According to Penny Drue Baird, who divides her time between New York and Paris, “no dramatic trends have appeared recently, like 1940s French or Art Déco style, or the gray–flannel–and–Formica modern look of the 1970s.” Nevertheless, she says, design has evolved in fortuitous ways over the past decade. “It’s become simpler, cleaner and less encumbered.” Baird, who often collaborates with artists to create custom pieces, helps clients create refined, worldly interiors punctuated by bold gestures, such as a glass floor for a dining room that provides a view of the wine cellar. Although she favors a traditional style with French influences, she acknowledges that her clients’ needs are paramount (it’s just not true, she says, that designers “are overbearing and will impose their desires on the client”).

For those who take decorating into their own hands, Baird warns against the disastrous consequences of “buying things without measuring them,” adding that “people try to replicate designers’ ideas or wishes but don’t have the expertise to do so, resulting in a look or purchase that’s not quite right.” Which isn’t to say that homage can’t work when it’s in the right hands. Baird recently created a room with tooled–leather walls in a Palm Beach home. The inspiration? A room in the Château de Cheverny in the Loire. “It greatly impacted styling in France,” she says. Not to mention in Florida.

Penny Drue Baird

212-288-3600

33-1-4548-1365