Looking for inspiration on how to design and style your new home? Take a tour through four designer-inspired spaces, thoughtfully executed with exquisite details that enhance functionality, livability and offer stylish solutions for homeowners.
1. Family-Friendly with High Style
The Backstory: For this new build, this family of five wanted functionality that was relevant to their needs, without compromising on style. In this kitchen, designed by Gladys Schanstra, a rich aesthetic meets practicality.
The Vibe: Sleek, comfortable, innovative.
The Design: “We wanted the kitchen to have character, clean lines and a few interesting, simple pieces. It had to serve as daily hub for a family of five, and work for entertaining,” says Schanstra, owner/creative director of Drury Design.
Schanstra used innovative thinking to make this kitchen more functional, swapping a traditional cooktop/single oven for side-by-side ovens that are wider than the cooktop. This gives the family the space they need for cooking, while adding decorative benefit of varying widths, drawing the eye to the statement range hood.
Get This Look in Your Home: Keep your backdrop clean and indulge in dramatic accents that pop.
“White is the backdrop palette, and the light fixtures and the bar stools take center stage,” says Schanstra. Metallics, glossy cabinet finishes, statement range hood and textured, shimmering-look tile add visual interest and elegance.
2. Art Lover’s Condo
The Backstory: This sleek condo by DKOR interiors has tons of natural light, an important factor in this design. The homeowners have a large art collection, and being able to display their personal treasures in a meaningful way is a high priority.
The Vibe: Curated, serene, modern.
The Design: This design goes beyond wall space and display shelves to leverage color and light conditions to properly display artwork.
“Natural light plays a powerful role in displaying art. A beautifully lit piece enhances color, texture, and depth in ways artificial lighting alone can't. However, not all artwork should be exposed to direct sunlight, as it can lead to fading or long-term damage,” says the team at DKOR. Neutral colors in the decor make the art stand out on its own, with accents adding focus to underlying tones.
“It’s all about honoring art, giving it the right light and space so it becomes a natural part of the interior’s story.”
Get This Look in Your Home: Choose artwork as a focal point and build the design out. Less is more. “Keeping it simple is the key. One great piece can say more than a wall full of clutter,” says the team at DKOR.
3. Wellness Design Brings the Outside In
The Backstory: This home takes design cues from its natural surroundings, blurring lines between indoors and out.
“It's the cumulative effect of thoughtful, layered choices that allow a home to become a place of rest and restoration, where beauty and wellbeing are intrinsically linked,” says designer Sarah Barnard of Sarah Barnard Design.
The Vibe: Biophilic, restorative, earthy
The Design: As a WELL and LEED accredited interior designer, health and wellness design is the cornerstone of Barnard’s design approach.
“I craft environments that support human health and ecological harmony. Wellness design is about fostering spaces that help people feel more like their best selves,” she says.
In this home, “the landscape palette of deep green, teal, and gold served as the natural inspiration for the living room's color story,” while allowing for subtle shifts in daylight and shadow to take center stage, says Barnard.
Get This Look in Your Home: Let nature guide your design organically, with natural color palettes and greenery. Make natural light and views of the outdoors an intentional component of design, to support health and wellness.
4. Colorful, But Connected
The Backstory: A newly married couple who had kept separate residences in the city were moving to the suburbs together. The challenge was to make the design look intentional, balance his-and-her styles, while incorporating shared and personal spaces.
The Vibe: Coastal meets moody, English country, airy.
The Design: This couple prioritized color, and lots of it. As long-time renters, they hadn’t been able to color their respective homes as they wished, so white was off the table.
”They wanted the home to feel warm, bespoke and uniquely theirs,” says Andrea Sinkin, of Andrea Sinkin Design.
A dark and moody library for the husband features rich blues, while an office space for the wife is a soft pink. Patterned wallpaper in common spaces moves from soft greens to a range of blue hues.
To Get This Look: This home demonstrates that you don’t need to limit yourself to one or two colors. Pick a starting point, and choose hues that unfold into each other, especially if sightlines extend through various rooms to keep the look cohesive.
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Hero image courtesy of Eric Hausman for Drury Design
