Joanna Poitier decorated the family home with an old-world elegance she and husband Sidney both appreciate.
This story originally ran in the March 2008 issue of Traditional Home magazine.
Sidney Poitier admittedly is more of a household name than his wife, Joanna.
Sidney and Joanna Poitier relax in the sitting room of their Beverly Hills home.Credit: Edmund Barr
An Oscar, a knighthood, and a hot-selling book confirm of that.
But in their Beverly Hills home, the roles reverse.
Joanna, an interior designer, is the unequivocal star; the entire house is her stage.
An archway connects the family room to the sitting room, where several of Joanna’s own sculptures grace the library table.Credit: Edmund Barr
Her window treatments are especially telling.
Beautiful but comfortable is how she defines it.
Her fondness for gold-leafed 18th-century antiques doesnt preclude people putting their feet up on the table.
The 1925 Mediterranean house was updated before the Poitiers bought it.Credit: Edmund Barr
I have no problem if children play with my crystal.
If something breaks, its not the end of the world.
Its just an object, she explains.
An antique Aubusson rug, the 19th-century French gilt chair in the corner, and such dressmaker details as the bullion on the flame-stitch armchair bring old-world elegance to the family room’s casual California architecture.Credit: Edmund Barr
Design isnt my life.
My life is my family and their well-being.
When she and Sidney moved in, the previous owners had just repainted every room.
The chinoiserie corner cabinet is one of a pair from Joanna’s Florio Collection. The weighty draperies balance the large scale of the furniture, including the antique French dining chairs.Credit: Edmund Barr
(Even celebrity households arent spared the empty-nest syndrome.)
A lot of furniture had to go.
But not the artwork.
Flame-stitch fabrics and crest motifs are among Joanna’s favorite themes.Credit: Edmund Barr
Wed never part with that, Joanna stresses.
She is an artist, both painter and sculptor, in her own right.
While the couples daughtersAnika and Sydneywere young, Joanna studied sculpting with Artis Lane.
Steps lead up from the passage to the living room, where a pair of Jacobean chairs are covered in antique needlepoint.Credit: Edmund Barr
Her teachers sculpture of actor Djimon Hounsou commands prime space on the Poitiers living room mantel.
A native of Nova Scotia, she started adult life as a fashion model.
I said, Look at my pictures and decide.
Elegance defines the entry and dining room.Credit: Edmund Barr
The director did precisely that, and Joanna accepted a role in Universal PicturesThe Lost Man.
I met Sidney for the first time on the set, she says.
It mustve been destiny.
An 18th-century chinoiserie desk and an antique black-leather Italian chair grace Joanna’s study. The gilt chair is a reproduction.Credit: Edmund Barr
I was engaged to someone else at the time.
When their younger daughter entered college, Joanna began her current career as a designer.
Her first project was decorating the beach-front home of a friend.
In the master bedroom, a mirror and sconces are centered between classical architectural elements of columns and crown molding to create a dramatic headboard. The black bedside table, one of a pair, is from the Florio Collection.Credit: Edmund Barr
I told her I couldnt do it, but she kept insisting, says Joanna.
Word traveled, and her own design business, JSP Interiors, was the result.
We did the designs, then sent the fabrics to India to be embroidered.
We developed a sample line of these luscious embroidered panels and took them to showrooms, Joanna recounts.
When 12 showrooms said yes, she knew she was in business.
The Florio Collection, with business partner Janet Rodriguez, became a reality.
Its fabrics fill Joannas home.
Pillows are like jewelry.
you’re able to make a Pottery Barn sofa one-of-a-kind with exquisite pillows.
Her biggest fan, husband Sidney, admires not only her way with pillows but her overall style.
From my point of view, shes an extremely gifted and talented person.
You see her distinctive style in every room.
Joannas collection of old Aubusson rugs brings a refined finish to the terra-cotta floors.
When she cant find the right antique rug, she improvises.
I was born a collector, and Sidney and I love to travel, she says.
The house is about 80 percent antiques, Joanna estimates.
She began thedining rooms collection of 18th-century Spodeyears and years ago in London.
The 18th-century Italian table was an anniversary gift from Sidney that she refinished to relieve its worn look.
(Why revere age when improvement is in order?)
As with any signature style, certain elements bear repeating.
Joannas approach is both a gilt trip and a fling with an old flame-stitch.
Sidney Poitiers Legacy
Sidney Poitiers achievements are legendary.
