The Sublime Saladino
The Montecito-based interior designer passed away at age 86
Written by Lorie Dewhirst Porter
Internationally renowned designer John Saladino (1939–2025) died at his Montecito home on July 26, 2025, at the age of 86. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Saladino first visited Montecito as a teenager on a family road trip and was instantly smitten. At that moment his illustrious career was far in the future: a nearly 40-year span during which he helmed his highly successful design firm in New York City, was constantly profiled in national shelter magazines, kept a roster of prominent clients all over the world, and even designed his own furniture. Not to mention his educational chops: Saladino graduated from both the University of Notre Dame and the Yale School of Art and Architecture, and spent two years in Rome working for architect Piero Sartogo.
In fact, the designer was almost 60 years old when he moved West and claimed Montecito as home. By that time, Saladino’s aesthetics were well established: a rigorous respect for classical proportions combined with a keen understanding of modern design principles. He garnered numerous residential commissions throughout California, as well as local projects including Las Tejas, a majestic 14-acre Montecito estate dating from 1898, which he renovated in the late 1980s and documented in his first book, Style by Saladino. Perhaps most notable was his transformation of an early 1930s-era stone villa in Montecito for himself, a project that required four years and 14,000 18th-century Italian terra-cotta tiles to cover the roof. Saladino dubbed the residence “Villa di Lemma” (a humorous faux-aristocratic spelling of dilemma). It was the site of many lavish parties, and was extensively profiled in his second book, Villa, which also included the designer’s entertaining tips and personal recipes. (One memorable event featured alfresco dinner for 96 guests seated at a single 80-foot table.)
In recent years Saladino resided in a single-story home in Montecito, a place he slyly referred to as “the Departure Lounge.” The repository of a lifetime of collecting, the residence contained only those possessions the designer could not live without, items deemed precious not only for their value, but also their ability to conjure their owner’s memories. As with all Saladino creations, the overall effect conveyed luxury infused with an occasional dash of whimsy. “I think that a house should be a sanctuary where you close the door on reality,” he once said. “Home is a place that you edit to perfection against the onslaught of the real world.”
