Prior to being cognizant of who Tom Scheerer was, I was pulling images of Tom Scheerer interiors from shelter magazines to inhabit my Inspiration boards and notebooks (this was way before Pinterest was born).
"Part of the alchemy is in the dynamic way that Scheerer combines classicism, old-fashioned decorating, and a clean, modernist sensibility, much as David Hicks and Billy Baldwin did in their days. Hicks and Baldwin are two of Scheerer's favorite forebears in the trade, and he's always maintained that their frank, generous books (including Billy Baldwin Decorates) taught him most of what he knows about decorating. Hicks gave him the notion that boldness can coexist with appropriateness. Baldwin made it clear that an unpretentious ease looks good on even the fanciest clients."
Scheerer's clients are affluent however one of the things I admire most about him is his ability to decorate their homes in a very polished, yet unpretentious manner. A defining moment of his career was when the home he bought in Charleston, South Carolina was photographed for House & Garden in 1997. He tastefully combined traditional and modern elements, as Scheerer gracefully does, which looked unlike anything that was being published at that time. Most people would have bought that very same house and decorated it entirely being authentic to that period. But thankfully, Tom Scheerer isn't most people! This combination of old-fashioned style with more casual, modern elements can be explained when you look to Scheerer's past. His boarding school and country club roots blended with the laid-back weekends Scheerer spent at his family's beach home are both ever present in the interiors he creates.
I love this line from the Introduction to his book describing Scheerer as "self-deprecating with aristocratic manners and a surprising grasp of street slang."
Scheerer talks about how a collection of hats grew organically under the stairs at his grandparents East Hampton's beach home, purchased in 1945, in which his family still owns today. This "seat-of-the-pants way of evoking freshness and happiness in a less than perfect situation", is something that he has carried with him and incorporated into many of the homes he has decorated over the years.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and learning more about one of my all time Design Crushes! I knew that "hats" were a bit of a signature of Scheerer's but to learn where that came from for him personally and to think about how he either consciously or unconsciously adds that detail in his designs was really interesting for me. And I am stoked to have a big, beautiful coffee table book full of his amazing interiors at my fingertips to look to next time I need a little design inspiration.
Want to pre-order a copy of his book? Email sidney@eclectic-idg.com.
Eclectic Interior Design Group is a full-service design firm based in Charleston, South Carolina working on both residential and commercial spaces. Please email sidney@eclectic-idg.comfor additional information.
Eclectic is a retail shop/design studio located in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina selling an array of vintage pieces, repurposed items, new products and locally made art with a fresh Modern meets Coastal aesthetic.
