A conversation with Kristine Paige Kamenstein
Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at 4:05PM 
Jackson Paige Interiors, http://www.jacksonpaige.com, West Hollywood, CA
(1) What UECo light do you like to use the most and why?
Maxine Up-Downs. They are fabulous looking library bookshelf lights and great bedside lamps. We recently ordered them for a client with a customized rectangular back-plate, which I loved.
(2) Your six picks of favorite UECo lights?
1. "Cosy" – Michael Amato's designs are genius! I just saw the new "Cosy" fixture, which is destined to be my new favorite. The yellow would be perfect for our design studio and we just specified it in a Kiwi green for a client's stairway.
2. "Kent" – Perfect Veranda lights! We love custom coloring them with the hood in a different color than the bottom.
3. "Mini Stable" – An adorable pendant over a small kitchen island or bar/counter-top.
4. "Poppy" – Amanda Nisbet's designs are all so clever! I would love to use this in a family room or over a kitchen island.
5. "Alexander" – I love the graceful lines of this fixture. We have it specified right now for a hospital lobby, paired with two Kents. I'm excited to see it all come together.
6. "Linc-less" – So elegant and refined. I love the way light emanates from it.
(3) What is your design philosophy?
My design philosophy is to keep our clients needs and desires at the foreground of our designs, to take chances and make new discoveries on every project and to keep our designs contemporary and clean with a classical edge.
(4) What is something people may not know about your firm?
The name of my firm, Jackson Paige Interiors, comes from my middle name, Paige, and my founding partner's middle name, Jackson. My business partner and dear friend, Sasha Jackson Premoli, passed away from metastasized cervical cancer 5 years ago. She is incredibly missed and the memory of her personal style and passion for design continues to inspire me.
(5) What is your favorite part of a home to design and why?
I always love designing the spaces where our clients spend the majority of their home time. For most people that is their family room. I enjoy designing these rooms to be as useful, comfortable and stylish as possible. I want my clients to look forward to coming home, pouring themselves a drink, grabbing a book or the remote and putting their feet up in a beautiful and relaxing space. People work so hard, it is important to unwind the body and the mind at the end of a long day.
(6) Three design resources you can't live without?
· Urban Electric Company, of course!
· Trove Wallcovering
· The Rug Company
(7) Best design tips you have learned from experience?
New construction and renovations are stressful times for clients. As designers, it is our job to stay calm, be patient and help ease their stress as much as possible. I want my clients to feel that everything is taken are of and to know they are in good hands.
(8) What do you collect?
I collect vintage South American artifacts - we have doors, ladders, pottery, and wood furniture pieces throughout our home. The rough-hewn texture and rich color is a beautiful contrast to refined pieces of furniture.
I also collect antique keys - I love to imagine what they opened and where they came from.
And 1960's cocktail glasses as well!
(9) What are your favorite paint colors to use?
It varies, but currently I love using "Hale Navy" from Benjamin Moore. It is such a dark, elegant navy. I've used it for paneling in a screening room, as baseboard/crown molding in a few little boys' rooms, and in my own powder room! There are two Benjamin Moore colors that I consider perfect neutrals: "Classic Grey" and "Manchester Tan". Recently we used Farrow & Ball's, "Pelt, No. 254", in conjunction with fabulous wallpaper in a powder room and now I am a little obsessed with this intense plum color.
(10) What are your favorite design books?
Rose Tarlow – "The Private House"
Russel Versaci – "Creating a New Old House"
Christian Liaigre – "Liaigre"