JAY JEFFERS by Susanna Salk for 1stdibs
“Designing a home is one of life’s most inspiring experiences,” says San Francisco-based designer Jay Jeffers. “It’s an opportunity to allow ourselves to dream and explore, to play with color, texture, space and light.” Whether designing an award-winning residence or hosting monthly salon-style gatherings for friends, artists and colleagues, (“anyone with a juicy story to tell, please sit next to me!”), Jeffers is constantly inspired and inspiring. 

Launched in 1999, his firm, Jeffers Design Group, approaches its work with as much passion for the journey as the destination. “We truly love the process and work closely with each client to create an interior that is tailored to their personal style – every client is unique. The common thread is that we strive to make each space luxurious but always livable.” Jeffers’ style signatures - vibrant color, bold graphic elements and chic pairings of antiques and vintage pieces - make for fresh, well-grounded spaces that always have inner life.  Recent examples of his work include the restoration and redesign of an historic grand dame in Presidio Heights, a sixties-era modern home in Los Angeles and a stunning new Marin County residence by architects House + House.

Growing up in Dallas, Jeffers was fascinated at an early age by the grand historic homes of the South. “I used to love to imagine who the inhabitants were and how they lived.”  After earning a degree in international business from the University of Texas, Jeffers moved to San Francisco to pursue a career in marketing at Gap, Inc. But Jeffers was drawn more to fabric lines than graphs, (“fashion for me is still a true passion”), and he went on to study interior design at Berkeley. From there he worked for one of San Francisco’s top design firms before making the leap to entrepreneurship in 1999.  When the San Francisco Chronicle highlighted Jeffers as one of the rising stars of interior design it was just the springboard he needed.

Now, with its 10th anniversary approaching, Jeffers Design Group has established itself as one of the industry’s most dynamic firms. JDG’s colorful, spirited work has drawn numerous accolades:  House Beautiful twice named Jeffers one of its Top 100 Interior Designers and he and his work have appeared in the glossy pages of Metropolitan Home, Elle Décor, In Style Home, California Home + Design (from whom he received a 2008 Achievement Award) and many other publications.  The firm is also settling into fabulous new digs:  Jeffers is putting the finishing touches on his new San Francisco studios (he has an office in Los Angeles as well), a loft-like 3,800 sq ft former warehouse space.

Jeffers’ personal projects this year include his work as a board member of Enterprise for High School Students, a non-profit organization that helps San Francisco students find jobs and explore career interests and which presents the annual San Francisco Fall Antiques Show and Spring Art Tour – and a whirlwind birthday celebration in honor of his fortieth. “After a sit down dinner for fifty that my partner is planning, we are going to hop on a plane to Italy. We’ll start in Rome, then head to Florence and from there, who knows!”  As always for Jeffers, the inspiration is as much in the journey as the destination.

Q: The most important question I can ask a new client is:
A: How do you intend to live in your new home?

Q: The most important question a new client can ask me is:
A: Will this house reflect our personality or yours? That question tells me that they have their own vision and, as we always want our designs to be tailored to the style of the owner, a client with a strong point of view makes for an authentic, successful space.

Q: What is the easiest way I can fix a room that feels wrong?
A: Paint the room a sexy color and install dimmers - keep the lighting low!

Q: What are people too often afraid of in design and shouldn't be?
A: Pattern.  Obviously, I use it quite a bit, but incorporating pattern doesn’t mean that a room has to be busy. There is an art to the proper editing of pattern.  If you want drama, put a large scale pattern on a big piece of furniture, but use smaller scaled patterns and solids for other pieces.  If you want a room more subdued, use the larger scaled patterns on small elements such as pillows.

Q: You have only $1,000 to spend on a room. What do you do?
A: Buy an ipod, speakers and two bottles of champagne.  Music makes any room feel cozy and the champagne will help you think of creative ways to increase your budget!

Q: People spend too much money on…
A: New reproductions of modern classics.  The only place I want to see another Barcelona chair is in the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona. In my opinion, using incredibly recognizable furniture, no matter how wonderful the design, is overdone.

Q: Design rules I love to break are:
A: Putting a huge, over scaled painting in a tiny room.  I love playing with scale. 

Q: Places and people I can always count on to inspire me:
A: New York City.  I go three or four times a year and I'm inspired every time.
 
Q: If my favorite room were a song it would be:
A: “Love Shack!” by the B52s.

Q: How color surprises me:
A: I generally prefer warm, lively colors, but my inspirations are ever-changing.  I stayed in a fabulous hotel in Amsterdam last year and all the moldings were painted dark slate gray, which is now the color of the moldings in my own house. If you had told me two years ago that I would be using gray tones in my designs, I would have laughed.

Q: What style/color/accessory/ never lets me down:
A: Candles - big, small, scented, not, white, colored, I love them all.  They give a room soul. Not to mention the fact that everyone looks fabulous in candlelight!

Q: The best design mistake I ever made:
A: Are there really any mistakes in design?