what is your idea of perfect design happiness?
HAVING THE ESSENTIAL MINIMUM
what is your greatest fear in design?
BEING PREDICTABLE
which historical design figure do you most identify with?
JOHN FOWLER
which living designer do you most admire?
JACQUES GRANGE
what is your greatest design extravagance?
MY RED PARTNER’S DESK. IT CAME FROM CHRISTOPHER GIBBS’ CHRISTIES HOUSE SALE. I KNEW IT FROM BOOKS. I PAID A SCARY AMOUNT FOR IT BUT HAVE LOVED IT EVERY DAY OF THE PAST 12 YEARS.
when and where were you happiest?
IN LOS ANGELES, RIGHT NOW.
what do you consider your greatest achievement in design?
BEING ABLE TO PAY HEALTH AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS TO ALL MY EMPLOYEES.
if you died and came back as another designer/design object who/what do you think it would be?
AN EDWARDIAN SCUFFED UP VINTAGE LEATHER TUFTED ARMCHAIR.
THEY ARE VERY ADAPTABLE AND EASILY LOVABLE.
what specific design related talent are you lacking that you would most like to have?
BEING ABLE TO DO FAST RENDERINGS.
what is your most treasured design related possession?
A SMALL DESIGN SKETCH BY DAVID HICKS THAT HE GAVE ME WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL.
what do you regard as the lowest depths of misery in design?
TAKING A JOB JUST FOR THE MONEY.
what is your design motto?
VARY THE MATERIALS.
what is your favorite design-related word?
AN UNPRINTABLE ENGLISH FAVOURITE THAT STARTS WITH A ‘C’ AND ENDS WITH A ‘T’.
NOT ALLOWED TO USE IT AT WORK THOUGH.
what is your least favorite design related word?
SOLD (WHEN IT’S NOT TO ME).
what turns you on in design?
GUTS.
what turns you off in design?
FASHION.
what is your favorite curse word?
SEE ABOVE FAVOURITE DESIGN RELATED WORD.
what profession other than design would you like to attempt?
I WOULDN’T. THIS IS MY SECOND CAREER AND I LOVE IT EVERY DAY.
IMAGE CREDITS | Headshot Photo House Beautiful, Header Image Natural Curiosities, All other images provided by Peter Dunham Design.
PROUST ON DESIGN | Answered by my design icons, these must-ask questions come from a 19th century parlor game made popular by Marcel Proust, the French novelist, essayist & critic. This interview technique has been used by many journalists throughout the years but my column was primarily inspired by The Proust Questionnaire, which appears monthly on the back page of Vanity Fair (my alma mater). The twist here on CLOTH & KIND is that I’ve repurposed each question to relate to interior design. To read all of my Proust on Design interviews, please click here. Enjoy!
Informative, succient and impressive interview Krista! Learning so much from you:)
Kristie – thank you!! I owe you an email.
Wow – thanks for introducing me to another designer I’d like to follow! I loved every one of his answers; his aesthetics and values are beautiful.
I’m glad you are now acquainted with the fabulous Peter Dunham, Elise! He’s one of my personal design icons so I was beyond flattered that he agreed to be featured on CLOTH & KIND.
Intelligent questions – fascinating answers!
Peter’s answers are fascinating, I agree… but I can not take credit for the questions! They come from a 19th century parlor game made popular by Marcel Proust, the French novelist, essayist & critic. This column was inspired, in part, by The Proust Questionnaire, which appears monthly on the back page of Vanity Fair (my alma mater) – but the questions have been used by many journalists as a thought provoking interview format. My spin here on CLOTH & KIND is to ask my personal design icons to answer the questions with interior design in mind.