Talk Shop: Leslie Banker // Leslie Banker & Co.
ABOUT LESLIE
Leslie Banker, a native New Yorker, believes that a home, or any interior space, should make its inhabitants happy, healthy, and productive. On all her projects she starts with this point of view and works with clients to develop a plan for how their environment can support them in living their best lives. Leslie joined her mother’s relaunched firm, Pamela Banker, Inc., in 1999. The firm—which was established in 1966—had been paused while Pamela assumed principal designer roles at McMillan in the 1980s and Parish Hadley in the 1990s. The newly launched firm continued until Pamela’s death in 2013. Leslie then carried on the business, maintaining relationships with many clients who had been with the firm for generations. Today, Leslie has interior design clients up and down the East Coast and beyond. Leslie is the co-author, with her late mother Pamela Banker, of The Pocket Decorator and The Pocket Renovator, both published by Rizzoli. She is the author of the forthcoming book Think Like a Decorator, which was just published this spring. More than anything, with this book Pamela wants to give the tools to anyone who wants to design a home themselves. We loved chatting with Leslie, and hope you enjoy this interview!
Congratulations on your book, Think Like a Decorator! What was the inspiration behind this book:
About 20 years ago I started to write a how-to decorate book with my mother, the designer Pamela Banker. I had started working for her and was eager to learn. This book is the culmination of that effort two decades later.
How does one create a comfortable, original, stylish home:
By thinking about how you want to live, the look you want, what you already have and want to re-use, by thinking about what is essential to you to live comfortably, and having confidence in yourself and your ability to create a space that you love.
What do you want readers to take away from this book:
This book deconstructs the process of an interior design project. I want readers to walk away feeling like they can do it. I hope this book is the antidote to being overwhelmed by a design project.
Describe your style in three words or less:
Inviting, Layered, Cheerful.
What have been the three biggest influences on your aesthetic in your life:
My Mother, Pamela Banker, has been a tremendous influence. I have poured through Jacques Grange’s and Tom Scheerer’s books and often draw inspiration from their work.
Photo by Max Kim Bee
How did you start your company, and/or what is your favorite thing about what you do:
I love all the great people I interact with in a day. I have wonderful, creative, clients, my team at the office is passionate about design, and I love all the architects, upholsterers, contractors, and everyone I work with. I am constantly learning.
Do you have a mentor in your career, and if so, how have they helped to shape your trajectory:
That would be my mother, the late Pamela Banker. Mom got me started on this path by asking me to come work at her office in 1999. It was right after Parish Hadley closed its doors and she was relaunching her own business. We wrote two books together and she taught me how to decorate. I’ve never worked for any other designers.
What does your home say about you:
That I love things with a patina, color, and comfort. The truth is I struggle with clutter so it’s not perfect all the time.
Where do you find inspiration:
On trips to places like Venice, or by the beach in Long Island. I am constantly looking through design books.
Who are your style icons:
Carolina Herrera at times. David Bowie just because. I really like Wes Anderson’s aesthetic.
What are your key ingredients for entertaining:
I love to have people over. If it’s a dinner party I keep it simple as I don’t want to be in the kitchen cooking. It’s a salad and lasagna, or similar, and a plate of cookies. For drinks, I try to have whatever someone may want whether it’s a Diet Coke or a beer. The key is to be stocked up and to keep it fun and simple.
Photo by Max Kim Bee
Do you collect anything:
Not seriously. I have two egg baskets and call it my collection.
Favorite Instagram accounts to follow for inspiration:
@fredericmagazine, @dalailama, @houseandgardenuk, @postclimate, @ad_italia
What design “rule” do you always follow, and which is made to be broken:
I always pay close attention to scale and balance – trying to find equilibrium but not too much equilibrium in a space. Many rules are made to be broken, comfort is king – you can mix navy blue and black – it doesn’t have to all match perfectly.
What are you working on right now:
A house in Palm Beach, a couple of projects in NYC, a house in Greenwich, and we are always doing a few things here and there for longtime clients.
Wardrobe staples:
La Double J maxi skirt with pockets.
Favorite fabric/wallpaper:
So hard to say! I am loving fabrics and wallpapers from Lewis & Woods. They have beautiful things that are getting a lot of love from us right now.
Best interior advice you ever received:
Keep it simple. Also, do it right and do it once.
Photo by Max Kim Bee
Best career advice you ever received:
If you are going to run your own business, you need to get used to having difficult conversations.
Types of home purchases you invest in, and save on:
I invest in well-made upholstery, and paintings that I love, and am obsessed with auctions.
Your greatest extravagance:
Champagne and travel.
Favorite places to shop for home:
West Palm Beach has some great places.
Most prized possession and why:
My house in Rhode Island, because we have so much family history and so many happy memories there.
Your interiors motto:
Prioritize comfort.
Your life motto:
Be kind, and have fun.
Advice for someone looking to define their own interior style:
Be true to yourself and what you are drawn to.
Take Ten: My Favorite…
Food: Italian
Drink: Champagne
Film: Zoolander
Hotel: Lowell
City: New York City
Bedding: Matouk and Moroccan bedspreads
Tea or Coffee (and how do you take it): Addicted to my morning Cappuccino.
Playlist: Phoebe Bridgers Essentials
Weekend Activity: Spending time with my family.
Design Book: Gil Schafer’s A Place to Call Home