Interview with Thomas Pheasant
Image provided by Thomas Pheasant. Portrait by Max Kim-Bee. All rights
reserved.
This exclusive interview with interior designer Thomas Pheasant was
conducted by Nicola Linza and Cristoffer Neljesjö in Washington, D.C. during
October 2018.
What first attracted you to interior design as a future career?
When I was 9 years old my school went on tour at The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. I remember standing in the rotunda of this enormous classical building and feeling totally transported to something beyond my understanding. What I did understand was that I connected to this grand space without any knowledge of architecture or classical history, it was pure human emotion. Later as I began my studies in architecture, I continued my fascination with the power architecture and interiors have in touching us on an emotional level. My personal focus is the importance of serenity and the value of creating interiors that allow us to breathe and recharge. This concept was the focus of my book, “Simply Serene.”
Your style has a unique and highly refined neutral palette that stands out amongst your contemporaries. How did that design aesthetic trademark solidify itself into your body of work?
I have always placed the architecture of a space foremost in creating my interiors. My design signature relies on a space that is architecturally fulfilled; the neutral palette brings an ease and lightness to the interiors that allow the architecture of the room to shine. The beauty of this approach is that it works within both modern and traditional interiors appealing to a very diverse clientele.
How do you achieve what often brings to mind Grecian simplicity, a light sophisticated elegance that while precise appears to allow for one’s personal additions say based on a client’s interests or personal tastes?
Understanding how to strip a space down to that which is most essential to convey the architectural mood while neutralizing the palette creates a canvas that opens itself gracefully to the collections and lifestyle of the client. Those collections, art, books, etc., personalize the interiors and transform every project into a home that is unique for each client. It is a way of designing that appeals to a wide range of people. I think that part of the appeal is that it creates an atmosphere that brings focus to the client’s architectural preferences and personalizes each room.
What period of architecture most inspires you?
Classical buildings are the foundation of my vocabulary, but inspiration has come from various periods of architecture. I find as much inspiration from Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye as I do when walking through John Russell Pope’s National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. It’s about opening your mind to experience and understand the dialogue of a building or space that is key to taking something away with you that you can use to evolve your own vocabulary.
Where do you first go for the direction of a space?
Outside..to experience the architecture within the context of the setting. Next, discovering ways to bring the exterior architecture into the interiors to create a full experience from the outside in.
If you could have your portrait done by any artist living or deceased who would it be? And why?
Mark Rothko. I have been so moved by his ability to use color to convey spirit and mood. I would love to see how he would transfer my inner self into color.
Do you have a particular designer past or present you would have design your own house?
I would love to have John Russell Pope here today to discuss the evolution of classical style. His buildings were the first designs that I connected to as a very young designer. There was something aspirational about his work that touched me. It would be a dream to have him in my studio to discuss new directions for classical design.
If you could choose to decorate any place in the world, which would it be and why?
I am currently designing the interior spaces in Blair House, which is the guest house for the White House in Washington, DC. It has been such an honor to step into this historic treasure and update the interiors. It would be a spectacular to rethink the interiors of the White House and infuse the current amazing collections from the past with modern elements of design by various American artists and designers. I would think of it more as curating the best of American design into a showcase for the country.
The above interview with Thomas Pheasant 2018 © Manner of Man Magazine. All rights reserved. Reproduction is strictly prohibited without written permission from the publisher.
