Whimsical Stories

A two-bedroom apartment at Schuman

A narrow desk nook lit by a small table lamp: a hand-drawn pomegranate branch on a raffia-toned panel above a light oak desk, a black cane-back chair pulled up to it, dark floral wallpaper below and a linen curtain to one side

The client said dark maximalism: theatrical, a little fantastical, whimsical. I inspired by tales about a forest fairy, and that became the whole apartment.

It's a home that lives in the evening: deep greens, rust and burgundy, velvet, brass, and walls that are gardens rather than backgrounds. The pattern does most of the work, so the rooms feel enclosed and slightly enchanted, like somewhere you'd find at the end of a path through the woods.

Not a calm interior, and it was never meant to be. It's meant to be the kind of place you want to stay in after dark.