Tara McCauley
photo by Michael-Granacki
If you could have a second home anywhere, where would you live? Ready for that Paris pied-à-terre, any day now.
What are three words to describe your style?
Romantic
Eclectic
Confident
Tell us about your childhood bedroom? I was first allowed to ditch the pink dolls-at-a-tea-party wallpaper and redecorate my bedroom at age 14. That was the year Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette came out - a big year for millennial artsy girls everywhere. I was obsessed with Versailles and somehow convinced my parents to let me paint the walls marigold yellow with metallic gold baseboards and trim. Then I picked a coral paisley duvet and emerald green sheets with pheasant feathers printed on them. I stand by all those choices except for the gold paint.
What’s the first investment piece you ever bought for your house? I moved to my current apartment on the Upper East Side a bit over a year ago. Before I’d even finished unpacking (and buying important things like curtains so the neighbors can’t see me naked) I fell in love with a 96” tall concrete and resin floor lamp made by Misha Kahn and just had to get it. The title of the piece is “Noodlehead” and the cost to have it delivered alone was an investment - it weighs a ton. But it brings me so much joy every time I walk into the living room and see its green blobby shade nearly kissing the ceiling!
In the history of design, if you could hire any designer other than yourself, who would it be? The modern answer would be Renzo Mongiardino. The historical answer would be Charles Le Brun - I’d want the full Baroque fantasy.
No room is complete without something a bit funny or unexpected; something that makes a guest exclaim “Wait, you have to tell me more about this immediately…”
People think of me as _laidback and easygoing_, but I am really _a bit neurotic and always punctual._
Things you omit from:
A flower arrangement - Anything too fragrant gives me an instant headache - I’ve got terrible allergies.
An hors d’oeuvre platter - Anything that gives guests bad breath!
A bar cabinet - Anything sweet. I have never made a rum cocktail in my life.
A song for:
Dinner at home Madonna’s cover of “Fever”
Working at your desk “Thieves Like Us” by New Order
Going for a run - “Vroom Vroom” by Charli XCX
Biggest Vice? I can’t stop buying coats. They’re all very different from one another, and I am usually freezing! Here I am, already justifying my next purchase.
If you were on an Ambien high and internet shopping, what would you buy? A Gaultier cone bra.
Do your clothes reflect your design sensibility, if so, how? Absolutely - dressing brings me joy. When I was 17, I turned down Parsons and decided not to pursue fashion design after interning for a year in the fashion industry and realizing I wanted to preserve fashion as a pure source of pleasure, not a paycheck. I particularly love to wear vintage, which should come as no surprise if you’ve seen my interiors.
Who is your star crush? Peter O’Toole in How to Steal a Million. Dream banter partner.
What is the thing you would never do on a project, but don’t detest when you see others do it? I’ve never designed a room where all the furniture was upholstered in the same exact fabric, but I’ve seen that done well in the work of others.
What design book do you find yourself going back to again and again? I don’t go back to this book often, but it’s a book I recommend to any student of design: Anne Massey’s Interior Design Since 1900
For posterity, what would you like your work to be known for? I want to create interiors that make people feel comfortable and inspired to think outside the box. I love engaging with the past but I make a conscious effort not to resort entirely to sentimentality, without an eye toward the present. As a student of the Surrealists, I believe that surprising juxtapositions that disrupt expectations can spark fresh perspectives.
photo by Hanna-Grankvis
A Few Favorites
Movie: The Birdcage
Book: The Culture of Time and Space, 1880–1918. This book helped me to understand a lot of my favorite art on a much deeper level and is approached through the interdisciplinary lens I was trained to use at the school I attended, NYU Gallatin.
Scent: Boy Smells Hinoki Fantome candle
The fabric you always come back to: Moiré Silk
Dream project: A hospitality or retail project - something with a strong narrative I could really sink my teeth into.
Meal: Bigoli in salsa, a Venetian pasta specialty made with anchovy-onion sauce. I ate this three nights in a row when I visited Venice alone - it was the perfect thing to eat as a solo traveler because it’s a real breath killer.
Drink: Vodka martini with olives, but not dirty.
Hotel: The Carlyle - I’ve never stayed there, but I do find myself at Bemelman’s rather often.
Travel Destination: Rome
Artist: Today it’s Sargent, but ask me in a week and it will be someone new.
A cause near and dear to me: Not letting people trash talk New York
Thing to collect obsessively: 90s Todd Oldham
Era in the history of design: Rococo
Museum: The Met - I probably go there once a week.
Paint Color that always looks great: Polar Ice with %50 White Added - looks good on any ceiling
Favorite person to follow on Instagram: Miss Piggy
Dogs, Cats, or No Pets? I absolutely love other people’s dogs.
