Light, bright and clean, this interior embodies everything the City of Angels is all about
Photography by Tessa Neustadt
The Palm Springs aesthetic is one that never seems to stray too far from the design scene — and why would it? When one thinks of the ‘ideal home’, per se, most seek a design that is effortlessly light, captures the freshness of the outdoors and is clutter-free, hence the perseverance of this classic trend with rock-solid foundations. For author and screenwriter Kelly Oxford, her husband James and three kids Salinger, Henry and Bea, classic with a creative twist is best.
The residence is located in Studio City, the LA neighbourhood known to house the rich and famous — including Twitter-famed Canadian Kelly. Having recently moved from Calgary, The New York Times best-selling author =QUOTE= sought help from interior designer Orlando Soria from Homepolish LA to add some much-needed personality to the space. “The home was lovely but totally empty,” says Orlando.
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With all parties content to work with the bones of the residence, the redesign focused on collating a range of vintage and new pieces for the great room, kitchen dining nook, master bedroom and children’s bedrooms. “We didn’t want to change too much about the space, so one obstacle was giving it a fresh feel without changing the walls, floors or lighting,” says Orlando. “We wanted to keep the colour palette light and minimal to emphasise how airy the space is.”
Due to the reliance on furnishings, the selection of art in this home was of the utmost importance. “Kelly and I had a great time figuring out the art,” admits Orlando. “We commissioned a gorgeous painting from Erika Gragg for the living room, and one of the most fun things we did was look for nude portraits at the flea market, which Kelly painted swimsuits on. They look kind of hilarious and I love that it brings her humour into the space.”
Combining the old with the new is a running theme in the home, and this also applies to the furnishings, with many pieces upcycled and given a new lease on life. “I find using vintage is a subtle way of going green,” says Orlando. “Instead of purchasing a home full of new pieces which are filled with chemicals, we used as many flea market finds as we could, adding in contemporary pieces to make the space feel fresh.”
An all-star vintage find is the pouf in the living area, which was reupholstered in a vibrant teal fabric — the perfect piece to create a fabulous Palm Springs look. Greenery is also incorporated into the living area, with plants brought inside to maintain that tropical vibe. “We tried to emphasise tropical vegetation outside by adding some tropical prints and coastal accents, such as sisal rugs.”
Inspired by Slim Aarons’ iconic images, Orlando and Kelly have successfully captured the essence of these photographs and integrated them into the home.
“Because Kelly has such a strong sense of humour and a developed eye for beautiful design, the project ended up being tasteful and a bit outlandish — not a lot of clients make it easy to create this type of design!”
For more information
homepolish.com
Originally from Home Design Volume 18 Issue 6