As interior design gloriously returns to craft over commerce, this S.D. designer has never been more in-demand

While sourcing a small accent pillow for a recent project in San Diego, interior designer Tiffani Baumgart traveled halfway around the world. There, amid the streets in Venice, Italy, she looked up from a dressmaker’s shop and saw a small antique store on the second floor. Tucked into a hidden corner of the shop she finally found the textile that she’d been searching for. “I took an iPhone photo of it, sent it to the client, who responded right away with a ‘yes’,” says Baumgart, who later had the fabric sewn into draperies that now adorn the windows in her client’s primary bathroom.  

Baumgart’s approach to creating one-of-a-kind residential interiors stands out amid the industry’s current off-the-shelf sea of sameness: “I use my experiences traveling to collect first-hand inspiration and information that I get to bring back home to my clients,” says the designer. “Small shops in Europe, artists’ studios in Brooklyn, my favorite antique brokers in Los Angeles — these are some but not all of my primary sources.” 

Richly textured, warm, and personal interiors that hover high above the design trends du jour have made her a secret source among clients. Baumgart actually does travel to the ends of the earth to make each project unlike anything else on earth. Even something as strictly functional as a backsplash can take her on quest to create something that won’t add yet another kitchen to the annuls of the modern farmhouse frenzy: “When working on a contemporary beach house in Carlsbad, the tile used on the backsplash in the kitchen was custom made with a company in Sweden,” she says. “I sent them a picture of a wallpaper pattern that I liked and worked with them to scale it properly to fit on 6×6 tile so it would be a more practical solution in a kitchen and easily cleaned. It took several months of going back and forth, but they ended up nailing it.” 

It took another several months for an entire team of antique plaster experts to execute Baumgart’s elaborate vision for a Rococo-inspired home in San Diego. “The team was in the house for three months to create authentic plaster molded wall and ceiling details in this project. They even hand made over 250 roses that were used throughout the design. I then took them and had them kiln dried at a local college art department so they were ready to scatter in for even greater authentic detail.” Today, the living room features those hand-made soaring ceilings details amid a fireplace surround sourced in Scotland, iron door hardware and chromone bolts made in France, and a grand piano hand-painted by Jennifer Chapman, a San Diego fine artist. 

Single design elements often involve multiple creatives and craftsmen to execute in Baumgart’s world. For a contemporary fireplace surround in another project, she drew inspiration from a client’s shirt. “He had recently purchased it on a trip and showed it to me. I could see his love for the old Hollywood pinup girls,” recounts the designer. “We decided to take this imagery to the 25-foot high wall in the living room but I knew it couldn’t just be a literal reproduction of pinup imagery, so I commissioned Brooklyn artist Regina Yazdi to paint a grouping of pinup girl silhouettes,” she says. “I then took the artwork to a graphic designer to work on scale and how I wanted the print to be repeated for such a large surface. Once that was perfected, I sent the file to a custom wallpaper company in London to then produce the finished product.” 

And her obsession with detail doesn’t stop with the big moments. Doors, drawer pulls, sinks, floors, ceilings, switch plates and more, all receive the Tiffani treatment. If she can find it, she’ll create it: “I saw an old door in a building I just loved while in New York. It obviously wasn’t for sale so I drew my own version and worked with my craftsmen and carvers to create a new door with the antique flair. I wanted the door to the primary bedroom to be special for this project, but it also had to coordinate with all of the doors in the entire home. So the process began.”

“I recognize that these details that I labor over might not even be necessarily noticed, but I can guarantee they will be felt. To me, that’s how a home becomes exceptional.”

Girard Avenue Marketplace The owner, Bradley, is very knowledgeable. It’s so fun to hear the stories behind the one-of-a-kind finds and carefully mixed selections. If you don’t find the perfect unique piece on your first visit—stop by again. Mixing in the specialty vintage flair adds not only interest, but a sense of timelessness. 7505 Girard Ave, La Jolla

Tile Collective When shopping for tile and stone to adorn the homes I design, Tile Collective in Solana Beach checks all the boxes. The staff is nice, knowledgeable and has a priority for customer service. 202 N Cedros Ave., Solana Beach 

C’est La Vie Antiques The unique items she brings in from France and Sweden are always of top quality. They are so well preserved. Sara, the owner, is absolutely wonderful to work with. 565 Westlake Street, Encinitas 

Bellini’s Antique Italia Right next door to C’est La Vie, Bellini’s sources antique finds from Italy. I also love their replicas, which are all produced by furniture masters in Italy. They are so good, that seeing the old and the “new” sitting right next to each other is a study in craftsmanship. 565 Westlake Street, Encinitas