JAN SHOWERS 
By Susanna Salk for 1stdibs
“Movies have always informed my work,” says Dallas designer Jan Showers. “Especially Hitchcock’s from the fifties. They are works of art. Sometimes I’ll even watch one before starting my day.” Showers credits an upbringing surrounded by beautiful design, be it in on screen, in an art museum, or a restaurant for inspiring her to create equally impactful environments for others. “I have such fond memories of being in gorgeous spaces,” says Showers. “I remember feeling as though I had entered another world and I wanted to share that experience.” Equally impressionable were the regular shopping excursions the young Showers took with her mother to the original Neiman Marcus store in downtown  Dallas. “When Stanley Marcus was there, it had the best of everything and at the highest level,” she remembers. Today, as an acclaimed interior designer, creator of her own line of furniture, purveyor of antiques,  and not to mention first-time author of the upcoming book (from Abrams, in October 2009) Glamorous Rooms,( ITALIC) Showers is continually fi nding links between the past and present that inform her. Recently, she came upon a box her mother kept of Shower’s childhood treasures which proved her design DNA was innately driving her from the get-go. “In the box was this book I had created when I was about eight years old called Rooms, (ITALICS) and I had cut and pasted chapters pulled from all the shelter magazines I was pouring through even back then.” The discovery resonated even more powerfully in that Showers had just pitched her own book, Glamorous Rooms (ITALICS) encorporating the very same format: “Rather than write a book that describes specific design projects, I just want there to be chapters with wonderful photographs of every aspect of the home, from entry halls to bedrooms to private spaces.” There are certainly plenty of projects to showcase, as Showers has been designing spaces officially since 1980 when she launched Jan Showers & Associates. (She had been designing spaces for friends and family unofficially until a friend offered to pay her to do his 19th century house. He happened to be the mayor the town where she grew up – and from that point on, Showers knew “I was on my way!”  Showers hasn’t skipped a beat since, understanding that the key to creating spaces w hich resonate, lies in making those whom inhabit them not only look their best, but feel their best. "Decorating is never successful if it is not personal,” she says. Showers further increased her clients’ ability to express themselves when she opened her own showroom of antiques in 1996 in the Dallas Design District. “It plays a huge role in my design business because it really is like a lab for my ideas,” she says. Items like a pair of ebonized French fauteils upholstered in faux needlepoint zebra, coral lamps form the 40’s, and an Aldo Tura ivory drinks cart from 1960’s, all echo Shower’s tendency towards style that manages to be both dramatic and subtle, as they are unique and practical. “I never believed in following trends,” she says. “Decorating is too expensive.” When just the right vintage piece could not be found, Showers started taking it into her own capable hands to design the appropriate style herself. The Jan Showers furniture collection was born in 2000 (it’s now offered in seven showrooms across the country), and features custom pieces from the Directiore period straight to twentieth- century modern. “The collection is not about reproduction of period pieces, but the creation of timeless and sophisticated designs,” says Showers.  “Each piece in the col lection is made to order by hand and is available in custom sizes.” Shower’s love for materials like merisier, ivory lacquer and rosewood are omnipresent as is her passion for Venetian glass and, “always, glorious mirrors."
With projects ranging from a modern house in Phoenix (“I think it will be the most important in my career due to my working with an incredible architect.”), to Palm Beach to L.A., Showers is more than ever mixing and experimenting with a broad range of style and inspirations in her work. And when she is not traveling to places like Paris and Venice for business – often for purely pleasure –or volunteering for a variety of Dallas charities including the Dallas Museum of Art for which she sits as a member of the Board of Trustees, Showers and her husband, Jim, retreat to their weekend home outside the city. “It’s where I spent my childhood,” says Showers. “So it’s full of wonderful memories.” After a day spent on long walks or cooking, Showers indulges in watching her favorite old films or reading – a pastime which she shares in equal measure with viewing her beloved movies. “I’d love to have designed for Grace Kelly,” she tells us. “It would look a lot like my where I live now.9 D Clearly, Showers, the avid moviegoer, has all the serene style of someone  ready for her close up,  yet her movie destiny has already been cast – on the other side of the camera – creating ravishing sets for her admiring viewers.

Jan Showers   Style Compass Questions:

JEWELRY: Black and white (or ivory) always! Estate jewelry from Kentshire or a favorite shop in Paris, and my daughter, Elizabeth Showers’ fabulous turquoise, gold and diamond earrings.

FABRIC: Crisp white linen, John Hutton “Cumin” which is lining my window in the entry of the D & D in New York.

ENTERTAINING: Casual seems appropriate right now but always serve great wines with simple, clean food. Seated dinner parties for eight are my favorites…so intimate and cozy.

COLOR: Yellow (any shade of it) because we all need to be hopeful and cheered on a daily basis; blues are always in my designs as well as almost any shade of green.

TRAVEL: Cuba this spring and Como this summer with trips to New York and L.A. in between.

GARDENING OR FLORAL: The flowers at La Grenouille are forever the best. Otherwise, a simple bunch of daffodils or hyacinths.

ART OR DESIGN: I am enchanted with work of Olafur Eliasson, Jim Hodges and Robert Irwin.

BOOK: Richard Avedon’s Performance (ITALICS)

MUSEUM: MOMA, The Guggenheim, Dallas Museum of Art and Dia Beacon

RESTAURANT: La Grenouille

HOTEL: Can’t choose between the Bel Air, The Carlyle or The Cipriani

MUSIC: My play lists. I have over 30 of them. My favorite one I named “One Fine Day” with everything from Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, and Al Green

GIFT: Books, always

SHOP: Too many to name but I always love Bergdorf’s and any fun or unusual antique or vintage store. I also love Kentshire Galleries for great jewelry.