Rebekah Zaveloff
photo by Marta Xochilt Perez
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? Seville, because I can pop down to Morocco whenever I want!
What are three words to describe your style? Vintage, Modern, Boho
Tell us about your childhood bedroom. Oy! Think modernized Laura Ashley — gray and pink floral. It was the 1980s and there was a very preppy influence where I grew up in Bexley, a small suburb in Columbus, Ohio.
What's the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? Two Adrian Pearsall sofas I bought from a movie set warehouse sale — I used to be a buyer for a set decorator for films in Chicago, and he bought them for a set but never used them. We've had them for 30 years and upholstered them a bunch of times. They're the gondola style with boomerang legs. They now live in our renovated barn.
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be? My dear friend Shanti Crawford, who owns Indigo Ochre based in Brooklyn — she works under the radar and will probably kill me for mentioning her! Otherwise, Frédéric Méchiche. I love both of their work for similar reasons: it's highly personal and doesn't feel over-decorated. It's like someone who is really well-traveled with fabulous taste keeps bringing things they love into their home and making room for whatever piece it might be.
No room is complete without... Art (and books, and music).
People think of me as stubborn, but I am really willful — and full of conviction, even when I'm wrong. Ha!
Things you omit from...
A flower arrangement: Filler foliage. I prefer one or three types of flowers in an arrangement — minimal and restrained.
An hors d'oeuvre platter: Bacon-wrapped anything.
A bar cabinet: Anything with artificial flavoring.
A song for...
Dinner at home: Aquarium Drunkard
Working at your desk: Ahmad Jamal or Art Tatum
Going for a run: The Strokes
Biggest vice? Gratuitous use of the word "fuck."
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? If I were on an Ambien high, I'd be sleeping like the dead — how about an edible? Ha! Probably some kind of wellness tech like a red light therapy mask or a lymphatic drainage gua sha gadget. Being peri-menopausal is no joke.
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility? Not really — kind of? I pretty much live in linen caftans in warm weather and jeans and black cashmere sweaters in cold weather. Both reflect my love of natural, high-quality materials and comfort above all else, but I buy everything in multiples so I don't have to think about getting dressed in the morning. I have a uniform, and I always wear my hair the same way. I hate putting together outfits. I'd rather find a dress and throw it on. Whereas my interiors are definitely curated and assembled more like an outfit, where I agonize over the details. I do not have the patience for that in clothes.
Who is your star crush? Timothy Olyphant.
What is something you would never do on a project, but don't detest when you see others do it? Cornice pelmets or valances that match the drapery. I just prefer simple linen panels and drapery rods. It makes me sad for the windows — like they're being forced to wear a corset or a dress from Bridgerton.
What design book do you find yourself going back to again and again? Haute Bohemians. And for posterity, I'd love my work to be known for making spaces that make people feel something — welcome, cozy, delighted, comfortable, inspired.
A Few Farorites
Movie: This is such a hard one — I studied film and have tons of favorites. Depending on the genre: Mulholland Drive, Gothic, and A Room with a View.
Book: Also so hard! A Wrinkle in Time as a kid; American Gods as an adult.
Scent: Maison Louis Marie Bois de Balincourt
Fabric you always come back to: Schumacher Sierra in Indigo — it works with anything, and I love an indigo that's almost black.
Dream project: Amazingly, I'm working on my dream project right now — a home on the water in Miami's Coconut Grove, and the best collaboration of my career with architect Theresa Pangelinan from Northworks.
Meal: Uni and oysters
Drink: Wine
Hotel: Soho House Mexico City
Travel destination: Morocco
Artist: Cy Twombly
A cause near and dear to me: Children's mental health
Thing to collect obsessively: Mini vintage lamps
Era in the history of design: The 1920s
Museum: Fondation Maeght in St. Paul de Vence
Paint color: Benjamin Moore Athena
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: I have two! @christianelemieux (her feed is so beautiful and moody, it always stops me mid-scroll) and @stash_bham (she’s hilarious). Plus, a bunch of other accounts that make me burst out laughing about menopause or raising a teenager.
Dogs, cats, or no pets? Pepper our dog and Boots our barn cat, whom my husband rescued. Love them to pieces. But our first baby was our golden retriever, Mr. Darley.
