Luxe Red Awards Judge

Paul Wiseman

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Paul Wiseman has an innate talent for design, which is evident in the quality and scope of projects emanating from his eponymous interior design studio, The Wiseman Group, founded in San Francisco in 1980. His formative years in California’s Sacramento Valley have made him both sensible and grounded, and his travels around the world as a young man made him realize his passion for design. There is an overarching intellectual truth and honesty to Paul’s approach. When he has completed his work, each property flows seamlessly both inside and out and is respectful of the environment. Paul has a deep appreciation for history, culture, art and architecture. This love, paired with exposure to fine decorative arts through travel, has inspired his patronage of superb craftspeople.

MEET PAUL:

I first fell in love with design: As a very young child, growing up in the delta country of California’s Sacramento Valley. An abandoned Victorian Gardeners Cottage sat on our property, and as soon as I discovered it, I started fixing it up, painting it and making it my own.

My pets are: A 14-year-old cat, Butler, named after the great poet William Butler Yeats. He’s a purebred “Allee” cat, as in Alley cat.

This is always on my nightstand: The Essential Rumi, translations by Coleman Barks.

Favorite heirloom in your home: My Chinese Warring States Han-to-Pre-Han 2500-3000-year-old pottery. I love it because it feels modern, but it’s so old. Wabi-sabi.

Best advice you ever got as a designer: Make sure the business part is done correctly, then do the design.