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My design approach always starts with understanding the person behind the project; their energy, their needs, what they’re seeking from home.
For this project in Brooklyn, known as ‘Brooklyn Rose’, that meant designing for a client with fearless and colour-forward taste, but who also needed her apartment to be a genuine sanctuary from the demands of a high-pressure job and the pace of New York City.
The brief became: how do you create a space that’s both expressive in spirit and restorative in practice? Here’s how we pulled it off.
Play with contrast
Contrast keeps a room from falling flat. In Brooklyn Rose, I tried to give bold choices a counterpoint.
The sleek travertine coffee table sits against the plush chocolate sofa by ELLISON STUDIOS — all that velvety warmth needed something angular and smooth to balance it. The citron petal-stamped rug is intense, but softened by the surrounding warm timbers, and the textured woven dining chairs ground the polished marble table.
There’s tension in each pairing, and that’s the point.
Choose functional pieces that double as art
In a small apartment, you can’t afford wallflowers. I needed pieces that were functional and sculptural — things you’d actually want to stare at.
The squiggle desk chair is a perfect example: it’s seating, but it’s also this gorgeous, curvy object that wouldn’t look out of place in a gallery. It’s the same with each lamp and even the coffee and side tables. If it wasn’t pulling double duty as art, it rarely made the cut.
Use colour counterpoints
To use bold colour without losing a sense of calm, we needed to show both courage and restraint.
In Brooklyn Rose, pistachio green and vibrant pink play off each other, creating a palette that’s a little fearless but still composed.
Pink, as a softened red, sits opposite green on the colour wheel — that natural push and pull is what brings energy to the apartment without overwhelming.
The intensity of the bolder colours are kept in check with earthy neutrals and grounding materials like timber and stone, which prevent the scheme from tipping into chaos.
Repeat accents
Repetition creates rhythm. When we introduced a strong colour or material, we often let it echo again in smaller moments — a ceramic or a cushion. The trick is to repeat it just enough so it feels intentional.
In this project, pink makes its debut as a dramatic curtained wall behind the bed, then sneaks back in more softly: in the dusty rose travertine of the coffee table and blush-toned ceramics dotted along the shelves.
Let light do the calming work
Thoughtful lighting does quiet work in this home — it softens the environment without dulling it.
The clay pendant in the dining area draws your eye upward, then casts a gentle, pooling glow that settles the space. Warm-bulbed table lamps create pockets of intimacy where you want to linger.
The lighting isn’t there to compete; it calms the saturated colour and grounds the strong forms.
Edit ruthlessly
Brooklyn Rose feels layered and serene because it’s been carefully edited.
Given the small space, my client and I decided early on that every ceramic, artwork, and book would need to earn its place. We embraced negative space so her eye could rest, allowing the most meaningful objects to truly register.
Our process was about editing down to what really mattered — pieces with story and significance. The resulting home feels personal without ever feeling cluttered.
Additional moodboard credits: (From left) Art by Amy Wright. Pulpo Magma One Light from Domo. Tinna Bowl in Aged Iron from L’Objet. Giardinovi by Sophie Lou Jacobsen.
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