Brandon Raines Photography

Bright living room with modern fireplace, white brick surround and reclaimed wood mantelpiece.

This formal living room is anything but stiff. These teal-blue lacquered walls give this front living room a kick of personality that you can see the moment you walk into the house. Photo by Emily Minton Redfield

A storybook interior! An urban farmhouse with layers of purposeful patina; reclaimed trusses, shiplap, acid washed stone, wide planked hand scraped wood floors. Come on in!

When an international client moved from Brazil to Stamford, Connecticut, they reached out to Decor Aid, and asked for our help in modernizing a recently purchased suburban home. The client felt that the house was too “cookie-cutter,” and wanted to transform their space into a highly individualized home for their energetic family of four. In addition to giving the house a more updated and modern feel, the client wanted to use the interior design as an opportunity to segment and demarcate each area of the home. They requested that the downstairs area be transformed into a media room, where the whole family could hang out together. Both of the parents work from home, and so their office spaces had to be sequestered from the rest of the house, but conceived without any disruptive design elements. And as the husband is a photographer, he wanted to put his own artwork on display. So the furniture that we sourced had to balance the more traditional elements of the house, while also feeling cohesive with the husband’s bold, graphic, contemporary style of photography. The first step in transforming this house was repainting the interior and exterior, which were originally done in outdated beige and taupe colors. To set the tone for a classically modern design scheme, we painted the exterior a charcoal grey, with a white trim, and repainted the door a crimson red. The home offices were placed in a quiet corner of the house, and outfitted with a similar color palette: grey walls, a white trim, and red accents, for a seamless transition between work space and home life. The house is situated on the edge of a Connecticut forest, with clusters of maple, birch, and hemlock trees lining the property. So we installed white window treatments, to accentuate the natural surroundings, and to highlight the angular architecture of the home. In the entryway, a bold, graphic print, and a thick-pile sheepskin rug set the tone for this modern, yet comfortable home. While the formal room was conceived with a high-contrast neutral palette and angular, contemporary furniture, the downstairs media area includes a spiral staircase, comfortable furniture, and patterned accent pillows, which creates a more relaxed atmosphere. Equipped with a television, a fully-stocked bar, and a variety of table games, the downstairs media area has something for everyone in this energetic young family.

Landmark Photography

Dropped soffits were removed and original ceiling heights were restored with new crown moldings, paneled walls and custom built-ins, to bring Old World glamour back to this Upper East Side apartment. A blue lacquered Chinoiserie-Style coffee table sits in front of a comfortable upholstered linen sofa. The wall paint is Dorian Gray by C2 paint. Photograph: Eric Piasecki

Upper loft area looks over the family room and has two beds Bunk Style over a sitting area

KuDa Photography

Julie Soefer Photography