Why did you decide to partner with Bed, Bath & Beyond?

Well, they were interested. Which is also pretty remarkable. As you know, I’m more of an entertainment person, but I have a real passion for design. It means a lot to me to have the opportunity to even try this.

Is the dishware inspired by anything in your own life?

I have a daughter who’s 15 and a son who’s 10. My life is such that I have these old dishes that I eat off with my kids. I’ve broken them, and all that.

What’s come of all this is I like sturdy. I want something I feel will last and has some weight to it and is very simple. Like, for example, I don’t understand why we don’t eat more food out of bowls. I could eat all of my meals out of bowls.

Did you know much about dishware before creating this line?

I’ve collected a lot of plates and dishes through the years. Catalina pottery is my favorite. What I like about Catalina pottery is it’s very sturdy and simple. Many years ago in New York City, when I lived there, I collected Fiesta. Those colors are just, like, in your face.

What’s appealing right now is not to punch it up with a lot of color. It came really from Catalina and then morphed into something even a little more modern.

You were going to design a collection of furniture a few years back. What happened with that?

One of the reasons is you have to know a little bit more than just venturing out. I had no idea what I was getting into. None.

I had a fantasy several years ago that I would create houses that we would produce in a community — these new Spanish homes that would follow the principles of what I was into. Of course, nothing came of it.

I have a lot of ideas. Like we all do. But if someone would buy these dishes, I’d love to do more. It gives me an opportunity to look, see, explore — all the things I’m really interested in.

How did you get interested in design?

I’ve always been a person who buys shelter magazines. But I had no knowledge whatsoever. This only really emerged when I bought my first Spanish home.

Well, actually, I bought a Lloyd Wright first. I bought the Ramón Novarro home in the Hollywood Hills.

If you have a family, it’s not as easy to live in a Lloyd Wright house. They are beautiful. But they have very, very small bedrooms.

That’s not to say a family can’t live there, for God’s sake. It would be a great pleasure to live there. Which I did enjoy.

But I’m a person who likes to keep moving. It’s a good excuse: “Well, I have a family now. I better get a Spanish home.”

Where are you living these days?

Right now, I don’t have a home. I’m renting. But I’m going to buy a piece of land and build once in my life.

I don’t know if I can do it, but I’m going to try. I’m afraid of spaces that are blank. Like a lot of novice types who are aficionados of architecture, once I see a building I understand what I can do with it. But to just see raw space is terrifying.

What style are you considering?

There’s this American look which I think comes out of this factory-barn idea. The materials that are used are the kinds I find very appealing.

I love cement. I love wood. I love shingle. I love casement windows. I’m now in love with shake roofs. I’m interested in roofs because they’re the most undervalued yet beautiful part of a home.

I have a lot of theories, you see.


The Decorating Styles Of Diane Keaton: