Timeless is one of those terms that is bandied about so much in the design profession that more often than not it’s more trite than true.
Until, of course, you step into the Los Angeles penthouse interior Kristi Nelson and her team redesigned as a private getaway for a woman who has had a successful career in the fashion industry.
Inspired by the original Parisian atelier of Christian Dior, Nelson created an elegant space that straddles the timeline in such an exquisite manner that it’s impossible to tell when or where you are.
And that’s the point.
Taking the condo from a drab 1990s contemporary to a sophisticated modern classic that emphasizes the 12-foot ceilings and airy, light-filled spaces required a gut renovation.
“I strove to encapsulate the elements of classic European style with an unabashedly feminine flair,” describes Nelson, whose firm, KM Nelson Design, is based in Los Angeles. “It’s a melding of a London townhouse in Mayfair and a bourgeois apartment in Paris’ 16th arrondissement, where every detail is very custom, very couture, very made-to-measure.”
The condo’s rooms radiate from a central octagonal space, a nod to classical architecture that Nelson imbued with a contemporary touch by keeping the décor minimal and emphasizing the spatial geometry.
Nelson set the condo’s timeless tone with the palette — Dior pink and gray, paired with lush lavenders, soft blues, whites, and creams — and a carefully curated collection of antiques from various eras and origins to create what she calls a “whimsical, dreamy atmosphere.”
The 18th-century Swedish secretary in the living room, the 19th-century crystal chandelier in the primary suite and the stunning pair of 1940s Maison Baguès sconces in the dining room convey a cosmopolitan agelessness.
“There are references throughout the residence that everyone who has traveled can relate to,” Nelson notes. “Without being obvious or specific, they make the spaces more relatable and enticing. It feels personal because it is reminiscent of a place you may have visited and can connect to.”
The breakfast nook, which opens to a wraparound balcony, is a room that resonates memories. Its banquette, upholstered in blue velvet outdoor fabric, takes a seat next to a glass-topped table that has a 19th-century base. The new Nancy Corzine chairs, whose ivory glaze matches the color of the building’s exterior stucco, have a French feel. And the chandelier, which Nelson loves because she says it really doesn’t “match” anything else, belongs to the client’s mother, providing a piece of personal history.
“The room has the feel of a turn-of-the-20th- century French pastry store, with a touch of 1940s brought into the now,” Nelson explains.
The gilded and painted furniture — Nelson virtually banned browns — gives glimpses of the glamour of 1940s Paris, when Dior ushered in his revolutionary “New Look.”
And the fashion-house fabrics, such as silk velvets, satins and exquisite embroideries, along with French trims, are references to haute couture.
In the dining room, whose walls are papered with a silvery Nicolette Mayer chinoiserie-painted grass cloth that looks like linen or Fortuny, a pair of vanity-like consoles is “dressed” in a blue-and-white linen/silk blend.
“I did them for the client’s previous apartment, which was all in shades of blue,” she explains. “And we left them as is — they happened to be the same accent blue as we used in the living room. I always weave colors from one room to another; they will go from being prominent elements to small touches. It’s the thread that pulls you through the space and makes it understandable without being obvious.”
The overall look of the Century City condo — refined, sophisticated and romantic — is, indeed, as timeless as a little black dress.
Photography by Karyn Millet.
For more like this, be sure to check out this elegant apartment also designed by Kristi Nelson.
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