Jan Showers – Luxurious and relaxed style with French influences
Jan Showers is a prominent American interior designer. She is the owner and the proprietor of a showroom in the Dallas Design District. It is also there that she curates and sells antiques which she purchased during her trips to Paris, New York, London, and Venice. Architectural Digest named Jan Showers and Associates to the AD 100 list of top design and architecture firms in 2014. In addition to this, Abram Books published Glamorous Rooms, a book about the perspectives and ideas of Jan Showers about interior design.
The life of Jan Showers
Jan Showers was born in Hillsboro, Texas. Her mother and grandmother have influenced her in the early development of her style and taste. She finished her Bachelor of Science in Business from Texas Christian University in 1963. She eventually married James Andrew Showers, who is an attorney, in 1961. They had two daughters, Susanna Showers Moldawer and Elizabeth Tolbert Showers. Elizabeth is a jewelry designer and Susanna is a writer, stylist and also a mother of three.
Career
Throughout the 1960s, she worked in various design houses for friends and relatives, wherein Jan Showers learned her craft. In 1977, she started her own business identity named Jan Showers Interiors. The name was eventually changed to Jan Showers and Associates in 1996.
She is known for decorating the houses in different parts of United States and Canada, which include projects in Palm Beach, Aspen, San Francisco, Nantucket and Toronto.
Jan Showers was also influenced by decorators such as Billy Baldwin, Francis Elkins, and David Hicks. Her works have been published in famous magazines such as Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Veranda, Traditional Home, Southern Accents, and Western Interiors. In addition to these, Jan Showers has been named as one of the top designers by House Beautiful and Western Interiors. She also won the Lifetime Achievement Award in Interior Design from Fashion Group International in 2008. Likewise, in 2004 and 2005, Jan Showers has been honored by the Andrew Martin Interior Design Awards.
Projects and accomplishments
Jan Showers partnered with clients to open her first retail storefront in 1994, the Out of Africa. Situated in Dallas, the store featured African art mixed with traditional furnishings. In addition to this, she also opened her own boutique and showroom in the Dallas Design District, which became successful and dramatically grew for the next 10 years. Her designs are known for mixing the 18th and 19th century designs with mid 20th century furnishings. She then curates and sells the furnishings and design accessories from a wide variety of locales purchased. The items in display in her showroom are those that have been purchased during her trips in Paris, Venice, London, and New York.
Continuing her passion in design, Jan Showers established her own furniture collection in 1999. Her collections have been featured in various showrooms across the United States. The collection consists of over 150 pieces, which include Murano glass lighting and wide variety of furnishings.
Jan Showers also designed a limited edition of seven different glass accessories, signed and numbered for Neiman Marcus. Addition to the collection were custom made cowhide rugs for Kyle Bunting in 2010 and ceramic lighting collection in 2014. The latter was produced in collaboration with ceramist Paul Schneider.
Together with Carleton Varney and Laura Hunt, they designed showhouses for the Robert A. M. Stem Residences at the Ritz Carlton Dallas in the spring of 2010.