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Designer Jan Showers's New Book Is a Blueprint for Making Life at Home So Much More Glamorous

Photo credit: Stephen Karlisch
Photo credit: Stephen Karlisch

From Veranda

"Glamorous living never means glittery, baroque ostentation. It's about living with style and grace, creating environments for family and friends to be a part of your life while feeling their best."

Photo credit: Courtesy of Jan Showers
Photo credit: Courtesy of Jan Showers
Photo credit: Courtesy of Jan Showers
Photo credit: Courtesy of Jan Showers

To know Jan Showers is to know she wrote the book on glamorous living—from her impeccable personal style to her beautiful, polished interiors and fabulous Dallas showroom. Indeed, now she actually has written the book, her third, appropriately titled Glamorous Living, which will be published by Rizzoli on September 29.

Photo credit: Jef McNamara
Photo credit: Jef McNamara

Organized loosely by type of space with playful chapter names like "First Impressions" (entries), "Gracious Living" (more formal living rooms), "Dining at Home" (more formal dining rooms), "Easy Living" (sunrooms, bars, party closets, and the like), and "Dream Time" (bedrooms), Showers's third book reads like a grand tour of lessons on how to truly live well.

Photo credit: Stephen Karlisch
Photo credit: Stephen Karlisch
Photo credit: Stephen Karlisch
Photo credit: Stephen Karlisch

It's also peppered with design and styling advice from the designer ("bookshelves should be filled with books and a few objects, but always books and more books") and decorating truisms that offer a glimpse into Showers's unique approach: "Lighting a dining table is like lighting a stage" and "I don't believe in saving the best of anything for a special occassion" are two that stand out.

Importantly, Showers showcases quite a range of decorative styles in her book, from simple and contemporary to full-blown formal elegance, proving that glamorous living is not limited to a certain design preference or setting.

In fact, as fellow author India Hicks suggests in her lovely forward to Showers's book, glamorous living comes down to a certain attitude. In describing an event the style icon attended at Showers's own home, Hicks says, "My favorite was not the attention to detail over the guest list or the good lighting Jan provided (both utterly essential), but her spirited sense of fun."

Photo credit: Eric Piasecki / OTTO
Photo credit: Eric Piasecki / OTTO


Nowhere is that "spirited sense of fun" more evident than in two of the final chapters, in which Showers focuses on the personal side of design and decoration.

For example, in the chapter titled "A Room of One's Own," Showers showcases those spaces in a home where its inhabitant can truly escape. "Often it's not a room per se but a corner," says Showers of those once-overlooked places in a house that have perhaps taken on new importance with so many of us spending more time at home than ever before.

Photo credit: JEFFMCNAMARA
Photo credit: JEFFMCNAMARA

In these places, Showers writes, "it's best to surround oneself with special collections—not necessarily precious or valuable ones—but talismans of trips and experiences that evoke emotion and inspiration."

Photo credit: Jeff McNamara
Photo credit: Jeff McNamara

For Showers, that often involves filling a home with art—unusual art, at that. "I certainly don't limit myself to what can be displayed on the walls," Showers writes. "Art is, so often, about one's first instincts and singular point of view."

Photo credit: Lisa Petrole
Photo credit: Lisa Petrole

Of course, in Showers's world, glamorous living knows no bounds and certainly isn't restricted to interiors. As she writes in her preface, many of the most magical moments at home take place outside.

"Simple pleasures are the most glamorous. Cocktails with my husband at the end of the day. Lunch outside on a beautiful afternoon. Fried chicken, a simple salad, fresh flowers, a nap in an elegantly outfitted bed," says Showers. "It isn't about jetting off on over-the-top vacations. It's about setting the stage for lovely experiences and pausing to take pleasure in them."

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