mix?
Upholstered furniture can only take you so far....always mix
in open arm chairs and those with open " see -through backs
Wallpapers
and coverings?
Wallpaper is especially important when there isn't much in
the way of architecture. It's a great way to divert attention from
ignoble drywall
Accessories?
Don't over accessorize...one or two well placed accessories
on a coffee table is always better than a jumble. Make sure that your household
decorative accessories tell a story about you. Your Love of exotic travel,
particular kinds of books, the natural world, etc.
Lighting?
Every good room has a combination of direct and
indirect lighting sources. Make sure you don't have too many lampshades!
Your
favorite business meeting attire?
Summer: flip flops, white jeans, purple gingham shirt
Winter: brown clogs, brown corduroys, purple gingham
shirt, Austrian jacket
Tom I have heard that you have every color combination of purple gingham shirts imaginable!
Vacation Getaway?
Anywhere warm with coconut
palms........especially my own house which I'm about to finish in Schooner Bay , the Abacos
9) Finally, Tom, what are some words of wisdom for the aspiring Interior Designer?
Decorating can't happen in a vacuum......the design part is
only a very small part of the story. One needs to move around in the world,
make social connections and foster friendships and the trust of those who can
pay the bills!
Tom, Thank you so much for participating in The 2013 Designer Series!
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Textured Inside Book Cover |
Reach Tom at Tom Scheerer Incorporated
Purchase Tom Scheerer Decorates here!
To win a copy of "Tom Scheerer Decorates" which will fascinate you more and more as you turn each page!
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xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
Images Courtesy of The Vendome Press
Photographer Francesco Lagnese