Bunny Williams makes everything around her beautiful.
From the plush gardens to the stunning interior of her 18th-century manor house in Northwestern Connecticut, she is meticulous with every detail.
“Set up a room to be able to see the view,” said Williams, who was the featured speaker at the On Dec presentation and luncheon Thursday sponsored by the Women’s Committee at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Oakland’s Carnegie Music Hall and Music Hall Foyer. “Connect the inside to the outside. Take on a challenge. Have confidence — and most of all have fun.”
Williams certainly had the 340 guests entertained. During her 60-minute presentation, she shared her story of studying interior design at a junior college in Boston, Mass., and her first job working for an antique shop in Charlottesville, Va., where she grew up.
She had a question-and-answer session in the newly renovated Carnegie Music Hall, where she gave those in attendance a glimpse into her latest book, “Life in the Garden.” A slideshow of projects she’s worked on showed her versatility and gave some insight into the book, which was available for purchase and signing.
“I love gardening and flowers, and I am always looking for inspiration,” said guest Anne Gailliot of Squirrel Hill, who had a book signed. “And to learn from some with a sense of humor makes the experience even more entertaining and enjoyable.”
The lunch tables featured decorative table centerpieces designed by Fox and the Fleur of Aspinwall.
The gathering is the Women’s Committee’s signature event, said Margaret Izzo of Mt. Lebanon, one of the co-chairs.
“We’ve brought in some of the biggest names in the decorative arts,” Izzo said. “We are honored to have Bunny.”
This is the fourth year of the event for the Women’s Committee, which promotes the cultural and educational value of the Carnegie Museum of Art. The committee has funded the purchase of art, contributed to the museum’s infrastructure and gallery renovations and participated as a major donor to museum endowment and capital campaigns.
Williams was recommended by last year’s featured speaker India Hicks. A goddaughter of King Charles III, Hicks has designed for home collections and hotels, modeled for Ralph Lauren, authored five books and served as an on-air personality for the BBC and Bravo.
Williams is the author of eight design books. She launched her own firm in 1988, Williams Interior Design. The company was renamed Williams Lawrence in 2023, under the leadership of Williams and business partner Elizabeth Lawrence.
Williams started a furniture company because she couldn’t find tables.
“I believe every chair needs a table nearby … to put a drink on,” she said.
There are plenty of tables in her Home Collection furniture company, which also sells lighting and accessories and antique and vintage finds. It debuted in 2008. She has a showroom in Manhattan.
Williams said she loves being in New York City and also enjoys her time in Connecticut, where she spends a lot of time designing, gardening and now painting. She’s always creating, she said, while showing images of projects she’s worked on all over the U.S.
She said she always asks clients what they want and what is important to them. She guides them when deciding to decorate a room or plant a garden before making any decisions: “Consider where you are,” she said.
“Are you in New York or Colorado?” Williams asked. “Are you in an apartment or a beach house? What is the architecture, and how do you want to live in this space?”
The answers to those questions can help determine what fits in that space. Think of how light enters a home and which colors look best in various parts of the house.
Combine different looks in one room to make it timeless by mixing vintage with modern. Find unusual things to fit into a space. Incorporate a puzzle table because it will be a place that will bring people together. Combine textures. Mix different scales of patterns.
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Do one room at a time and do it well.
She said she loves the combination of a modern table with French chairs. Try a black table with white chairs. Try a piece of contemporary art with antiques. If you want a pretty rug in a room choose the rug first, she said. Don’t be afraid to “use” your living room.
She said sometimes when she’s in her studio, she doesn’t work. She just enjoys looking outside at the beauty of nature.
Williams’ property has a parterre garden, a garden created on a flat piece of land with symmetrical patterns, a year-round conservatory, extensive vegetable garden, orchard, woodlands, an aviary with exotic fowl, and a rustic poolside Greek Revival–style folly, which is a decorative structure.
She said she loves picking flowers from her garden to have fresh blooms in her home and incorporating vegetables into meals.
“I encourage people who want to have a garden to decide what is the most important thing they want to do with the garden,” she said. “It’s also good for them to understand their climate and have a sense of design before you plant anything.
“It’s like making a big salad. Let your instincts guide you.
“I hope they walk away with some ideas of what they can do at home or in their gardens,” she said. “I hope they invite people to their homes and entertain. I told them they are all welcome to visit Connecticut anytime.“