The Buzz on Douglas Durkin

By Buzz Kaplan, Decorati Contributing Antiques Editor and author of The Buzz on Antiques, and Executive Director of Decorati manufacturer C. Mariani Antiques, Restoration & Custom in San Francisco. (Image above by Durston Saylor)

My “day job” is as Executive Director of C. Mariani Antiques in San Francisco. In that capacity, I’m lucky enough to interact with some of the country’s highest end interior designers.

During this recession, most of my designer clients have seen their businesses shrink dramatically and in some sad cases, just plain flat-line. Most have laid off staff, cut salaries and been forced to hunker down while they wait out this “economic nuclear winter.”

Because of this, most designers can no longer pick and choose projects or require a minimum budget like they once could. Now, most take new work wherever they can get it. However, there is a small handful of designers who have seemed to escape this recession unscathed, unaffected and unperturbed.

One of these designers is Douglas Durkin, principal of Douglas Durkin Design, San Francisco.

I’ve known Douglas for many years and so our interview was easy, remarkably frank and quite revealing as to his success and style.

Buzz: How has your firm grown and prospered in a recession that has brought many design firms to their knees?

Well, we were quite fortunate in that we had a large number of very large scale and long term projects that were in the pipeline and that didn’t get cancelled when the economic crisis hit. Also, we have been incredibly blessed with a long term and extremely loyal clientele that has been keeping us busy with multiple projects. Lastly, our clients are geographically very spread out across the country and so we’ve avoided having all of our eggs in one location basket, so to speak.

Buzz: Do you feel you’ve created an aesthetic niche for yourself amongst the modernists in the business?

Funny enough I don’t view our work that way at all. We still work in so many different styles that reflect the projects’ architecture, the environment, and the client’s tastes. With that said, the trend has definitely been towards a more contemporary aesthetic for our clients, plus we’re working with so many contemporary art collectors, and so the aesthetics really are in service to that. I am still passionate about art and design from the past, and I live in a very traditional environment in San Francisco, though much of what we do is considered contemporary.

Buzz: Then is it fair to say that your contemporary jobs far out number your traditional ones?

It definitely seems to be the trend, though we still have projects that are traditional in nature. And the contemporary work really keeps us on our toes as you can’t rely on the marketplace for your answers if you are striving for unique space. I have always said it’s easier to create a unique traditional room than a unique contemporary one. Our contemporary projects are rendered in a completely custom way as we design most of the furnishings for them.

Buzz: I have a fun idea: let me throw out some random concepts and you give me the first word that comes to mind. Um, let’s start with the letter “S” just to show how random and meaningless some of my questions are.

BK: Silk Flowers

DD: Inexcusable

BK: Slipcovers

DD: Summer

BK: Silver cups

DD: Legacy

BK: Shinoiserie

DD: That’s doesn’t start with an S.

BK: Good point. I’m having low blood sugar, why don’t you name something that starts with “S”?

DD: Silk, which I Iove if used sparingly and appropriately

BK: Ok, now my turn. But I’m over this S stuff. How about words that start with “Over”? Like, Oversized Furniture?

DD: Tricky

BK: Oversized clients.

DD: No Comment

Side note from Buzz: I have found oversized clients to be just as tricky as oversized furniture).

BK: Over-decorated homes

DD: Sad

BK: Over the Rainbow:

DD: Judy Garland?

BK: Huh, interesting. Ok, then…Judy Garland! (my answer to this one would have also been “Sad” but I’m not the one being interviewed)

DD: I don’t know what she has to do with design.

BK: Neither do I but what comes to mind for you?

DD: Uh, there’s a character based on her in Valley of the Dolls?

BK: Really? Huh. Which one? Neely O’Hara?? I’m sure it’s her—the Patty Duke character.

DD: No response.

BK: Ok, Twentieth century furniture vs. 18th century furniture

DD: Equally relevant

BK: Pairs of things versus the “everything in three’s” concept

DD: Not sure about that concept

BK: Tassels

DD: Overly and improperly used

BK: Would that be in homes or burlesque?

DD: Please tell me you’re kidding.

Buzz: Could you talk about some unexpected accessories that you like to use?

I absolutely LOVE ceramics, whether old or new, pristine or used and showing some wear. I think they show the hand of the artist, they are about form and often function, and the glazes can be otherworldly. I think they mix well in both contemporary and traditional settings and are usually curious to the eye, whether very simple or complex. I also love ancient objects in stone, particularly Egyptian alabaster and Bactrian pieces.

Aside from Buzz: Bactrian? I thought that could be cured with antibiotics. But I just Googled it and it refers to an ancient civilization (around 2500 BC and later) living in what is now Northern Afghanistan. The primitive marble and unusual totems and other objects created by the ancient culture are highly prized as art and accessories. Learn something new every day, huh?

Durkin continues: Objects in stone have such a clean, monolithic and often mysterious quality to them and can work very well in contemporary settings. I am pretty light on the idea of accessories for my projects, as I like to encourage my clients to fill their homes with objects that mean something to them, not just pretty things to dress up a table or their bookshelves. Happily, I work with a lot of real collectors, so not a problem here. Though when looking for accessories I am always drawn to simple forms and shapes.