About Me

A magazine maven, a fashionista, an over-the-top trendsetter-there are many ways to describe Mary MacDonald, but when it comes to her interior design, she zeroes in: "If David Hicks and Nancy Lancaster were married-that's my style." She is drawn to Hicks for his mix of contemporary pieces with eighteenth-century antiques, and to Lancaster for her eccentricity. "I have streaks of eccentricity in me," says MacDonald, "But it's hard to get clients to go for a grand gesture like huge urns with topiaries over the door."

Her days spent in the fashion industry-as a hat designer at the now defunct but renowned Madeleine Gallay-are apparent when MacDonald walks into a room, stylish and perfectly put together. Her motto when it comes to decorating or dressing: Do whatever looks good. "Beauty hurts," she declares. "I don't care what it feels like. Put the heels on, you look better. Any old Manolo Blahnik will do."

It's no surprise that MacDonald's favorite design era is the 1950s. "I just love Dior's New Look and the scale of ladylike furniture," she says, mentioning Dorothy Draper in the next breath. Of course Paris is MacDonald's favorite city, because "everyone there has an intrinsic sense of style. Even the woman who works at the market has a gorgeous scarf tied around her neck."

Mary McDonald Interiors
1548 North Kings Road
Los Angeles, CA 90069
310-246-1307
no website

Member Since

Feb 22, 2006

Sites

• Elements of Living