Barbara Barry

Few designers have the opportunity to spread their creative wings as widely as LA's Barbara Barry. One of the world's most prominent interior designers, Barry is known for creating rooms that are refined and livable as well as serene and beautiful. But that's only one of the reasons she's smiling so brightly on her recent visit to Toronto.

The American design and style guru was in town for one day to unveil her latest collection, a range of luxurious textiles for Kravet Fabrics. No stranger to the world of mass marketing, Barry's vision of graceful living has benefited such luxury brands as Baccarat Crystal, Haviland Limoges, Ann Sacks Tile and Stone, and Tufenkian Tibetan Rugs.

Barbara Barry for Kravet is based on classic plains and textured fabrics that act as a platform for accents of colour and fresh lively patterns drawn from nature, art and tradition. Barry says she's drawn inspiration from fashion photography of the 1940's, an era that balanced feminine dressmaker details with a new sense of ease. Barry's sense of fashion and even her all-American good looks are perfectly aligned with the romantic vision.

The fabric collection focuses on four Barry-inspired colour palettes. Seamist, Spa, Pool and Lagoon evoke a refreshing calm to soothe the soul as well as the eye. These are shades of blue that beautifully complement warm neutrals like brown, taupe and ivory. Deep earthy tones of Copper, Cognac, Mahogany and Henna are strikingly chic according to Barry. She describes them as "delicious", especially when they are touched with accents of lime, white or discreet flashes of silver.

More understated colours also feature prominently in Barry's design work and in the fabric collection. The designer concedes that these "quiet colours" are often hard to describe... but very easy to live with. Truffle, Limestone, and Champagne convey this quiet confidence with a well-bred subtlety.

"Dressing a room is very much like dressing oneself," says Barry, adding that you should look for a "composition of simple pieces that come together to create a look of effortless elegance and taste." Her debut collection for Kravet has captured her philosophy beautifully.