Wow Home Idea

Joe Schmelzer Known for creating lavish visual displays, events designer David Stark makes a playful, graphic statement in his New York City home. Here's how: 1. Don't shy away from pattern. My foyer is tiny, but its impact is big. The dynamic interplay of patterns in blacks and grays creates surprise, an aha moment when people walk in. 2. Choose one element to unite different rooms. I've always loved 3D illusions, so when I renovated my loft, I ran this cement floor tile everywhere, from the front door through all the rooms. That might seem a bold and brave thing to do, but the effect is magical. 3. Try alternative wall coverings. Linoleum is a sexy surface that imparts richness and depth, and yet it's unconventional to put it on a wall, as I did here. One of my trade marks as an event producer is using commonplace materials intended for other purposes in offbeat, ingenious ways that transform the ordinary into something extraordinary. 4. Use sentimental pieces as...

Joe Schmelzer Embracing the beauty of beige, designer John De Bastiani crafts a serene and sophisticated Los Angeles home that gives this basic hue a breakout role.  LISA CREGAN: Beige is the Walter Mitty of the color wheel. It looks unassuming, but it can dream big. JOHN DE BASTIANI: Beige is classic. It's sophisticated, it's soothing. It isn't trendy, and neither am I. People might call it the safe choice, but I say, What's wrong with being safe? More and more, I find that young clients like these homeowners, Laurent Bouzereau and Markus Keith, are gravitating toward neutrals. They want the traditional comfort of their grandmother's house without the chintz and heavy wallpapers, and beige fits the bill; for instance, it gives these English club chairs in the living room a modern aspect. All the khaki, white, and cream keeps the mood serene, even in rooms dominated by vibrant movie posters. I do love the vintage European movie posters. In the bedroom, the savage ...

Nathan Schroder Call it the power of a passport. Amy Berry wasn't sure which path to take after earning a business degree, until trips to Florence, Amsterdam, and Marrakech cemented her love of interiors. She enrolled at London's Inchbald School of Design and never looked back. "After, I marched into Pierre Frey and said, 'I really love it here and just want a job,'" the 27-year-old recalls. She worked at Volga Linen, too, before moving back to Texas,where her real estate-agent mother-in-law introduced her to her first client, and — presto! — a career mixing Southern glamour with European refinement was born. John Cain Mirrors bring lightness and glamour to a client's small bath. Kallista sconces; Ann Sacks tiles. For more details, see Resources. This story originally appeared in the March 2016 issue of  House Beautiful. By Hillary Brown

Matt Albiani CHRISTINE PITTEL: What is this place? It's the perfect summer fantasy — a house perched practically in the water. GARY McBOURNIE: It's a Nantucket wharf cottage, built around 1900 or so, although it's been reconstructed a few times after storms. It's a simple utilitarian structure, basically one big room with a kitchen, a bathroom, a small bedroom, and a loft where the sailing equipment is stored. It looks like the closest you can get to living on a boat. When you're sitting inside with all the windows and doors open to the breeze, the salt air and the mist come in, and you really feel as if you're out on the ocean. Boats are sailing by just a few feet away, and it seems as if you're moving as well. At high tide, you can hear the waves slapping against the bottom of the floorboards.  Who lives here? Well, this is really about fun. My clients live in a house in town, and they use this cottage as a launch pad for their boat. It's a place to...