This Interior Designer Throws Parties for 80 People in His 480-Square-Foot Studio

This article details how designer Natasha Nyanin, with the help of interior designer Nina Blair, transformed a diminutive 350-square-foot rental studio on the Upper West Side into a functional and stylish living space. The transformation began when Nyanin chose the apartment for its northern light and separate, windowed kitchen, over a similar but less appealing unit. The renovation focused on cosmetic changes to the kitchen and bathroom, and a complete repainting of the main living area. The living room/bedroom was painted in 'Seize the Gray' by Clare, a neutral shade selected to complement a soft pastel palette. Key furniture pieces in this area include white slipper chairs from Interior Define and a pink sofa from Joybird. A delicate two-level brass and Rosso Verona side table was custom-made for Nyanin by jewelry designer Bia Daidone. Initially, Nyanin considered a wabi-sabi aesthetic, but her love for cooking and entertaining led her to prioritize a practical floor plan and furniture arrangement for guests. A large rectangular table, crafted from plywood covered in epoxy resin by Stone Coat Countertops and fitted with legs from Prettypegs, was incorporated. This dining setup was completed with sapphire velvet upholstered chairs and a mid-century velvet bench, adding a touch of luxury. Alabaster vases, discovered at the Marrakech hotel Jnane Tamsna, were sourced from Maison Flaneur. An Eames plywood folding screen was strategically used to create a visual separation between the living area and the closet space. The area also features a dual-level acrylic side table from Ferm Living and an agate chessboard found during a trip through the Atlas Mountains. A custom carpet, designed by Nyanin and Bradford Louryk and hand-tufted in India, anchors the living space. The kitchen underwent a bold renovation, including the installation of black-and-white vinyl floor tiles from Amazon. The original minimal counter space was expanded by adding a marble-like epoxy finish from Stone Coat Countertops over base cabinets from Cabinets to Go. Elongated, polished solid-brass custom cabinet pulls by De La Vega Designs were added, and open shelving with brass brackets from Signature Hardware provided a more contemporary look. Ceiling light fixtures from Lee Broom completed the kitchen design. In the bedroom area, the CB2 bed was positioned in the corner facing the windows to enhance the sense of space and doubles as a daybed. An Ashanti stool from Accra sits at the foot of the bed, complemented by pillowcases made from traditional handwoven Bonwire kente from Kumasi, Ghana. Samsung’s 'the Frame TV' displays abstract art by Marcel Ceuppens when turned off, and a black aluminum Giac desk chair, inspired by Giacometti sculptures, was made by De La Vega Designs. The bathroom was also updated with small but impactful changes. The walls were repainted with Clare’s 'Blackest', and the existing subway tiles were re-grouted in a dark gray. Nero Marquina herringbone floor tiles were installed, along with enamel-and-brass faucets from Rohl on a Kohler sink. A custom-sized teak floor mat from Teak Works 4 U was placed inside the shower for an exotic touch, and a framed watercolor by Emeline May adorns the wall. Despite the studio’s small size compared to her childhood home in Ghana, Nyanin successfully hosts dinner parties, offering a rare home-cooked meal experience in New York City, demonstrating that thoughtful design can make a compact space highly functional and welcoming. #SpaceOfTheWeek #DesignHunting #HomeDesign #StudioApartment #SmallSpaceLiving #InteriorDesign #NewYorkCity #UpperWestSide

The STUDIO at George Fox University offers interior design students practical, real-world experience by engaging them in projects for various clients, including nonprofits, schools, and residential remodels. This innovative lab moves beyond the conventional understanding of interior design, which often limits the field to aesthetic choices like matching paint colors and drapes. Instead, The STUDIO emphasizes comprehensive design solutions that incorporate local building codes, ADA regulations, and designs promoting health and safety, adhering to professional industry standards. For instance, students might employ trauma-informed design principles, utilizing color theory and spatial arrangements to foster a sense of security. Professor Casey Martin highlights the broad scope of interior design, noting that most everyday spaces benefit from the expertise of an interior designer. The program structure ensures students gain extensive hands-on experience through a combination of paid and pro bono projects, which Martin pre-arranges. She strategically assigns students to project teams based on their individual strengths and skill sets. A core component of The STUDIO's philosophy is empathy-driven initiatives, focusing on design challenges such as housing issues and projects for clients with limited design budgets. One notable project involved a collaboration with Portland State University architecture students and the Forest Grove Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to vulnerable communities. This team developed interiors for sleeping pods intended for individuals experiencing homelessness, integrating trauma-informed design within strict budgetary constraints. This project's success was recognized with a 2023 Changemaker Award and national acclaim from the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) for outstanding student work. Other projects include junior Taylor Ho and senior Tyra Hayashi creating Revit models of campus buildings for La Salle Preparatory High School in California, providing templates for future architects and designers. Senior Ilanahe Beatty worked with Kingsley Field Military Base in Klamath Falls, Oregon, to source U.S.