Barbara Glass: The Aspen designer with an eye for color and texture

Editor’s note: This story is part of a series, in honor of International Women’s Month, that shines a spotlight on the dynamic women of Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley.

Interior designer Barbara Glass loves scouring the globe for products and materials that her clients will fall in love with, especially textiles.

“I love fabrics and textiles. Those are the most inspiring things for me,” she said. “A lot of designers start with a rug or a piece of art. But for me, it’s all about, OK, what fabric are we going to start with?”

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She made her way to the Roaring Fork Valley from Texas around 2001, just after Sept. 11, 2001, to work with local architect Bill Poss. Glass, who holds a degree in interior design from Texas Christian University, had already been working as a designer in Dallas.

After four years with Poss, she decided to leave the firm to have her son and “be a mom and do my own thing.” Shortly after, she began taking solo projects and eventually established her own company, Barbara Glass Inc.

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Today, she is the principal designer and leads an all-female design team that works with homeowners, developers, architects, and quality craftsmen to create homes and commercial spaces for her roster of clients.

“It’s such an honor to be brought into someone’s family and to create a space where they will live and make memories, have parties with friends, and be with family,” she said.

Aspen Times Arts and Entertainment Editor Sarah Girgis chatted with Glass to discuss her design philosophies, the importance of mentorship, and the trend she is sick of seeing.

The conversation was edited for brevity and clarity.

Sarah Girgis: Where did your eye for design begin?

Barbara Glass: Oh, when I was young, rearranging my parent’s furniture, and no one was allowed to come into my bedroom or touch anything. My mom had a good eye, you know; she always found cool stuff and loved to go to antique shops. I have a lot of her things now that I’ve recovered and sort of reinterpreted into my space. My personal space is very eclectic because I love a lot of different things. I’ve always loved design and color.

SG: How do you approach working with new clients?

BG: I love that challenge of doing different styles for people. This house is a lot different than someone else’s house. I don’t have a stamp that makes every house the same. It’s not my house; I’m not living there. So it’s what are you going to feel comfortable in and what is going to inspire you and make you feel relaxed, what’s going to energize you?

I try to get to know the clients and learn their likes and more importantly dislikes. A lot of times, people look at my website and say, “You know, I liked this house” or “I liked the feeling of this house.” It takes time, conversations, and communication. It’s all about getting to know them and asking a lot of questions.

And getting a lot of “nos” is important. That tells me just as much as if you like something. I never really fight too hard for things because if you’re not responding to something, I’m not going to force it. That’s not how I work. I like more of an organic collaboration.

SG: What’s success for you?

BG: The best is when someone says, “Oh, my gosh, this project exceeded my expectations.” I had someone say that to me once, and I was like, That is the ultimate compliment.

SG: So when you’re looking to bring on a young designer and mentoring people, what are you looking for?

BG: On a team, you need different strengths. So someone who has a good eye for fabrics and textiles and colors might be a lot different than someone whose drawing is their strength versus someone really organized to do all the purchasing and keep me organized. There are a lot of different people and skill sets that make a great team.

I love mentoring people. I have mentored a lot of people who have come and gone and started their own firms that are still in the valley. That’s a huge part of my office, and my work is to provide livelihoods for people. And, they’re helping me just as much as I’m helping them, and it’s in creating an atmosphere that people will enjoy coming to work every day being a part of a team. That’s really important to me.

SG: What design trends are you over and don’t want to see anymore and which ones are you loving right now?

BG: Oh, that’s easy – grey everything. And how long are brass fixtures going to be back? I know it all ebbs and flows. Dark, heavy furniture – I’m not really in love with, and I don’t think I ever will be. You see a lot of that in the mountains, and I don’t like it.

On the positive side, I’m using a lot of color. And I love it. I feel really good when I’m surrounded by color. But the key to making a tone-on-tone space interesting is texture. There are so many textiles with such amazing textures. You gotta have layers.

In 24 years, I’ve learned so much. I feel like I’m learning every day. And I thank goodness because that’s what keeps us motivated, right? Because if we’re just stagnant and doing the same thing every day, that would just be boring.