A Chat With Bunny Williams

Bunny Williams is hard to pin down, but it’s only because when you do catch her, she gives you her undivided attention. A bundle of energy who balances owning a successful shop, Treillage, Ltd., with running an iconic design business and writing best-selling books, she delights in friendships and history, family and tradition. Williams is a master at uncontrived style and takes the ultimate practical approach to dressing a client’s home -- taking into consideration their hobbies, their comfort zones, and their aesthetics. As concerned with creating beautiful spaces as she is with providing a spot for toys or a sentimental collection, this designer considers the whole package.

Southern Accents:  How have your Southern roots influenced the way you decorate?
Bunny Williams:  My Virginia roots taught me how to make a house welcoming, and I think that this should always be an underlying feeling in my work.

Your spaces always feel approachable. What are the keys to avoiding a showroom look and instead creating a space that invites you in?
Overdecoration and being too “matchy-matchy” can cause a room to be too much of a showplace. Remember that rooms are meant to be used and should be relaxing. The design makes a room much more approachable.

I love the way you use antique textiles, and they show up in a lot of your spaces. What are some of your favorite resources?
Using antique textiles in a room takes the edge off the newness of everything and gives the room a softer, more evolved look. I find old textiles from Virginia Di Sciascio and Laura Fisher in New York, as well as various textile dealers at pier shows. EBay is also a good source if you know what you are looking for.

Your master bedroom in Manhattan has the most divine bed I have ever laid eyes on. Where did you get that chic mirrored bed and that incredible embroidery?
John Rosselli, my husband, bought the bed for me at a Sotheby’s auction. It was from the estate of Dorothy Hirshon, a very stylish woman who was the first wife of William Paley, the founder of CBS. The bed was made in Paris by Serge Roche in the 1940s. I had the embroidery done in India.

I understand you have a furniture collection coming out this spring. What inspired you?
I have always liked finding antiques -- special pieces for my projects. It has become harder to continue doing this, so I decided to create a collection, called BeeLine Home. The pieces will be finely crafted, ordered in limited quantity with numbered labels, and will be produced for only one year. They will be available at several locations, including John Rosselli, Mecox Gardens, Hollyhock, Halcyon House Antiques, Summerfields, and Mrs. Howard.

You worked with Sister Parish and Albert Hadley early in your career. What are some things you learned from these legendary designers?
From Mrs. Parish, I learned more than anything how to arrange furniture in a room, and from Albert, the importance of scale and proportion. If a room has a fireplace or a wall for a television, then usually the furniture will be grouped toward the wall, but if the room has no focus, the furniture arrangement can float in the center. A room should have at least one seating group that can accommodate six to eight people. This might be made up of one sofa, four chairs, and benches, or two sofas and four chairs. What is important is that the group relate to the architecture.