-made products and develop a “typicals package” that aligns with military and GSA contract standards for current and future use. Through these collaborations, students in The STUDIO develop practical skills essential for their careers post-graduation. The program actively connects students with the Portland design industry, fostering professional relationships with mentors and preparing them for critical certifications such as the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) and LEED Green Associate exams. Furthermore, the class expands their professional network, introducing them to future clients and designers while they are still in school. Professor Martin summarizes the program's ultimate goal: to ensure that graduates feel fully prepared and confident to enter a design firm and immediately contribute effectively to projects. #InteriorDesign #RealWorldSkills #ExperientialLearning #TraumaInformedDesign #StudentProjects #ProfessionalDevelopment #CommunityEngagement #GeorgeFoxUniversity

The Designer Show House, a biennial event sponsored by the Village Improvement Association in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, showcases diverse interior and exterior design inspirations across its 6,000 square feet of space and nearly an acre of outdoor areas. This event serves as a platform for regional designers to present their expertise and offers visitors a wealth of ideas for their own homes. One featured space is a sunken living room, designed by Kate FitzGerald-Wilks of Timeless Design in Landenberg, Pennsylvania. This room embodies a West Indies aesthetic, characterized by bold lines, soft sandy hues, and rich textures. Key elements include vintage stick bamboo chairs painted black, adorned with Kuba cloth and Ralph Lauren zebra-stripe pillows on a slipcovered camel-backed sofa. A mid-century hutch is repurposed as a cocktail bar, complemented by sculptural metal and glass console tables flanking the fireplace. Wood mirrors with faux tortoise shell lean against textured wallpaper, while modern sculptures and art blend with antique books and global treasures. FitzGerald-Wilks also designed the dining room, aiming for a dramatic effect with a backdrop of 200 wine bottles and a striking Dolcetti chandelier crafted from shells and crystals, evoking sea glass. An 8-foot-long reclaimed wine rack sits atop a buffet. The room's color palette consists of soft creams and tans, punctuated by emerald green accents in the chandelier and wine bottles. Windows are framed with woven ikat print panels. An airy sunroom, conceived by Alfred Wolf Home (a new venture from Design Center of Rehoboth or DCOR), was designed to create a light-filled, contemporary transition between the house and garden. This involved removing existing French doors and window grills, painting the room in various shades of white and French gray-green, and incorporating textural elements of white canvas, iron, and marble. The family room, also by DCOR, maintained the warmth of its original paneling and fireplace stone, setting the foundation for a soft khaki and cream palette. The room is furnished with herringbone, tweed, and leather fabrics, offset by tortoise shell wood finishes and local tidal scene artwork. Mary Stewart of M. Stewart Interiors in Bear designed the upstairs hobby room, named "Just Us," intended as a shared family space for various pastimes like painting, photography, reading, chess, and Lego building. The room features updated cherished family heirlooms and is painted simply white to highlight paintings by Nadia Zychal. Nile Johnson of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, designed the second-floor paneled library, drawing inspiration from Rehoboth's laid-back yet cosmopolitan atmosphere. This space offers an updated interpretation of a classic library, decorated in layers of sandy tans. Cyndi and Ron Oronzio and Cathie Sheetz of Dreamweaver Interiors of Rehoboth Beach decorated a bedroom and bath, inspired by vibrantly patterned fabrics. They utilized Robert Allen fabrics as wallpaper for an accent wall, building the room's design around this print. The team selected fabrics for their depth, crisp patterns, contrasting textures, and detailed embroidery, incorporating a bright coral pink accent color and rhinestone embellishments for a feminine touch. Brenda Carder of blcINTERIORS of Rehoboth Beach designed a small guest bedroom, combining natural cotton and linen fabrics with metal and reclaimed wood. Crown moldings add formality. To compensate for limited sunlight, the room was kept light and bright, with a deep navy blue accent wall and touches of bright yellow for warmth. The second floor features art by Libby Zando of Zando Designs and Art Affects in Milton, alongside works by award-winning regional artists. Boardwalk