Horchow Catalog Winter 2011-2012

Pieces by Tara Shaw Maison Collection
Written by Horchow Publications

Style Maker Tara Shaw – Horchow Catalog

Tara Shaw experienced constant adventure as a child. A trip to the market with her grandmother would quickly turn into a quest. Together, they were shopping mavens on the hunt for beautiful things. This led Shaw into the business of selling European antiques to the design trade, and realizing these one-of-a-kind treasures were disappearing, starting her own European furniture reproduction line honoring authentic finishes and hand carving.

“Tara Shaw Maison is a gumbo — my own recipe mixing Swedish, Italian, French and Belgian styles.”

HORCHOW: How has living in New Orleans impacted your work?

TARA SHAW: I would not have begun importing antiques if not for New Orleans. I grew up in a midcentury-modern home full of blond wood, but when I moved here 20 years ago, I bought a 140-year-old Victorian and needed to furnish it. I fell in love with the patine of old wood then, but I din’t want to buy randomly; I wanted to buy purposefully — that was the launch of the Maison line. The reinvention of the city after Katrina – – the beautiful combinations of old and new, historic buildings and contemporary structures, timeless yet current — inspires me.

HORCHOW: If you could live anywhere else, where would you be?

TARA SHAW: Two places: Paris for the energy, there’s nothing like it, I just explode creatively! And Lucca, Italy, for the relate lifestyle; we ride bicycles down the cobblestone streets to markets and antique fairs.

HORCHOW: What inspired your furniture collection?

TARA SHAW: “Guerrilla antiquing” for 15 years in Europe. It was so difficult, finding one-of-a-kind items and knowing only one person could buy it and enjoy it. I couldn’t find these finishes and styles in a reproduction line – that inspire me to create the pieces I wanted.

HORCHOW: Where do you find your inspiration in the interior design work?

TARA SHAW: John Saladino, Vincent Wolfe — my goodness! Hats off! And Elise Newsome, who started Southern Accebts and then Veranda magazine; I’m always inspired by women who do great things.

HORCHOW: As an interior designer, what are your go-to’s?

TARA SHAW: For fabric, dear; I used their acanthus print in gray and cream for a shophouse bedroom. For paint, Benjamin Moore #925, an ivory that works with whites or colors; for high gloss, “Possibly Pink from Fine Paints of Europe. For wallpaper, I just launched my own “Grisailles”, based on the grisailles panels in Tara Shaw Maison.

HORCHOW: Which design era is most inspiring to you?

TARA SHAW: Louis XVI of France and King Gustav II in Sweden. Louis was the father of the straight leg, and both are known for clean lines, pale painted finishes gilded to perfection.

HORCHOW: How do you a color to a room decorated with your furniture?

TARA SHAW: The easiest way is with pillows or other accents. When I did the House of Windsor (a Los Angeles showhouse in Summer 2011) I used antique orange velvet and pale pink. For some new designs, I’m working with a soft pink Belgian linen an azure Belgian velvet.

HORCHOW: Give us a snapshot tour of your home.

TARA SHAW: My current home is French new classical. It has the look of St. Germain-des-Pres with a flat facade of hand-laid stucco that makes you wonder what’s behind it, and floor-to-ceiling doors and windows across the back. I purchase the iron scrollwork from a hotel in Marseilles.

The dining table is an oval directoire with a gilded base and faux-marble top. It can be two demilunes, or a round, or full-length oval.

The bedroom has a neutral palette, the bedding is tucked, and the table has a pile of books (from cooking to design to the Steve Jobs biography_ and a great reading lamp. The bed is queen-size and hols me, my husband, and our two dogs!

The living room coffee table has a stone top so you can put your feet on it, or a beverage without a coaster. There’s a cachepot with white flowers, and a leather box to hide all the TV controls.