A note from our editors: 

It’s time for one of our favorite traditions! Each year, we spend the holidays reflecting on the stories and articles you loved most. It’s the “Best of Rue” and this is one of 2019’s top stories. Enjoy!

Previously published on June 18, 2019:

It’s not that their house needed a huge design overhaul – in fact, this 1200 sq. ft. musician couple’s home had great bones and was in great condition when they bought it a year before calling Tiffany Howell of Night Palm Studio. They wanted to infuse it with their own personal touch, reflecting their personalities as creative people.

“We went for Spanish romantic with a hint of David Lynch moodiness with soft textures and saturated jewel tones,” designer Tiffany Howell said about the direction she took with the home’s decor. The owners wanted something that reflected at the same time their California casual attitude with a little bit of romance and glamour – the perfect place for them to get inspired as well as host friends. “They really trusted me and wanted to me to be creatively unrestrained,” Tiffany shared. “If I remember correctly, their only feedback was, ‘go for it”’, and ‘and no pink’. 

Tiffany selected a range of moody colors for the walls by Portola Paints with a Roman Clay and Limewash finish, most notably in the dining room with a saturated blue tone called “Wellfleet“. “The space was small so I was concerned about making it feel smaller,” she said, “however, we balanced that risk with creating a statement that drew you in the moment you walked into the house. When you look into the dining room I wanted it to pop against the taupe walls almost as if you were looking at a saturated photograph.”

Beyond the color palette, Tiffany created a decadent ’70s vibe by incorporating lush velvets, brass, and rattan into the design scheme. “One key element was interjecting cool vintage pieces that made a statement,” she explained. “A lot of the furniture items came from Chairish, a resource that I use for almost every job.” The project took just a few months and was exciting for Tiffany to work on since her clients gave her free reign for the design. She shared, “it’s amazing what paint, interesting lighting and a few key art and furniture pieces can do to transform a space.”