BARCLAY BUTERA- by Susanna Salk for 1stdibs
 “Bette Davis’ former home was my very first grown up place,” says Barclay Butera. “It was in great disarray when I purchased it. But I couldn’t wait to bring it back to life.” Butera, who has yet to meet a design challenge he could not stylishly tackle, spent six months restoring the little Laguna Beach-based cottage back to its roots, including the formal English gardens. He then went on to purchase Frank Sinatra’s Twin Palms estate in the desert, complete with piano shaped pool. Currently, Butera lives in Desi Arnaz Jr.’s two-level Hollywood Hills home to which Butera restored in the style of Hollywood Regency as when Arnaz’s parents, Lucy and Desi, were at the peak of their powers. “I love that old Hollywood style of clean, classic tailored lines and the importance of intriguing fabrics,” says Butera of the style that influences his work today. He often describes the key elements to a great room akin to forming a great wardrobe. “I am a fashion designer for the home,” says Butera. “To me, details like tufts on a headboard are like the perfect pair of cufflinks.”

Butera’s passion for living with great design, no matter what the style or era, was shaped by watching his mother build her own design firm from the ground up, ultimately employing 50 people. “My mother never gives up: no matter how discouraged she might become, she always pushes ahead. I learned the importance of hard work from her.” A native Californian, growing up in Northern California and living 25 years in Laguna Beach, Butera credits his West Coast origins for giving him the freedom to express himself. “There are so few rules here,” he says. “It just wouldn’t have been possible to learn this anywhere else.”  One childhood “rule” he couldn’t wait to break was that certain rooms were meant to be used for specific use or occasions. “My home was like that growing up and my work now is the antithesis of that,” says Butera.

Before he got the chance to break standard design rules, Butera made a stop in the world of law, (after securing a degree in political science and economics), thinking that a legal background would be helpful in his pursuit of a career in real estate.  “But I learned quickly in the first year that law was not for me and yearned to get back into design,” he reflects.  Working with his mother and helping her launch her Southern California office in 1990, he moved on to open his own design office. “I really wanted my independence soI took major risks financially. But I had my own approach and I felt confident it would work.” His first project was collaborating with the wife of one of the principals of AOL. “She was so humble and gracious,” says Butera. “The firm designed a little three bedroom cottage for her. But we were shocked and elated when she subsequently asked us to work on her new fifthteen thousand-foot English estate in Newport with beautiful gardens, tennis court, vintage wine cellar, and coi ponds. Since then, we have designed four more homes for her and she has become a living example of my mantra: ‘A Client for Life.’”

 Butera now employees 75 people across four showrooms, (Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Park City and New York), a corporate office, and a manufacturing facility that creates pieces for Butera’s extensive wholesale, retail, and trade lines which comprise furniture and textiles collections that are distributed nationally to over 300 showrooms. His licensing division is also growing rapidly with offerings from silverware to candles. “I love the freedom that comes with it,” says Butera. In addition, Butera’s just completed first book for Assouline,  Living in Style,(ITALICS)  is a visual tribute to his philosophy of: “When it comes to good design, the best tools are passion, generosity, and pushing yourself to the next level.” It doesn’t hurt to have a fabulous sense of color and proportion such as Butera possesses.
 “Being an interior designer is almost like being a therapist for the home,” says Butera. “You are educating a client on how you think their house should look and feel but ultimately, you want what’s best for them and what makes them the most comfortable.”

Butera’s book’s five chapters: “ Beach, City, Desert, Mountain, Town and Country,” aptly echo Butera’s ability to be inspired by the immediate environment while never being limited by it either. “The themes can be combined with one another and I encourage people to do so,” says the author. Case in point: Butera’s passion for combining the blue and white palate of a Spanish Colonial home with Asian-inspired Zen Buddhist elements. ”I like to think of my aesthetic as livable luxury,” he says.
With a textile debut for Kravet Collection in early 2009, as well as a custom carpet launch with designer Barbara Barry, (15 carpet designs that can be spun out into 130 custom color options and delivered within a matter of weeks), Butera is as prolific as he is inspired.  And whenever he finds himself feeling overwhelmed by the many design directions that his life is taking him, he needs simply to head to the deck outside his home, (with pet dachshunds in tow), to catch his breath and be restored: “I love it when I step out there and  am completely surrounded by the quiet elegance of trees.” END

Barclay Buttera Q & As

What direction is Your Style Compass pointed to?  ( brief to short answers for each of the following):
 
FASHION- Vintage YSL, flared legs, wide lapels
 
FABRICS- My own collection with Kravet Collection to be released early 2009.
 
ENTERTAINING- Happy Hour at home with friends, my dogs, and good wine –(emdash) usually after 6pm.
 
COLOR- Mediterranean Blue
 
TRAVEL- Paris for Maison & Objet
 
GARDENING or FLORAL- Formal English Gardens, geometric boxwoods, waxleaf privet hedges and fountains.
 
ART or DESIGN- Slim Aarons Photography
 
The next section is even shorter; if you prefer even one word or a list that works for your favorite or most recent…
 
BOOK- Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (no underline please)
MUSEUM- The Getty, LA
RESTAURANT- IL Buco, NY
HOTEL- Costes, Paris
MUSIC CD- John Legend Get Lifted
GIFT- Cashmere
SHOPPE- Collette Paris