Modern Luxury Interiors
Modern Luxury Interiors
May/June 2022
Written by: Laura Eckstein Jones
The addition of color, cabinetry and millwork, along with updating the lighting throughout, provided a rich foundation for furnishings.” Since Wiley’s taste veered classic and Morelli’s skewed more contemporary, Stein had to find a common ground to work with stylewise. Luckily, both clients favored the color green, a shade Stein herself loves. “I wanted to bring the familiarity and comfort of their East Coast roots to the home by infusing woody and floral compositions, however doing so in finishes and materials inspired instead by the everyday beauty of the California landscape,” she says. “For me, the process begins with discovery and gaining insight not only into clients’ aesthetic preferences, which tend to shift and evolve a bit from one home to the next, but also an understanding of their household, how they want to feel in their home, how they prefer to live from day to day,” Stein explains. “What we unearthed was a strong preference for color and comfort, a dichotomy of both classic and contemporary mingling together, and a desire to add depth and detail to the existing architecture.”
Beyond green, Stein selected an earthier, dustier color palette than she used in the couple’s prior home. “Samira was into this idea, but I did have to convince Lauren that it wouldn’t feel drab,” she says.“These foundational colors selected lend the home a comfortable quality reminiscent of an older, lived-in space. Pairing this with furnishings that meander from modernist to antique, with a sprinkling of both vintage and statement items, kept things fresh and unexpected. For me, the composition is about that balance between studied and whimsy, edited and layered.”