We have followed Showers' career for years and have always marveled at her ability to combine elegance with accessibility, and fine things, such as glass and crystal, with cozy textures and soft lines. Her interiors bring together an appreciation for midcentury modern, Dallas grandeur, and contemporary livability.

Southern Accents: How did you get started in design?
Jan Showers: Having a mother who was a perfectionist was a great start. She loved design, had a terrific eye, and always worked with a wonderful designer whom I later worked with. She was very much in the mold of Sister Parish. I still insist on every chair in a room having an accessible table and lamp nearby.

SA: Your style is very glamorous but not over-the-top. How do you inject glamour into your projects and still maintain comfort?
JS: Glamour and comfort are not mutually exclusive. When I think of glamour, I don't think of some corseted dress ŕ la Marie Antoinette, but rather Grace Kelly in both Rear Window and To Catch a Thief or Audrey Hepburn in Capri pants and flats. In every room I design, the seating is comfortable and upholstered in luxurious fabrics. At the end of the day, comfort is instinctive to me. Glamour is in the eye of the beholder.

SA: What would your fantasy master suite look like?
JS: It would have wonderful bed treatments, which is not to say overly elaborate ones. I love tailored valances with pleated side curtains. Soothing colors, such as soft greens and blues, are my favorites for bedrooms. In the mountains, sometimes I love a camel color. As in any room, I would need fabulous lamps. Nothing completes the look of a room more than good lamps that create a soft glow. For baths, I like combinations of marble, soaking tubs, and well-designed and adequate mirrors. Most of all, lamps on the surface of cabinets or dressing areas are essential for good eye-level lighting.

SA: Which movies win your Oscar awards for set design?
JS: I love this question. Movies have had a huge impact on my eye for good design. I could go on and on about my passion for the cinema. The Oscars go to: Vertigo -- any Alfred Hitchcock movie had perfect set design; Out of Africa -- the rooms in Isak Dinesen's house were so understated, and I love the scenes set on the front veranda; The Talented Mr. Ripley -- the best set design since Vertigo; The English Patient -- another Anthony Minghella film with great set design; and The Age of Innocence -- every scene in every locale of turn-of-the-century New York was perfection, as were the fabulous table settings. My latest favorite is the set of Atonement; every location was exactly as I had envisioned it when I read the book.

SA: When entertaining, how do you like to set the table?
JS: Every meal should feel like an event. I believe in the word dining. I would much rather dine than eat. I truly enjoy fine linens (another gift from my mother and grandmother), Old Paris porcelain used with gold chargers in the spring and summer, and Royal Crown Derby's Old Avesbury for Thanksgiving and Christmas. In Dallas, we have Bernardaud's Frivole, which has a spring green motif that looks wonderful with walls that are the color of the sea. I also use place mats made of capiz shells that glisten in candlelight.

SA: How do you conceal flat-panel televisions, or do you?
JS: Flat panels are the best thing to happen in the world of design in recent years. I don't always conceal them. Most often, I hang them like a piece of art over a cabinet that houses the audiovisual equipment. In libraries, I place them in the cases surrounded by books. They have been my salvation from armoires and built-ins, besides saving space.

SA: What are your favorite elements in a kitchen?
JS: I am so over granite countertops. I know they are practical, and if you must, use honed Absolute Black and seal it. Many marbles work beautifully as countertops. I love the look of a white kitchen with white cabinets and stainless appliances. If I want to go modern, I use flat European-style doors with a stainless backsplash. I am doing a kitchen now that has a more aged look, with an old mirror in the door panes and a pair of alabaster chandeliers over the island. For floors, I like dark wood. For a sleeker look, I choose a black granite composition tile called Fritztile. I must add that for modern houses or even a house leaning slightly that way, I love Poliform and Bulthaup kitchens. Just opening the drawers is a wonderful experience.

SA: What is your favorite period of design? How did this influence your own furniture collection?
JS: I love Louis XVI, Regency, and 1940s French. Of course, the French '40s designers were referencing the Louis XVI and Directoire periods with everything made a little larger and certainly "cleaned up." They used a lot of light woods, which I like to use, but I love to use different woods, periods, and textures. I find that Regency works quite well with other periods. I think pieces that mix with many other periods and styles inspire my furniture collection the most. If it won't mix, it doesn't make it into my collection.

PAINT SELECTIONS

1. 25 by Donald Kaufman "A wonderful pond green that looks cool and inviting in almost any room. I used it in the living room of a high-rise overlooking trees and Turtle Creek.", 2. Palladian Blue by Benjamin Moore "It's in many bedrooms I've done because clients see it in my conference room and love it.", 3. Mink by Benjamin Moore "The best chocolate brown for libraries and entry halls.". (Photos: Howard L. Puckett)

FABRIC SELECTIONS

1. Ultrasuede in Snow Leopard by Hinson & Company "This fabric looks terrific with any color walls and goes with everything.", 2. Stoddard by Scalamandré "It looks great on sofas and chairs.", 3. Tabac in chamois by Manuel Canovas "I love the color combination, and it is very durable. I have used it on a chair with Cashwool II in ivory by ClassicCloth on another chair in the same room; they make a fabulous combination.". (Photos: Howard L. Puckett)