Go Big with Art in Small Spaces
In a historic house in Los Angeles’s Hancock Park neighborhood, interior designer Ashley Lavonne Walker leaned into the client’s considerable art collection to enliven her design scheme. In the snug family room, a large scale painting by Tiffany Alfonseca overlooks the room, vibing the room’s vibrant textiles and upholstery, as well as offering a place for the eye to land.
Make the Most of an Alcove
In this Manhattan studio, interior designer Robert Rowe had no choice but to maximize the space at hand. Into a windowed alcove he slid in the apartment’s only bed, using the rest of the room as a living area.
Follow the Curves
In the sitting room of this Paris apartment, interior designer Sarah Dray let circles lead the way. From the vintage de Sede sofa to the Beije Avenue cocktail tables to the custom ceiling lights, one simple shape pulls the room together.
Furniture Can Double as Art
In this Brooklyn dining room by Studio Dorion, two Tony Blahd floor lamps flank the window, operating like decorative columns while providing a necessary function to the room.
Use Mirrors to Deepen a Space
In this Hollywood Hills home, interior designer Mike Moser and architect Tyler Thomas hung a mirror in their bedroom to expand the space. Now, instead of looking into a sleeping area from the living room, guests are given the impression of an expanding enfilade just past the bed.
Clad Your Walls in Cork
Cork is all the rage as of late, and it’s not hard to see why. The material is multiuse and adds just the proper texture and dimension in the right room. It’s perfect for damp environs like Miami (where this cork-covered bedroom by Charlap Hyman and Herrero lives).
Paint Your Floors
What would otherwise be a simple, pared-back dining room in this 19th-century Connecticut home becomes a lively space due to a coat of green floor paint. Interior designer Jenna Chused coated the floor instead of the walls with the bright color, adding surprise and anchoring the neutral woods of the table, chairs, and ceiling light that dominate the rest of the room.
Install Curtains Behind Your Headboard
Veere Grenney is known for his good taste and sense of grandeur. In this London townhouse of his design, the feeling of grandiosity extends to this bedroom via curtains hung behind the headboard, all in Michael S Smith fabrics.
Elevate Everyday Essentials
Pegboard is one of those materials so ubiquitous you forget how fabulous it can be. It calls to mind the quaint old general stores of times past but does double time when it comes to function. In the kitchen of their Ojai ranch, Eric Hughes and Nathan Turner use it to splendid effect.
Paint a Portion of Your Walls
The classic chair rail is sometimes thought traditional, but in Julie Polidoro’s Roman abode, it reads as starkly contemporary. For some easy visual interest and a rooting influence, try painting a portion of the bottom of your walls (or the top!) with a sharp clean edge and no additional adornments.
Display One Quirky Thing
In the breakfast nook of this Los Angeles home, David Lucido subverted what would have otherwise been a very serious corner. Muted tones and art in the style of Georges Braque are given a cartoonish edge in the form of a toe sculpture. A dose of hilarity is a surefire way to keep a home humble.
Wrap Your Walls in Leather
High-end interior design clients sometimes ask for the craziest things, but perhaps we should all follow in their wake. In this extremely posh Paris apartment by Retrouvius, leather wrapped walls make a case for quiet luxury.
Flaunt Your Shelf Wealth
This Patrick Mele–designed Aspen manse is called Happy Hill—and for good reason. What is more joyful than a colorful pair of bookcases bursting with well-worn tomes? A mismatched medley of reading material is all any room needs to feel truly lived in. And when it comes to books, if you’ve got it, flaunt it.
Add a Zip of Unexpected Red
When Ciaran McGuigan, creative director of the Irish furniture brand Orior, moved into his Brooklyn loft, he started with a mostly muted palette. Life was brought into each space with pops of bold color, including bold red hardware.
Upcycle a Flea Market Find
Don’t just thrift; get creative with what you bring home. In the dressing area of Stacey Hill’s chic Texan retreat, flea market finds are repurposed to cover up function with beauty. A vintage Chinese-style folding screen became a pair of cabinet doors and dressers placed back-to-back form a dressing table.
Play with Asymmetry
In her Toronto home, designer Montana Labelle says, “We opted for asymmetrical artwork on top of the bed as well as in the hallway to create more visual interest and layers in the room.”
Work with What You Have
In this midcentury Los Angeles home, designer Garrett Hunter worked with the original floor plan and architectural details like the exposed brick and ceiling beams. “We didn’t move walls, so our focus was really to enhance the existing architecture.”
Conceal Everyday Tech
Hate the sight of your TV? Put it in a cupboard! Architect Andre Herrero, of Charlap-Hyman Herrero, designed a steel fireplace surround with double doors to conceal the living room TV. “We were crafty with our resources and took advantage of architectural quirks,” Herrero says. “Things that seem like negatives can contribute to a more romantic narrative.”
Create a Gallery Wall to Blend the TV
Or, if you’re lacking a decent cabinet, try camouflaging your screens with an artful gallery wall. Designer Joe Lucas shows us how it’s done in his sunny Los Angeles home.
Bring the Outside In
If you have lovely views, flaunt them! Designer Lori Deeds of Kemble Interiors created a custom banquette and seating area to take advantage of the garden views of this Palm Beach estate.
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