Anyone who has ever stumbled across a viral unboxing video online knows how addictive they can be, but interior designer Jan Showers’ client experienced the allure in real life. “I was out running around, and I decided to pop into her shop,” the homeowner recalls. Showers had just received a substantial shipment of decor from Paris to her Dallas showroom when she first met the client, who then lived in Texas but had her eye on a new house in Scottsdale. A fan of Showers’ work, she asked if the designer would come see the prospective home in person and sign off on the vision before she made the purchase. But she indulged in a shopping spree first, scooping up items from the impressive parcel. “I loved everything that had come in, so that gave Jan the blueprint on what direction to take the house,” she continues. The moment showed Showers exactly how in sync their tastes were, and she agreed to fly to Arizona for a visit.
When she first laid eyes on the new construction, Showers was impressed by the flow of the house built by JM Wall Development and the manicured grounds by Mitschele’s Landscape. But to adapt the space to the new owner and make it feel like a curated family home, she and her team, which included designers Zara Taitt and Alex Halbrooks as well as Christiansen Builders, had to layer on warmth and character. “It needed color. It was all white,” Showers recalls. The goal was to soften the existing architectural elements and embellish the rooms with new lighting, accents and furnishings, taking cues from Île-de-France aesthetics with lavish textiles and sparkling vintage glass.
The first priority was to bring life to the walls with color, starting with an enveloping verdigris hue in the entry. “It’s one of my very favorite colors, period,” Showers notes. Though her client was initially hesitant, she now “absolutely loves it,” the designer says. “I think the palette really helps change the way the house presents itself, because all white wasn’t correct for what she was doing, especially with her love of antiques.”
Elevated with abstract artworks and a vintage mirror, the boldly hued foyer sets an opulent tone while emphasizing direct sight lines to the pool and lush greenery in the back. “I always consider the outdoors when I’m doing interiors, because it influences the colors,” Showers says. “Light has everything to do with it—that’s why so many wonderful painters were drawn to Paris during the Impressionist period.” An antique fluted chandelier and rosy vintage lamp bedazzle the view, two of the many glass pieces throughout the home. “The client loves glass, and I love mixing it with ceramics,” Showers shares. Cloaked in the same blue-green shade, the adjacent dining room is warmed by a collection of amber accents, including glass and ceramic vases and a candelabra chandelier.
Steeping the rooms in coziness was key and achieved using glowing tones, brass finishes and organic elements. The soaring vaulted ceilings of the primary bedroom and great room presented a particular challenge; to ensure a sense of intimacy, Showers sheathed both in rich color. For the primary suite, she selected a muted, earthy blue to infuse serenity, while in the great room, the walls and draperies wear a warm camel hue. “It’s like being wrapped in a vicuña coat,” Showers says of the latter.
The great room’s expansive windows and doors reveal the outdoor living areas, which the owners often use when entertaining. “We open up the house to the back patio, so it’s a walk-in and walk-out from the family room,” the homeowner says. “It’s a really fabulous flow.” Outside, new pieces are mixed with old to create a timeless balance. Rattan chairs exude an airy elegance next to formal antique tables, and chaise lounges lining the pool evoke a grand hotel along the Côte d’Azur. Consider it Scottsdale’s answer to Saint-Tropez—glass of pastis optional.
Wrapped in a Phillip Jeffries wallcovering, the primary bedroom features a Jan Showers for Kravet pattern on the chaise and drapery. A Hans-Agne Jakobsson floor lamp and Biedermeier commode complete the corner.
Tour The Home:
Benjamin Moore’s Wythe Blue clads the entryway, bejeweled by a circa-1970s Murano-glass Venini chandelier.
A 1960s French chandelier crowns the breakfast nook, where a Blenko Glass Co. vase rests atop a table joined by chairs re-covered in a Schumacher weave.
In the living room, sofas, ottomans and a coffee table from the Jan Showers Collection form a cozy seating area. Midcentury accents, like the Marbro Lamp Company Murano-glass table lamp by Seguso and the circular Italian mahogany side table, add old-world charm.
The dining room is all aglow in amber glass, including a Jan Showers Collection Miller chandelier. Chairs from Showers’ collection, a vintage chinoiserie mirror and an Oushak rug add to the glamour.
A circa-1940 French walnut buffet with turquoise tile door insets accents the dining room. Stephen Gerould lamps flank a painting by Michael Frank Blair from Conduit Gallery.
In the Benjamin Moore Templeton Gray-painted office, a rare original watercolor by De Coene Frères illustrates the matching vintage mahogany desk and chair seated in front of it. A 19th-century Napoleon III globe-and-compass light adds to the room’s inimitable allure, joined by a 1950s Italian bar cart by Cesare Lacca.
Wrapped in a Phillip Jeffries wallcovering, the primary bedroom features a Jan Showers for Kravet pattern on the chaise and drapery. A Hans-Agne Jakobsson floor lamp and Biedermeier commode complete the corner.
In the owners’ bathroom, a 1950s Murano-glass chandelier is suspended above the sleek tub for a touch of drama. Warmth underfoot comes from the Turkish Oushak rug.
A Jan Showers Collection Sophia chandelier illuminates the primary bedroom, poised above a bed in George Spencer Designs faux suede. Behind the seating area’s 1940s coffee table is a Celia Rogge piece.
Anchoring the spacious covered patio are a sofa and lounge chairs by Janus et Cie. They are joined by vintage Louis XVI-inspired gilt-and-green-metal tables with mirrored tops.
Janus et Cie chaise lounges line the resort-like pool. Rose Tarlow Melrose House bolster pillows further call to the Mediterranean.