For Austin-based entrepreneur Amy Wilson Janice, Jimi Hendrix will always be alive—if not in flesh, then at least framed in Technicolor on her living room wall. “I saw the hand-colored photograph in a gallery but wasn’t sure Amy would even know who he was,” says Janice’s interior designer, Fern Santini, of the Hendrix portrait in question, taken by Gered Mankowitz in 1965. “When I showed it to Amy, she started crying.” Not because she didn’t love it, but because she did. Hendrix was a link to her late father, on whose lap, as a little girl, she had spent many a carefree evening listening to The Wind Cries Mary and Little Wing—and on particularly upbeat days, trippy renditions of the psychedelic rock number Purple Haze on repeat. “It was kind of full circle.”
While she was more than happy to revive Hendrix, Janice preferred to start other things anew. “She was moving from a suburban home and wanted an artful, jewel-box pied-à-terre,” says Santini of Janice’s new build in Austin’s Bouldin Creek neighborhood—a sparkling spring-well of music, art, and culture. As someone who doesn’t take herself too seriously, Janice wanted a home that didn’t either. “She wanted it to be a bit irreverent—something fresh, colorful, and bold that reflected her personality.” To find inspiration, they looked for cues from the past. “I showed her things that are important to me,” shares Janice, who was born and raised in New Orleans. One of those things, as it turned out, was a dishware set from the 1970s passed down by her mom. “It was beautiful,” Santini chimes in—so beautiful that she used it to set the tone for the kitchen palette.
If there were such a thing as design rules, the founder and principal of AD PRO Directory firm Fern Santini, Inc. put them all away. Every decision she made was guided purely by intuition. Floors were clad in white oak, while walls were enhanced with sheetrock and wallpaper—the latter hand-painted with pastel motifs in the primary bedroom to serve as a backdrop for Janice’s art. The kitchen was enlivened in aubergine, and the primary bedroom veiled by filmy wool sheers. Santini wasn’t afraid to dial up the drama, not least in the powder room, which she electrified with vintage snake sconces and hand-painted Porter Teleo wallpaper.
Janice has a preferred space for each hour of the day. “I work for myself, so mornings are for my upstairs office, and evenings are spent walking around Town Lake, gardening, grilling by the pool, or catching up with friends,” she says. Ask her to pick favorites, and she doesn’t hem or haw: “My bedroom, from where I can see the pool, the sky, and the trees.” And when darkness takes the day, she can often be found in her living room watching birds and other wildlife drink from the fountain—and later, enjoying the bright lights of downtown Austin. “My vision for the house was to create a space that is uniquely me,” says Janice. Indeed, it’s her—and Hendrix.
Originally published in Architectural Digest
Text by Vaishnavi Nayel Talawadekar
Photos by Douglas Friedman
