Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/293658
WHAT SPARKS YOUR CREATIVITY? Collaboration amongst my team at work. WHICH WATCH GOES BEST WITH YOUR JEWELRY? I don't wear a watch, but when I did, I wore an old Ebel. It's still pretty classic and fine, and it does look great with my jewels. ALWAYS ON YOUR COFFEE TABLE: A Damien Hirst book called Superstition. I just love it because of the butterflies. ALWAYS ON YOUR DINING TABLE: This changes frequently, but currently I have two blue vases. My friend Heather gave me a turquoise-blue ceramic one, which is my favorite color. The other is a gorgeous deep chrysocolla blue antique Murano glass vase from my mom's showroom. TITLE OF YOUR MEMOIR? My Life is the Present, meaning God gave me my life, which is a gift/present to me, and my life is also living in the present moment. WHO WOULD PLAY YOU IN THE MOVIE? Reese Witherspoon! Ms. Showers has since sold her home and now resides in Fort Worth with her boyfriend Tommy Glenn and his children Ethan (8) and Harley (11). LOVING NOW: I am totally digging Kyle Bunting rugs! W e swore we wouldn't use the term "jewel box" to describe the home of a jewelry designer — right up to the minute we entered Elizabeth Showers' small but exquisite domicile on the cusp of Lakewood in East Dallas. In the same way Showers' jewelry reflects a joyful soul, her home is relaxed and welcoming, full of unpretentious moments and meaningful treasures. Yes, her mother is one of the state's — indeed, the country's — most prominent interior designers, and many of her furnishings are birthday and Christmas gifts from the Jan Showers Collection. But her favorite art is largely by friends; decorative glass and ceramics were gifts; books and decorative elements speak to her travels, her self-described obsessions and her carefully shaped philosophy of what's important in life. She bought the house, a deceptively simple 1950s ranch-style structure, six years ago. The exterior gives no hint of the sweeping L-shaped space that encompasses the entry, living and dining area, with two steps down to a sun porch. "I loved the openness of the interior," she says. "The previous owners had literally won the lottery so they remodeled and added a huge cedar closet. All I had to do was repaint and put up draperies." Elizabeth travels frequently for her jewelry business (Italy and Thailand), as well as personal adventures, and the evidence is artfully showcased. A flock of paper butterflies swirls up and over the front door; she found them in Madrid and purchased several sets so she would have enough for her office walls, too. A shell from Africa, pink sand from Harbour Island and a Palm Beach pyritized ammonite on the kitchen counter all speak to a worldly sensibility. "Mom did help me decorate, but it's most definitely me. She has given me lots of advice; sometimes I forget she gets paid quite a lot for that," she adds with a laugh. "When I didn't listen, I regretted it." Jan Showers' admonition to "feel great in your own space" dovetails with Elizabeth's feel- beautiful philosophy. "It wasn't until I bought my home," she says, "that I really understood the value of what my mom does as a designer." Showers has her own advice these days: "Stay true to what you love, and don't get overly concerned with making everything perfect." All photographic evidence to the contrary. THREE DESERT ISLAND DECORATING ESSENTIALS: My boyfriend's old yellow Lab, Buddy (he makes any room beautiful and happy — can't he count?), my comfy bed with all its bedding and one of Mom's Venetian turquoise-blue lamps with a bright bulb in it. Obviously, I am pretending there will be electricity! RECENT DOWNLOAD: The Polyphonic Spree's Yes, It's True — my friend Jenny Kirtland, a member of P. Spree, told me about it. NEXT ON YOUR READING LIST? Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed and then Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson. MAGAZINES: IPAD OR PRINT? In print, I read National Geographic, occasionally — and PaperCity, of course. Online, sometimes Huffington Post and a blog called The Skimm, which is a quick and easy way to grab just a little bit of news daily. MUST-HAVE STONE FOR YOUR JEWELRY? Smooth milky quartz over mother-of-pearl — it has an ethereal feminine quality that I am literally enchanted with. GUILTY PLEASURE AT HOME: Delish dark chocolate sea-salt caramels from Walgreens or Lindt dark chocolate with sea salt. These are two of my favorites, and they are not expensive. I always have at least one on hand. INSIDE "MOM DID HELP ME DECORATE, BUT IT'S MOST DEFINITELY ME. SHE HAS GIVEN ME LOTS OF ADVICE; SOMETIMES I FORGET SHE GETS PAID QUITE A LOT FOR THAT." BY KAREN MUNCY. PHOTOGRAPHY STEVE WRUBEL. FLOWERS RENEE SOTO FOR AVANT GARDEN. PORTRAIT RACHAEL WISE. The Nest of ELIZABETH SHOWERS — ELIZABETH SHOWERS Elizabeth Showers A curvaceous mirror with etched frame adds emphasis to the lilac glass chandelier. The aqua two-door buffet with gilded molding is a vintage Palm Beach find. The lamp base is Murano glass in translucent pink and cream. Cut-paper butterflies remind Showers of a monarch migration several years ago in her native Hillsboro. "For two days, there were thousands of them in the trees around our house there. It was incredible." The sun porch is a chic mix of modern and vintage. Elizabeth found the shell-petaled pendant light at a shop on Washington's Orcas Island. Green ceramic garden stools are repurposed as side tables. The Lombard piecrust table of polished merisier (cherrywood) holds a turquoise glass double-gourd lamp. The asymmetrical Miles lamp is a striking slab of yellow honeycomb calcite. Seating and lamps are from the Jan Showers Collection. The large photograph is by Stewart Cohen. Soleil pendant in carved white quartz over emerald malachite and diamond bail in 18K yellow gold Milky quartz over mother- of-pearl ring in 18K yellow gold Ms. Showers has since sold her home and now resides in Fort Worth with her boyfriend Tommy Glenn and his children, Ethan (8) and Harley (11).