“ The most successful projects and the most successful clients are those that understand the importance of looking towards reference material that might not be readily accessible,” Spain says,“ so vintage books or even art shows. I think it’ s important from a creative aspect to be pulling from all aspects of society.”
Timeless Appeal
The philosophy of interior designer Jess Cooney and her Great Barringtonbased team is to keep the architectural elements of a house timeless with materials like natural stone, reclaimed wood, and plaster that will never fall out of trend.
“ If we are doing something trendy, it might be throw pillows or window treatments that can be changed out easier,” Cooney says.“ Right now, the trends lean toward maximalism and bigger punches of deep color saturation. Art deco is back a bit in elements of design, and grandma-chic is having a huge moment.”
Cooney describes grandma-chic as“ bringing back some of the things we saw
in the’ 60s and’ 70s: plaids, fabric-covered lampshades, mixes of patterns and furniture that we would have seen in our grandmothers’ houses but refreshed in a new way for this era.” Along those lines, Caligari Laverdiere says the materials being requested for custom upholstery work on sofas and chairs and custom draperies include velvets, mohairs, boucle, chenilles— materials with a tactile, natural feel.
“ Grandma chic” isn’ t a term Diana Sadighi with Custom Window Treatments in Pittsfield uses, although she’ s very familiar with the concept. She likes to describe it as“ LoveShack Fancy” for Gen Zers, or“ Laura Ashley” for Gen Xers. Whatever you call it, she says, clients are drawn to delicate florals, small prints, and pastels; more frills and layers; and moving away from hard edges, black and white color schemes, and crisp, clean lines. Stainless steel and black fixtures are being replaced by brass. Jewel tones also are in, Sadighi says. The approach also is richer and bolder, including big prints and large florals. Draperies are in, pooling on the floor, with a lot of beautiful fabric and
layering. The idea is to add color to a space with the benefit of helping to quiet a room. It also helps to retain warmth or coolness in a space, Sadighi adds.
At the end of the day, says Spain,“ the most timeless thing you can do is be yourself.”
“ If you want to do the glass box, white thing, and have something cold and stark, there’ s a time and place,” if it’ s what the homeowner likes, Spain says.“ And that’ s really cool. And I say lean in— lean into something that’ s postmodern, lean into something that could even feel off-putting to some people, because at the end of the day I think what we’ re realizing is that your home should be for you. So if that means you want to paint it a crazy color, or have a room where there’ s just one stainless steel chair in it, do it. The friend that doesn’ t like it doesn’ t have to come over for dinner.”
Staying Local
In the Berkshires, homeowners and designers are lucky to have“ a plethora of makers that are pretty incredible,” Spain envision design build amanda pascali sat mar 21 at 8pm better than ezra fri mar 27 at 7:30pm
Custom Millwork Energy Retrofits Net Zero Design / Build parsons dance sat apr 4 at 1pm & 7pm michael feinstein big band broadway featuring the carnegie hall ensemble fri may 1 at 8pm
413 296 0123 eastbranchstudio. com
14 & 20 Castle St., Great Barrington, MA • mahaiwe. org
64 // BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE Spring 2026