Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1087559
BY REBECCA SHERMAN 70 B unny Williams opened her design firm in 1988, after a 22-year apprenticeship with Albert Hadley and Sister Parish, and catapulted to design acclaim for her elegantly gracious style that's both livable, layered and lush. She's married to esteemed antiques dealer John Rosselli, and in 1991 the two opened the iconic Treillage, a home-decoratives haunt in New York frequented by Anna Wintour, Michael S. Smith, and Bunny Mellon, which they've since closed. She's also passionate about gardens and entertaining, and has made acolytes of us all with books on the splendors of her Connecticut home. She has created a furnishings collection, Bunny Williams Home, and has collections with Ballard Designs. The author of six books, Williams has a new design monograph, Bunny Williams: Love Affairs with Houses (Abrams, $60), featuring 15 new projects, including the historic Hickory Hill estate in Virginia once owned by Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy. We zipped off an email to Bunny, to see what she's inspired by now. BEDSIDE READING. Loulou & Yves: The Untold Story of Loulou de La Falaise and the House of Saint Laurent. And Educated: A Memoir. The White Road: Journey into an Obsession. COLOR OBSESSION. I recently did a dining room with Granny Smith apple-green lacquered walls and watery pale turquoise silk curtains. RECENT PURCHASE. For my new apartment, I found a pair of Italian carved-pine figures to flank a modern painting in the living room. COLLECTIONS. Contemporary pottery. MODERN TIMES. I love working in a more modern vernacular, but the base and so many of the principles of design are the same, so you are really just choosing contemporary pieces over antiques. In the end, you just want the rooms to be comfortable, welcoming, and livable. IN ANOTHER LIFE … If I could sing, I'd be an opera singer. But since I can't sing, I would probably run an animal rescue center. PHOTOGRAPHY: HEATHER HAWKINS, JANE SOBEL KLONSKY A BEAUTIFUL LIFE BUNNY WILLIAMS TAKES US INSIDE HER LOVE AFFAIRS WITH HOUSES, CONTEMPORARY POTTERY, AND THE OPERA. Bunny Williams' studio in Litchfield, Connecticut