Inside design: Barbara Barry

S@H: Your interiors look rich; do you need to be rich to get that look?
BB: Style has nothing to do with money and everything to do with discipline and restraint. Quality speaks for itself, and I think we should build our interiors over time incorporating quality. A dark, polished wood floor will look great even with sparse furnishings.

I like to stand back and look at a room like I would a picture. Then I can really see what's working. You know the line of something is right when you notice the shape of a piece before the pattern of the fabric. But composition is the single most important thing in decorating. You can make a room look rich by arranging the furniture in a balanced composition. If there's a big, black fireplace, balance it by painting the doors black or using chocolate brown cushions. It's just like in painting; if there's a red dot there, then you need something red over here. You have to move things around until, boom, you have it.

S@H: Your colour schemes are a signature statement.
BB: I'm a big fan of ivory – you can add almost any other colour to an ivory room. I also use green as a neutral. Green is so pervasive. We all relate to green, and it's so soothing. But I wouldn't mix complementary colours with green. I tend to do colour blocking. I'd use lime green, yellow green and blue green and then accent with silver or ivory. The result is harmonious, almost hypnotic.

S@H: You credit your mother for teaching you about style for less.
BB: I come from humble beginnings. My mother is an extremely stylish woman and she raised four daughters on her own. I shared a room until I left home, so I understand about space. But my mother taught me that it's not about how much you have, it's about what you have and how you use it. I'd watch my mother at her easel painting, and I learned to see the world in terms of colour and texture and composition. The power of those three elements to make an impression is huge.

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