Where a Décor Expert Shops for Her Apartment
Domino’s Kate Berry shares her favorite luxury candles, coffee-table books, and more.
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It’s not surprising that Kate Berry approaches style the same way she does home décor. The chief creative officer at Domino, contributing editor at Saveur, and creative consultant believes good taste is cohesive, effortless, and “doing what’s comfortable,” she explains. “When people are trying too hard, you can tell because it’s not cohesive. It’s all over the place and it doesn’t feel right.”
With an eye for design, she recognizes the importance of a brick-and-mortar store. Sometimes things are “styled in a way where there’s no life to it, but when it’s styled in a store, you can really see it.” When she can shop in person, she loves antiques stores, estate sales, and specialty boutiques abroad. Her recent travels led her to the vintage store Single Double in Honolulu’s Chinatown.
While she gets most of her inspiration from browsing, one of her favorite things to do is pick up a book. For every project she has, she’ll spend time researching and buying books. If you were to visit her immaculately decorated home, you’d find Jean-Michel Frank and La Vie de Clare V.: Paris Chic/L.A. Cool stacked on her coffee table.
Below, see where Berry got the pieces that made it into her curated wardrobe and home.
What’s the last thing you bought?
I just turned 50 and treated myself to a few splurges: A Schiaparelli skirt, Elsa Peretti earrings and rings, and a HIE Hawaiian heirloom bangle with my daughter’s name engraved on it.
Where did you get the inanimate object that brings you the most joy?
My candy dishes from Lobmeyer. The girls from Martha Stewart Weddings shot our wedding, and the stylist came to prop things out and style them. I was doing this big dessert bar, and the stylist said it would be cute to have little chocolate quail eggs in these dishes. We ended up having tiny nests and some of those modern pieces. I loved them so much that I bought them for myself. It brings me back to the memories of our wedding. I have one on my coffee table, and we always have candy in it from BonBon on the Lower East Side. I get all the different sour candies and jelly beans, and they look so pretty in the crystal.
Where did you get your nightstand?
My nightstand is from Kartel. It’s the Ettore Sottsass stool. I have an Astier de Villate dish that holds a sculpture made by my daughter, Mary MacGill Tahitian pearl earrings, Costa Brazil Sol Body Oil, and the Santal Gray candle and 11:11 Oil from my friend’s brand Lake & Skye.
Lake & Skye Santal Gray Candle
Flamingo Estate Roma Heirloom Tomato Candle
Where did you get your favorite piece of clothing?
I got my Dries Van Noten x LaCroix skirt from a store in San Francisco called MAC. They had that skirt from the runway, and no one was really wearing things like that out because of the pandemic, plus it was 50 percent off. I wear it with sweaters, T-shirts, button-ups. I can dress it down or up. I’ve worn it to the ballet and out on the street with my Vans. It’s beautiful.
Where did you get your signature scent?
It’s Poivre Samarcande from Hermès. I’ve been wearing it since it came out around 2004 or 2006. I’ve had other scents, but I never veer away from this one. When it was first introduced, I had never smelled anything like it. It smelled so natural, peppery, and woodsy but still fresh. There’s a little vetiver in it. It’s also very unisex. I don’t even smell it anymore, but people do smell it on me and always comment on it.
I got it in a box of four scents like spicy rose, wood amber, rose, and vetiver, and it came in this pretty packaging. I love Hermès lipsticks too. I have every color; they’re refillable and the packaging is so nice. I keep them on one of my Kartell tables.
Where did you get the item you wear the most?
Harvesty Circus culotte pants from New High Mart in L.A. They’re so cute. I wear them all the time. I wear them with flats or platforms. They’re so exaggerated and voluminous. I wear a lot of clothes with volume, and I love being comfortable.
Where did you get the item that gets complimented the most?
My Madras bag from Prada. Every time I wear it, I get compliments. A lot of friends who are interior designers are inspired by it. I just stow my wallet, keys, glasses, and Hermès matte lipstick in the perfect orangey red.
Hermès Rouge Hermes Matte Lipstick
Where did you get the item you splurged on the most?
My travertine dining table from 1stDibs. It was a pandemic purchase. I like to cook and host people in my home, so it was an appropriate splurge for me. It fits around eight to ten people. It’s big, heavy, and hard to move. When the delivery guys dropped it off, they couldn’t bring it in the elevator, and I was so upset, but we ended up taking it out of the box and it worked.
Where do you get your favorite gifts to give?
Elsa Peretti. I love a little leather box. I keep one on my shelf and put my jewelry in it, or I take it with me when I travel. It’s a fun gift that I gave to a bunch of my friends. They also have this little bean lighter that’s cute as well. I was introduced to Elsa Peretti by one of my friends. I used to do flowers in San Francisco, and one of my clients would give me Peretti vases and cups. I ended up collecting them on live auction and 1stDibs. Pineider is also good. It has stationery and leather goods from Italy. I have a ton of its stationery, and I recently got a friend a leather-bound notebook with their initials on it.