Cole Martinez Curtis and Associates has designed luxury commercial spaces, including hotels, spas, and senior living facilities, for over forty years. To address such extensive projects, Principal and President of CMCA, Jill Cole, sets her gaze on the inhabitants of each space as the centerpiece of its design. Following her lead, the firm’s experienced team views each project with artists’ eyes, through a client-focused lens. Cole’s focus on the hospitality industry has led her to membership of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants, among other accolades as a premier designer. Introducing this week’s Designer Friday, Jill Cole.
CMCA welcomes guests at the Canyon Ranch Wellness Retreat in Woodside, CA, with a cozy dining room swathed in warm browns and dotted with light by candles and chandeliers.
Andrew Joseph: Describe your design style as if you were explaining it to someone who cannot see.
Jill Cole: My design style is to delight people by creating wondrous places and spaces.
Andrew: What is something you hope to see trending in design in the future?
Jill: Humor. Recent life has become much too serious and we could use more lightheartedness in design.
Andrew: If you could live in any home in a movie or television series, what would it be?
Jill: Cleopatra’s palace or Hadrian’s Villa.
Andrew: If you weren’t a designer, you’d be a ….?
Jill: Archaeologist.
Andrew: What are three words to describe where you live?
Jill: Welcoming, informal, beautiful.
With large, drapeless windows and a marbled, sky-like back wall, CMCA allows the outside into this guest bedroom at the Canyon Ranch.
Andrew: What’s something you always travel with?
Jill: I always travel with my cell phone.
Andrew: What’s one thing people don’t know about you?
Jill: I am really bad at math.
Andrew: What would your dream project or dream client be right now?
Jill: A unique resort in a beautiful location.
Andrew: Style (or design) icon?
Jill: Elsie de Wolfe.
Andrew: If you had a superpower, what would it be?
Jill: My superpower would be the ability to cure cancer.
Andrew: What’s inspiring you in life (in the industry) right now?
Jill: Currently, I have a heightened interest in fine art.
The seating around the porch fire pit at the Canyon Ranch reflects thick surrounding forestry and a dark blue evening sky.
Andrew: Which room in the house do you find yourself working from the most?
Jill: My office (followed closely by the kitchen). Why? The passion for my work is equal to my love of cooking.
How does this inform your thoughts about interior design?
Jill: It’s a piece of me; the views of the vineyards, something delicious on the stove, and my dogs wandering indoors and out.
Andrew: How do you define beauty?
Jill: Possessed of grace, elegance, charm, and wit.
Andrew: What are you most proud of?
Jill: My company and the wonderful people with whom I have been able to create iconic and memorable projects.
Andrew: What would you like to be remembered for?
Jill: Being a kind person who doesn’t take herself too seriously.
About The Author | Jill is Managing Principal and President of Cole Martinez Curtis and Associates. Since the 1981 re-opening of the Adolphus Hotel, Jill has devoted herself exclusively to hotel, resort, and recreational design. Her particular focus is on the creation of projects that are responsive to their target markets and respective of their environment and location. For her work, she has received Gold Key, Designers Circle and ARDY awards for interior design and she was the only designer in the U.S. to receive the honor of professional membership by invitation from the International Interior Design Association (IIDA). She was also the recipient of the prestigious Platinum Circle® Award. Jill is a member of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC). When she and her family moved to Napa Valley, she served two terms on the board of the di Rosa Museum. She is frequently asked to speak to various groups and organizations on the value of interior design, its integration with art and architecture, and its effect on marketing.
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