Here Comes the Sun: John Barman

By Donna Sapolin

Interior designer John Barman and Woody Allen have something in common. Apart from a home base in Manhattan, a high level of creative intelligence, and the glowing admiration of others for their prodigious talents, each has an acute understanding of the challenges that face visionaries and a forward-looking perspective. In Woody Allen’s latest movie, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”, which Barman recently took in while waiting out the fierce rains afflicting his residential project in storm-ridden Florida, a female character with markedly conservative tastes makes a comment about the decorator of her Greenwich, Connecticut home. “She says something about him knowing when to hold back,” says Barman. “I thought to myself, Allen hit the nail on the head—in his unique way, through this character, he lets the viewer know that creative personalities, interior designers among them, are always in a battle against conservativism and always trying to loosen the grip of the past.”

If this has been a perennially thorny issue for Barman, he, like Allen, appears to have made great strides in the confrontation. By all signs, this is a designer who has mastered the delicate balance of rooting his design schemes in historical precedent while pushing the envelope forward to lend them an expressive edge that both reflects our times and expands their physical parameters. “You want people to feel comfortable but you don’t want to be held back,” says Barman. “The point is to develop enough trust with a client that they’ll let you push them a little and take them to a new level, not to a strange or weird place, but to one that is correct and beautiful and fun.”

“Louis XIVth hired people who pushed him and he listened and he then got a result that has lasted over 200 years. He didn’t get that because he held his creative people back.”

It’s hard to know just whose work will stand the test of time, but John Barman might well have something in common with the Sun King’s designers.

Barman’s design objective in the living room of this Hamptons home, used for gatherings of friends and family, was to maximize views of the water as well as the comfort quotient. He achieved this with a traditional scheme enlivened for contemporary living via a vivid red and yellow palette and anintriguing geometric composition.

Barman shaped a generous seating arrangement in front of the bay window with a deep curved sofa he designed and had produced by George Smith and a pair of vintage cane-backed chairs placed around a mahogany table with Asian-influenced legs. The sofa is upholstered in a rich embroidered fabric that adds both dimension and texture; the chairs’ rounded backs, Clarence House fabric, and caning contribute subtle touches of geometry that play off the sofa’s arcing shape. Stark’s thick wool carpet enhances the room’s elegant country atmosphere.

Ocean motifs predominate in the made-for–entertaining dining room; they connect the indoors to the spectacular waterside setting and punctuate traditional forms with whimsy. Shell-themed fabric covers the Holly Hunt chairs around the walnut dining table; fish swim over the wallpaper; and an antique coral chandelier that echoes the space’s other rosy tones casts a soft and romantic glow. The Holly Hunt sconce with its custom- colored back contributes additional warmth.

In keeping with traditional reading room design, Barman paneled the library’s walls in mahogany, lining one end in bookshelves. Library-style lamps on high illuminate shell accents and reading material while boosting ambient light levels. To a space that radiates an effusive warmth, the designer added touches of coolness that also elaborate on the ocean themes prevalent elsewhere in the home—blue fish-shaped lamp bases and Clarence House sea-life fabric on a George Smith sofa.

A pair of armchairs by the same maker join a 19th c. English chair purchased from Sotheby’s to complete the seating area. “We let the shelving provide visual interest on its on and chose to work the seating arrangement around the fireplace,” says Barman. A custom rug made in Portugal sports a riveting diamond pattern that brings the reddish tones of the wood and coral-hued pillows down to ground level.

Brilliantly colored linens in the bedroom and the bedside lamp continue the palette used in other rooms and flesh out the headboard’s subtle bamboo frame. The wall’s yellow grass cloth covering tones down the setting without dashing its warmth.

JOHN’S DECORATI FAVORITES
Chandelier by Donghia	Canopy Bed by Objet Insolite	Rug by Stark Carpet	Arm Chair by Mcguire
Bench by McGuire	Textile by Schumacher	Textile by Stark Fabric	Dining Table by Antoine Proulx
Side Table by Donghia	Throw by James Duncan Collections	Screen by Edward Ferrell - Lewis Mittman	Console by Skram Furniture Co.

Scroll down to read Decorati’s tête-à-tête with John Barman.

This house is quite sunny in spirit, isn’t it?

Yes, that’s exactly what the client and I were after. She says that when she walks into her house, it makes her smile. It’s an 1890s country home located in eastern Long Island on the bay that was totally renovated so it could be new and fresh and work for today. The concept here was to make the most of the views of the water, maintain a certain historicism in consideration of the age of the home, and inject an upbeat quality with crisp colors that play off the Hamptons’ beautiful, clear light. So, we created updated traditional settings with a contemporary point of view.

How do you feel about bold color; you used quite a bit of it in these rooms?

I like bright, popping accents in bold tones. My client’s primary residence is a beige apartment in Manhattan. For her second home, she wanted something happy and fun, nothing serious or dull. I introduced her to color—primarily vivid reds and yellows—and she was very enthusiastic about them.

Do you live with color?

Yes, I live with the same colors I grew up with and that my mother still has—white on the walls and black and red in the accents. I stick with these hues but over time I’ve changed the styles of the settings and the various ways in which I present the tones. Each of us has a personal set of colors to which we’re drawn and these are the ones I love. Because color is so personal, I never impose specific colors on anyone; I merely introduce them to ones that I feel they can accept.

The furniture in this house feels very, well, ‘at home’ in it—of a piece but also distinctive. How do you account for that?

Context is the basis of everything I do; it is what provides the concept of place. So I’m always determining ways to relate the interiors scheme to the broader context— there should be clear references to the structure and a sense of connection to it. I anchor my schemes in a deep understanding of historical styles and how they relate to each other and, therefore, in knowledge of how they can be flexed.

Each new style that arose evoked aspects of what came before; style has always been in a constant state of flux and evolution.

People constantly say they want things to last but they are ignoring the inevitable process of change. Styles do last but through a forward movement in the interpretations. Rigid adherence to a particular style is not the right way to go but neither is an “everything goes” approach—this is just a cover for not doing things correctly.

So how do you feel about eclecticism?

Eclectic is okay if one does it right. It’s the most difficult style to work in—it shouldn’t just be an excuse to mix everything you have together. If you’re bending the rules, it’s better to be aware that you’re doing it and have some comprehension of why and how.

What underlies your approach other than a keen sense of history and of how traditional styles can be successfully refreshed?

One has to know the client, have vision and confidence in oneself, and complete the job the way one sees it.

Talk to me about the role of inspiration in what you do.

Because I have this deep notion of things needing to change, I’m constantly allowing myself to be inspired— literally everyday. For example I visited the Greek islands last summer—the freshness of the light and colors provided a wealth of ideas.

Residence Photography by  Billy Cunningham.

Headshot Photography by  Jeff Fasano.

Selected Resources:
Breakfast Room:  Table is from Christie’s Auction House,  Chairs from R.E. Steele
Living room: Sofa is Custom thru John Barman Inc, Rug is from Stark, Chairs from R.E. Steele
Library: Sofa and chairs from George Smith, Fabric is Clarence House
Dining Room: Table and Chairs are Holly Hunt, Sconces are Dennis & Leen, Vintage light is from Donzella
Bedroom: Fabric is Brunschwig, Vintage lamp is from DLA