Danielle Balanis
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? Well, my first bedroom was decorated by mother. It was yellow wallpaper, it was happy, very sweet. When I graduated to the big girl bedroom down the hall I personally ripped out the pink hearted wallpaper with my sister and we sponge painted it blue. It was a disaster, but in a good way. It was a lesson in trying something new and finding a voice.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? William McClure art. He was coming to speak at my house for my neighborhood garden club. I felt like I just had to have one painting in my home. It’s still one of my favorite pieces and hangs in the exact same spot I originally placed it. I have since bought each of my children a piece to have as investment art, something they can keep forever or sell for a profit when they are grown. I can’t wait to see what they choose. I love art….
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be? Billy Baldwin, His “garden from hell” he created for Dianna Vreeland absolutely stopped me in my tracks when I saw it for the first time and to this day I have the same reaction every time. It is so layered, lovely and powerful.
No room is complete without: Books and Love
People think of me as sweet, but I am really salty. There is a fire within!
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement: babys breath, although I love it on its own in volumous proportions.
An hors d’oeuvre platter: Olive with the pit, if you are at a party what do you do with the pit….
A bar cabinet: plastic cups. I need something in a real glass.
A song for:
Dinner at home: Miles Davis, So What (I love cooking to jazz while drinking French wine!) or we might have on a Dead and Company show, if it’s a more lively night. (Yes we are dead heads in my house!)
Working at your desk: Khruangbin on Pandora
Going for a run: Metallica, Hero of the Day
Biggest Vice? Belvedere Lightly Dirty Martini with a lemon twist and regular olive, icey.
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? Shoes and Turbans… Suzanne turban hat - Red Hats, Accessories - SUZAN20177 | The RealReal The real real has amazing turban treasures as well as 1st Dibs Avant Garde Metallic Snakeskin Turban c 1960 For Sale at 1stDibs
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? YES! There is a very big blurred line. My wardrobe is layered and cultured and vast, more is more. I take the same approach to designing, it really feels like pulling together a perfect outfit sometimes.
Who is your star crush? Mick Jagger
What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest when you see others do it? Go minimal, keeps things white on white. Some people are afraid to go bold, I think I would trapped if went too stark and clean. It would feel institutional for me. That being said, I have so much appreciation for it and respect the space when I am in its presence.
What design book do you find yourself going back to again and again? I have a holy trinity: Pierce and Ward “A Tale of Interiors,” Billy Baldwin Decorates, Haute Bohemians.
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? Living Art
A Few Favorites
Movie: Splendor in the Grass
Book: I love biographies so much, Marianne Faithfull’s “Memories, Dreams, Reflections,” I think I read it 3 or 4 times, I might go grab it an give it a re-read when I finish the book I am on right now. Lastly, I find it a collection of books or a library, but The Bible.
Scent: Patchouli Ardent by Gruelain
The fabric you always come back to: Scalamandre Le Tigre, it proves my theory that animal print is a neutral, it goes with everything and elevates it.
Dream project: Something very Rock and Roll and in New York City
Meal: Escargot and French fries from Chez Fon Fon
Drink: Champagne
Hotel: It was in Venice…. We went 2 years ago, I cannot for the life of me remember the name but it was absolutely magical! So much patina and crust and beauty. I sat on the terrace drinking wine watching the boats roll by. An absolute dream. When I figure out where I stayed I am going back!
Travel Destination: The Greek Isles with a long pit stop in Paris. Something to arouse all my senses!
Artist: Picasso, it would be dream to own a piece.
A cause near and dear to me: Human Trafficking, they are doing great things at the Tim Tebow foundation.
Thing to collect obsessively: Nautalis Shells, ceramic busts I find on etsy.
Era in the history of design: 1960’s-1970’s
Museum: The Moderne Museet in Stockholm, Sweden
Benjamin Moore Paint Color: Chrome Green, it has such life and energy, also, French Canvas, absolute best creamy white
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: Gwyneth Paltrow, I am a huge gooper and Kerry Piere,
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? Both! We have a Jack and a Sophie, they are our babies.
