The owner of this Pacific Avenue condo lived in D.C. for years before packing up her traditional furniture and family memorabilia and moving to the City by the Bay.
“Making the space personal was very important,” explains designer Ashi Waliany of Cusp Interiors. “The homeowner is an avid traveler and wants to remember special places. She has also held on to heirloom pieces, like her great-grandmother’s desk and an antique dining room table.”
“We knew we wanted to bring an infusion of color and incorporate pieces by female artists,” Waliany adds. The energy investment COO and Waliany picked Powerlines Oscillate, the abstract painting in the dining room, and on the jewel-box powder room walls, botanical designs by decorative artist Caroline Lizarraga. The Totem paper sculpture in the living room was fashioned from the COO’s cherished college yearbook pages and suspended from the ceiling by artist Karen Hawkins, who drove from Austin, Texas to personally install it.
“This home is now fully infused with my client’s personality, passion, and style.” Applause for tactical strategy.
“In the living room, we kept everything quieter and let the sofa be the big, bold moment,” says the designer. The luscious, inviting seating in deep-green bouclé with jeweled undertones can seat many and is treated with a fabric protector in case of dip mishaps or wine spills. The white chairs are covered in a fluffy wool blend that “feels like you’re enveloped in a cloud.” A Rudin sofa, covered in Dedar fabric, is the power player in a field of neutrals. Swivel chair by Jean de Merry, fabric by The Vale London. Coffee table from Ferm Living. Artist Karen Hawkins’ Totem paper sculpture.
The primary bedroom is an homage to a trip the owner took to Mombasa, the coastal city in Southeast Kenya along the Indian Ocean. “The room has that feeling of being someplace else,” shares Waliany, who likes mixing high and low pieces. “As in fashion, if you wear only one big brand, it’s overkill.” The CB2 bed is flanked by two exotic nightstands, while the rug is vintage. And the handpicked, embossed Big Croco wallpaper by Élitis has a faraway feel. Shams by Dedar. Lumbar pillow in Holly Hunt alpaca velvet. Rug from NIBA Designs.
Even the kitchen has a pop of color: The ottomans at the breakfast bar can be pulled into the living room as needed for seating, and the pendant lights look like jewelry.
In the guest room/home office, a chenille-covered sleeper sofa sits opposite the owner’s keepsake desk from her great-grandmother. The lamp that looks like the bust of a woman is an Anthropologie find. Guest room/ home office wallpaper by Ralph Lauren (walls) and Phillip Jeffries (ceiling). Antique rug, Erin Lane Estate.
Photography by Brad Knipstein.
Styling by Allegra Hsiao.
For more like this apartment from Cusp Interiors, be sure to check out this upscale urbane home in Chicago.
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