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She's styled the homes of the rich and famous, and now interior design specialist Mary Gilliatt is ready to pass her expertise on to the public, in a series of practical workshops to be held in Dubai next week.
The British decorating maven, who has homes in New York, London and the south of France, was in town this week to present her unique design philosophy — or actually, her lack of one.
Having designed the homes of actor couple Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson and even lifestyle guru Martha Stewart, Gilliatt stands by one decorating ethic: comfort is a priority.
Confidence
"There are certain things that people lack confidence about," she said.
"It's interesting, I always think, that the two most important things in life — making a home and rearing children — are never taught. You're only expected to know them by some magic osmotic means. That's why I'm doing these workshops. We all lack confidence in doing our own houses, and there's so much choice. Whatever you choose has got to last, and it's not cheap. So it's very important that we all learn to gain confidence in our own judgement."
Celebrities
Although she started off as a hard-hitting journalist, interviewing Soviet leaders for The Times, Gilliatt quickly found her calling writing about design and then actually designing homes for clients.
She's spent the last few decades designing homes for celebrity clients, bringing her sparkling pragmatism into some very Hollywood lives. Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson's wedding, Gilliatt says, was a very romantic affair that could have been a logistical nightmare.
"All their friends — many of whom were celebrities, although I hate that word — were coming in on buses. Natasha insisted on all these friends arriving on buses. And these buses never appeared, so I was sent searching for them. I came across the two buses in a lane, and I've never seen so many hot, cross celebrity faces in my life. People like Woody Allen and Mia Farrow all looking very hot and bothered."
Gilliatt also designed Liam and Natasha's two homes in New York and Los Angeles. The biggest difficulty? Neither star actually owned any furniture.
"Liam was in Hollywood and didn't have anything except for a pine cupboard. But he was absolutely super — he has very good taste. I had to do both their places from scratch, and they were away filming, so I had to think very hard about what sort of things they would really like."
The key to designing the Neeson's home — like any of the homes Gilliatt does — was getting to know them. "I had endless talks with them before. I hate designers who just come in and say 'get rid of that'. You really have to learn about your client. You've got to have patience."
Gilliatt's patience was severely tested when she was asked to design a room in American lifestyle queen Martha Stewart's show home.
"Martha is very hard to work for. I did the master bedroom, but in her book, she said she'd done it. She's one of the richest women in America, she can easily afford to give credit where credit's due, but she cannot get herself to do it," says Gilliatt. "She's got great taste and style, she's a very pretty woman and she's got everything going for her — except generosity. Which is so sad!"
Budget
Not only is Gilliatt refreshingly candid, but she's also bursting with practical advice — even for those not on a Hollywood budget.
"It's much more fun to work with people who haven't got a lot of money to spend, because you get to be much more imaginative. When you haven't got money, you've got to be more individual. Like buying older pieces, making things yourself. For example you can get those camel rugs here for almost nothing and they make wonderful rugs. I've made them into window shades, throws. It's about looking at an item and thinking of a different use for it."
Colours
I met Gilliatt in a gigantic penthouse apartment overlooking the Palm and Dubai Marina where she was giving a talk to a select few ladies on everything from displaying Persian rugs to how to choose colours for your walls. (Her advice? Take a look in your wardrobe and you'll learn which colours you gravitate towards.) Despite our lavish surroundings, she confided that although filled with beautiful furniture and works of art, the show apartment was not a "home".
"It doesn't do to be too perfect. Perfect people are very boring, and perfect houses are boring. We all love it when someone makes a mistake — we feel more warm towards them. I think it's the same in rooms. A few mistakes here and there are absolutely allowed, and they're even nice. A room first of all must be very comfortable, and the most beautiful room in the world, if it isn't comfortable, is no good."
4 essentials for your home
- The most important thing is a really comfortable bed.
- Get a comfortable sofa you can lie down on, put your feet up and not worry about getting it dirty.
- Get a bedside table. People don't think about them, but you have a clock, magazines, books and a light.They need to be capacious.
- Have some really good side tables, because we all need dumping space. Your home needs to be practical, comfortable and comforting.
Gilliatt's seminars
The following will be held from 9.30am to 4.30pm at the Al Murooj Rotana Ballroom, Dubai.
March 9 : Making the most of your living room.
March 10: Divine dinner themes.
March 13: Making the most of your dining room.
March 16: Extravagant entertaining.
March 17: Making the most of your bedroom.
Don't miss it!
Tickets are priced Dh950 and are available from Boxoffice.me.com and selected outlets of Spinneys and Hallmark. Call 800-4669 for details.
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