An entry should set the design tone for a home. Our entry is very open with views into the living room, dining room and stairway, so I wanted the vibe to be obvious from the start: chic and playful. I started with staining the railing a darker walnut and painted the stairs Benjamin Moore Marlboro Blue, an incredibly cheerful color that pairs perfectly with the sisal runner. The console table from our old Brooklyn apartment was a great size for the space, so I added a fabric table skirt for some much-needed gravitas and a simple way to make the piece feel custom. The indigo block print from Les Indiennes paired beautifully with the vintage soumak rug from F.J. Hakimian. I love incorporating sentimental pieces, whether it’s an heirloom or an item purchased to remember a favorite trip. I hung a beautiful mirror from Harry’s grandmother above the console, flanked by tea plates we picked up in Mallorca.

The living room is a bit of a conundrum in that it has so. many. shapes. We’ve got soaring, vaulted ceilings that reach a 14-foot peak, arched Palladian windows and a clunky double-sided fireplace smack dab in the middle. My biggest goal was making the space feel soft, bright, warm, cozy and inviting. I painted the walls and trim Benjamin Moore Steam, a clean, warm white. I refinished my parents’ piano in a satin charcoal finish and placed an antique Tuareg mat from F.J. Hakimian underneath. Above, I hung a Damien Hirst piece Harry purchased a few years ago that was too large to fit in our old apartment but worked perfectly to anchor the living room. I had it framed by Ilana Lobet, my favorite framer, and flanked the piece with delicate orb sconces from Matt Alford Studio.

I decided to highlight the angled wall and installed a gallery wall with our favorite pieces. I love the shape and comfort of my parents’ large lounge chair and ottoman, but they both needed some TLC. I reupholstered them in an ochre performance velvet from Pindler that I’m convinced is the prettiest color of all the colors and added a pleated skirt detail. I chose a large jute rug from Revival Rugs to define the space and worked with an Etsy vendor in Morocco to find the ‘just right’ green for a plush, custom checkered rug to layer on top. Etsy is an incredible source for vintage and custom finds, so I turned to Etsy again to fabricate a scalloped marble top for a wicker side table, a special piece that holds my grandparents’ brass lamp, fitted with a new shade from OKA. Above it, I hung one of Harry’s guitars with a gorgeous walnut guitar hanger from American Music Furniture. The marble coffee table and leather safari chairs from our old apartment worked size-wise, so that left us with some big decisions: a sectional sofa that’s as beautiful as it is comfortable (a tall order!), a way to make the fireplace feel intentional and transform it into a favorite architectural element (I was not holding my breath for this one), storage for books and vinyl records and window treatments that added softness and light to the space.

While I couldn’t afford the custom sectional of my dreams (let’s face it: most of us can’t), I work with several brands that specialize in semi-custom furniture at an affordable price. I chose a slipcovered sectional from Coley Home in a chambray blue performance fabric that looks and feels soft and lived-in and customized the cushions with a dark blue welt that ties in the indigo fabric and rug in the entry. Zellige tile is a fan favorite at DATE Interiors and I knew it would take the fireplace in a very cool direction, but choosing the perfect color was tricky. When I found the eggplant zellige from Villa Lagoon Tile, it felt like such an ‘aha’ moment because it worked so well with the reds, blues, greens and mustards already in the space.

I worked with Ethan Abramson to build a simple bookshelf I designed and chose a vintage cream and gold patterned grasscloth wallpaper from Astek as the backing. I love that it reads as striped from further away, but you can start to see the delicate fleur pattern as you get closer. The subtly striped Roman shades from Everhem add so much warmth and complete the space.

It all started with a small floral wallpaper sample, as most love stories do. I ordered a sample from HOWE at 36 Bourne Street for a client and liked it so much I designed my own dining room around it. I matched the trim to the dark mauve flowers, refinished my parents’ dining table and added a seagrass rug for some much-needed texture. I liked the scale and muted green of the slipcovered dining chairs from Sixpenny and added little white stitched ‘X’s’ for fun.

Switching out roller shades for woven wood shades and beautiful drapery from Everhem was an absolute game changer. It somehow makes the space feel larger and cozier at the same time. Sorcery! A brass dome pendant, black and white framed photos and a vintage black guitar hung by an ebony American Music Furniture guitar hanger are some of my favorite details. But the absolute best part is the peak into the living room, highlighting how harmonious both spaces feel together.

What is now my office used to be my dad’s office. There’s something really special about working in a space my dad loved and spent so much time in; it makes me feel connected to him. But it also gave some serious dad vibes and that is not the energy I need to create dream homes for my clients. So, I thought about the things I liked, the abundance of natural light and the generous size, and decided to highlight these aspects with the layout, paint and wallpaper. I used a cream and brown patterned William & Morris wallpaper that acts as a neutral base for trim painted in Benjamin Moore’s Saybrook Sage and denim striped Roman shades from Everhem. A striking vintage rug from Litt Concept House ties all of these colors together and brings so much joy to the space. 

I needed a solution for my sample collection (all interior designers feel my pain), so I installed three wall-mounted Ikea units, added tambour panels, a marble top and cool handles to create a custom piece for a fraction of the cost. A table and refinished chairs from our old apartment add seating for clients on presentation days. A vintage painting found in a thrift store in Brooklyn was the finishing touch to a happy space that feels so emblematic of DATE Interiors and of me.

One of the coolest things about moving to a house in the suburbs after ten years of apartment living (three of them in a studio apartment where, miraculously, we didn’t kill each other) is that there’s space. Glorious space! What used to be my parents’ exercise room was the perfect spot to create a music room for Harry, an extremely passionate audiophile with a large collection of vinyl records, guitars, musical gear and equipment and absolutely zero interest in exercising.

Though his office is in Brooklyn, he also needed a space to occasionally work from home. I set the mood by painting the walls, ceiling and trim in Roman Clay’s Mare Island, a moody blue that looks beautiful with a sofa and rugs from our old apartment. Roman clay finish was used on the walls, the perfect textural backdrop for guitars, guitars and more guitars, on hangers and a stand from American Music Furniture. I worked with Soil & Oak, one of my favorite vendors, to design a custom pipe and wood shelving desk, with storage for Harry’s turntable and amplifier from Marantz and shelves for his audio equipment.

Another bookshelf from Ethan Abramson provides storage for thousands of Harry’s vinyl records and the coolest speakers from Bowers & Wilkins. Simple white Roman shades from Everhem keep the space from veering too masculine, along with a sweet painting by Keren Toledano.

The color party continues upstairs in the primary bedroom, where I wanted to take the space from a blank (blue) box to a rich, luxe, textural retreat. Teal grasscloth wallpaper from Philip Jeffries walked so the rest of the room could run. A curved headboard and matching bed skirt in performance sheepskin fabric from Coley Home pops delightfully against the wallpaper, along with a Marika Meyer patterned bolster pillow from Pillow Punk. Delicate ceramic sconces from Baradax Ceramics hang above nightstands from Serena & Lily. A vintage rug from Litt Concept House adds dimension, layered over performance carpet from Kanter’s Carpet that looks pretty darn close to natural fiber.

I reupholstered my parents’ swivel chair in an aubergine wool from Lee Jofa with a sky blue velvet welt from Kravet. I was on the hunt for a vintage dresser and, in a moment of kismet, found a Paul Frankl for Johnson Furniture piece. The iconic pulls are everything! A stunning sculpted canvas from Rebecca Stern hangs above. Motorized Roman shades and sheer drapery from Everhem make it very, very hard to get out of bed in the morning.