Lisa Bowles SAG HARBOR LAIR

Everything Lisa Bowles puts together — a room, a dinner party, an email, an opinion — is willful, ruthlessly edited, smart, and not at all expected. In a world of decorators, furniture designers and antique dealers hell bent on whacky 50's cheek, Art Deco-ish glamorpuss frou frou, and dizzying layers of Bohemian drama, Bowles's comfortable, grown up, solidly chic rooms impart a sense of calm animated by a strong dose of Euro-eccentricity.

The large worn trestle tables, generous down filled sofas, nubby linen beige slipcovers, chunky marble planters, beat up old trunks, huge willow baskets, poetically weathered finials, and even the life-sized, hand carved wooden motorcycle that appear in her home and shop in East Hampton look like they were bought at French or Belgium auctions, plucked from  the sort of manors, farmhouses  and chateaux photographed by The World of Interiors. Axel Vervoordt comes to mind. So does Jacques Grange.

Bowles was born and schooled in Virginia, but her soul is clearly rooted on the other side of the Atlantic.

BACKGROUND STATS:
She's 43 years old, born and brought up in Richmond, Virginia. She holds a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University. Bowles founded her interior design business 11 years ago; her East Hampton shop, Roark, opened in 2002. She was influenced by her mother, who also graduated from VCU and studied art, drew fashion illustrations for Thalhimers, which was Richmond's equivalent to Bergdorf Goodman's.

BOWLES ON BOWLES STYLE:
"My interiors have the lines of a modernist, the texture of burlap and the sex appeal of Giselle."

HERO DESIGNERS, ARCHITECTS AND ARTISTS:
Carlo Scarpa "because he is a modern classicist". Tado Ando "because he is pure." Hero painters and sculptors are Louise Bourgeois, Louise Nevelson, Mark Rothko and Richard Serra.

MOST MAGNIFICENT ROOM EVER:
The Jai Mandir (hall of victory) in the Ambar Palace in Jaipur, India. "It has a glittering ceiling of mirrors on stucco and elegant inlaid panels of pastel colored vessels. Every streak of light makes them sparkle. Overall, Jai Mandir has a festive, happy spirit — I believe that fun people lived there."

WHAT'S NEXT?
"We are all looking for the next step in design, but the resurgence of Modernism gave us an added dimension. The best designers are, and have always been, about the mix because it makes us think about composition. It is far more clever to appreciate several styles and merge them into an aesthtic than to be conformist and stiff."

ON VERSATILITY:
"My dining room also functions as an entry and a library. There is a long, Belgian table in the center, a fireplace at one end, and all of my favorite books on wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling shelves.  When I have a dinner for 12 — and I have a lot of parties — I bring in 12 stackable Friso Kramer chairs and light a fire."

ON COMFORT:
"I have a client with three young boys, and some beautiful pieces of furniture and art: those kids use every room every day, and it works. When it comes to sofas, custom down upholstery, low and deep, is the only way to go."

BOWLES'S  BIG NO-NOs:
"Mission makes me feel dreary. Yellow is the color of illness in Chinese medicine. Chintz? I think it squeaks when you touch it. No thank you."

CLIENT STRATEGY:
"I renovated my own house last year, and functioning as the project manager, decorator and homeowner taught me a great deal about now the other side feels. I now understand the frustrations of a project coming in over budget and behind schedule. I have developed a pretty keen sense of people and what they want to achieve. A good client trusts his/her implicitly — consequently you give them your best work. An unreasonable client who does not appreciate the efforts of their decorator is truly the worst. Decorating is hard work — when your clients are happy and you are proud of your interior, it' s worth all of the effort."

"Roark, I ... I'll still want to destroy you."
"Do you think I would still want you if you didn't?"
                       "Roark..."
Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead

ROARK Antiques and Design
74 Montauk Highway, Red Horse Plaza
East Hampton, NY 11937
Phone: 631.604.5173
www.roark.1stdibs.com