Builders of Rehoboth transformed a hallway into a gallery space by adding wainscot paneling, creating an updated cottage aesthetic that visually broadened the hallway. Mark A. Polo of The Urban Dweller in Boonton, New Jersey, designed the master suite, aiming for comfort with soft textural colors ranging from taupe to blue. The furniture is upholstered to enhance the room's softness, featuring taupe draperies of embroidered sheer linen and silk edged in leather and freshwater pearls. Blonde floors are softened by a long-fiber rug. Outdoors, Erin Walls and Justin Bartels of Bella Terra Landscaping in Lincoln repurposed existing flagstone patios and walkways, adding new stones to create a Celtic-inspired design. The layout divides the space into a grand area for social gatherings and secluded nooks for quiet retreats. Creative Concepts Furniture of Lewes and Ocean View furnished the patios as outdoor rooms with bright coastal colors, including a sectional, loveseat, dining area for six, and lounge chairs, inviting visitors to envision themselves in the setting. #DesignerShowHouse #InteriorDesign #HomeDecor #RehobothBeach #DelawareDesign #LuxuryInteriors #OutdoorLiving #DesignInspiration

Alex Bass, founder of Salon 21, an education and commerce platform for the art world, showcases how she curated a sophisticated yet youthful dining nook within her West Village studio apartment. Her approach reflects the same philosophy as Salon 21: a blend of traditional concepts with a contemporary, youthful twist. Bass skillfully partitioned her studio into distinct areas without structural walls, utilizing creative staging to define each space. The dining nook, a key focus, features a marble table and Cesca chairs, complemented by a gallery wall and an antique mirror, strategically placed to enhance the room's perceived size and openness. The article delves into Bass's design process, emphasizing how she created this particular nook to be both stylish and highly practical for small-space living. Bass highlights the importance of natural light and the pre-war architectural details of her studio, such as archways and iron-paned windows, which inspired her furniture and decor choices. She aimed to integrate pieces that matched the inherent sophistication of the apartment, opting for a neutral and warm color palette in the dining nook to foster a sense of focus and relaxation. This deliberate choice contrasts with the more vibrant colors used in her living and bedroom areas. The space is designed for dual functionality, serving as both a workspace with a drop-down desk and a dining area, demonstrating her commitment to practicality in a compact environment. Her design philosophy for small spaces revolves around being decisive and maximizing utility without accumulating clutter. A core tenet of Bass's design approach is the strategic mixing of colors, textures, and styles. While the nook predominantly features muted tones, rusted golds, and browns to create a classic, luxurious feel, she introduces an orange basketball planter for a subtle pop of color, connecting it to other pieces on her bar cart. She stresses that the most crucial element in design is the juxtaposition of old and new elements. For instance, she pairs mid-century modern metal, wood, and cane Cesca chairs with a simple white marble slab table, achieving a modern aesthetic. This blend of styles, she argues, is essential for creating intrigue and balance in a space. Her appreciation for 'older' design, exemplified by her love for the Breuer-inspired chairs that evoke childhood memories, informs her ability to integrate vintage pieces with modern twists, such as the burl wood cabinet that perfectly fits the space. The gallery wall in the dining nook holds personal significance, featuring seven film photographs taken by Bass herself, given to her by her mother as a gift for her first apartment. These photographs, framed in brushed metallic, were carefully placed around an antique mirror, demonstrating how she adapted existing decor to fit a new layout. This process of re-evaluating and re-positioning items when moving into a new space, considering both style and logistics, is a practical aspect she emphasizes. Bass also shares her sourcing strategies, preferring to independently scour the internet and enjoy the hunt for vintage pieces. She highlights Overstock.com for good deals on items like her Cesca chairs and praises Etsy for its array of high-quality vintage finds, including the drop-down desk/armoire and various light fixtures she has personalized throughout her apartment. Finally, Bass discusses her intentional approach to maintaining a clean and functional table space. She uses candlesticks for ambient lighting during meals and keeps fresh flowers, a reminder of the outside world, especially during the pandemic. Her philosophy, inspired by a high school English teacher, advocates for dedicated spaces for different activities—working at the desk, sleeping in bed, and eating at the table—to maintain mental clarity and prevent clutter from encroaching on relaxing areas. This intentional separation of functions contributes to the overall tranquility and efficiency of her studio apartment's design. #StudioApartment #SmallSpaceLiving #InteriorDesign #DiningNook #HomeDecor #ArtDealer #VintageFurniture #ModernDesign #SpacePlanning