Barbara Barry’s name is synonymous with luxury — not an overwhelming, ostentatious luxury, but the kind of luxury that represents a life well-lived. Like the luxury of drinking tea in her serene California home. The luxury of the finest materials, of clean lines in an uncluttered space, of reading a classic novel in a sun-washed room. These are, afterall, the things that make life special — and how else would you define luxury?
We asked Barbara to share with us the things that make her happiest — those items that inspire her designs, her watercolors, her life. Her answers are often simple things — but they each represent her unique brand of luxury.
i. Pearls
I feel naked without them.
ii. Ironed Pajamas
It makes a world of difference! The cool crispness makes me feel special.
iii. Fresh Linens
Nothing like getting into a freshly made bed. I feel renewed and taken care of…a sense of well-being comes over me.
iv. Good Soap
Everyday luxury is a French milled soap. It is milled to a smooth hardness that produces the finest bubble. No soppy, soggy bar here!
v. Tokyo
Quality and the small moment reign in this amazing city.
vi. Good British Film
For a great escape into another life, British films are my favorite mode of transportation.
- Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility (1995), one of my favorite films
vii. Krug Champagne
The bubbles are bubblier, the flavor a perfect blend of yeast and sugar. The perfect beverage.
viii. Peonies
One of nature’s miracles.
ix. Long Quiet Walks in Nature
With a friend and always with my dog, Oliver.
x. Clear Blue Water and Wooden Boats
I’m thinking the Pacific Northwest.
- A photo from my travels in the Pacific Northwest
What are your favorite things?
Barbara Barry is pure class….
Just love Barbara Barry – the epitome of classic yet modern class and style
I love your style and always look for to seeing the new. Suzanne Grable/Suzanne Designs
I love being a part of the beautiful furniture collection. Pearls and peonies also favorites!
Getting up early and going out into my beautiful garden on mid October morning sipping hot Kona coffee out of one of my Fima Deruta italian mugs. Being in Maui along the Keawakupu beach overlooking the majestic Pacific Ocean and stopping for buttermilk pancakes at the Mana Kai hotel. Walking into my favorite Christmas shop in Vienna, Austria right before the holidays. Staying with my husband and my daughter in her Chelsea apartment in NYC and enjoying touring the city together. Flying to San Diego and visiting my younger daughter and going back to my old haunts like Rogers Gardens and Laguna Beach as I am from southern California but now live in Austin, Texas. And lastly, getting my home ready to receive guests for Thanksgiving and Christmas, setting out all my beautiful Herend china, William Yeoward crystal and German christmas pewter on my Baker Statley Homes table complete with Milling Road chairs upholstered in a persimmon velvet, and a David Itesta crystal chandelier sparkling as my husband prepares a scrumptious feast for the family to enjoy! How blessed am I!!!
Thanks for the lovely comment, Elizabeth. It sounds like you adhere to Barbara’s philosophy of a life well-lived. We encourage you to share photos of your Baker pieces on our Facebook page. We love seeing how people incorporate Baker into their homes. Visit http://www.Facebook.com/BakerFurniture.