Madeline Stuart

Designer's Site

I have magazines that date back to the early 80s, and I still browse through them for this reason: if you can find a room from 20+ years ago that doesn't look dated now, then you know the design stands the test of time. Kitchens especially, because granite countertops were rare then. How badly will granite date us, 20 years from now?

But anyway, I pay attention to interiors in older movies for the same reason. A room in a film made in 1972 that still looks up-to-date today? That would be a priceless discovery.

I bring this up because Stuart's rooms, current as they are, I think would have looked equally current decades ago. So if I were to make a personal top ten list of designers, she'd be in it.

I love these rooms for their extreme warmth, and use of color and pattern. There are Spanish Colonial and western ranch style homes, as well as more modern dwellings.

Be sure to click the Press link, because this is where the magazine articles are. And check out this interview video over at Western Interiors magazine, which tours a Santa Barbara ranch house.

Note to self: there's an arrangement of 5 pictures here, in a Beverly Hills Residence.