Brooklyn Houzz Tour: A Favourite Movie Inspired This Joyful Flat
A Wes Anderson film helps spark the style inspiration for this designer’s bright and happy live-work apartment
Before she made over the space, the apartment walls were “that off-white yellowish colour” that New York landlords seem to favour, says Wills, who is renting. In the bedroom, she indulged her love of colour. The inspiration came from her favourite movie, The Royal Tenenbaums, in which the character Margot has a bedroom with red wallpaper printed with images of zebras. “I always loved that room in the movie, so that’s kind of where I started,” Wills says. Instead of red zebra wallpaper, she chose a bright coral paint for her walls, emulating the warm feeling of Margot’s room.
Wills painted the bed frame, previously a dark grey-brown, in a bright yellow paint that she mixed using several yellows. She added new lampshades to her old lamps and bought new curtains.
Bed (discontinued): Ikea, custom-painted; bedding and curtains: Anthropologie; lampshades: Crate & Kids
Wills painted the bed frame, previously a dark grey-brown, in a bright yellow paint that she mixed using several yellows. She added new lampshades to her old lamps and bought new curtains.
Bed (discontinued): Ikea, custom-painted; bedding and curtains: Anthropologie; lampshades: Crate & Kids
Living room. Wills chose a bright white paint for her living room, which is adjacent to her bedroom. Though she adores bright colour, she wanted the living room to feel calm and the vibe to be relaxed. The walls, curtains and sofa are intentionally neutral, with jolts of colour coming from smaller surfaces, such as the rug, throw pillows and dining chair seats.
“I wanted to keep the walls really clean and keep the focus on the rug,” Wills says. She had purchased the rug for a client who later changed her mind. “I liked it so much, I just kept it,” Wills says.
Sofa: Ikea
“I wanted to keep the walls really clean and keep the focus on the rug,” Wills says. She had purchased the rug for a client who later changed her mind. “I liked it so much, I just kept it,” Wills says.
Sofa: Ikea
Above a white dresser that she got for free, Wills hung a poster from The Royal Tenenbaums that is edged in pink, a colour that she particularly loves. She used pink throughout her home in soft furnishings as well as on the walls of her bathroom and the office skylight area via paint.
Behind the sofa and to the left of the bedroom door, Wills hung a gallery wall of pieces that she purchased on Etsy and finished using Ikea frames.
A dining table near the windows gives Wills a comfortable place to sit in the sun. The apartment’s windows and southwestern exposure let in copious sunlight.
Dining table: Ikea
Dining table: Ikea
Kitchen. The kitchen used to have cabinet doors with chickens etched on them, but Wills removed the doors to get a more open look. To give the cabinets a cleaner look, she backed the cabinet boxes with vinyl from a friend who works at a design-build company. Wills also replaced the original light fixture with the yellow one shown in this photo, adding a purple cord for contrast. The kitchen island is “kind of awkwardly high,” she says, but it came with the apartment.
The right side of this photo shows a bit of the dark green entryway, which is to the right of the mint-coloured wall. As one enters the apartment, the guest bathroom is directly in front.
Lighting fixture: Pottery Barn Kids; purple cord: Crate & Kids; wall paint: Soft Mint, Benjamin Moore
The right side of this photo shows a bit of the dark green entryway, which is to the right of the mint-coloured wall. As one enters the apartment, the guest bathroom is directly in front.
Lighting fixture: Pottery Barn Kids; purple cord: Crate & Kids; wall paint: Soft Mint, Benjamin Moore
Guest bathroom. Wills hand-painted a mural on the upper half of her bathroom walls. “I’ve been painting since high school, but I never do it anymore,” she says. “I thought this would be an opportunity to give myself a little project.” The design inspiration came from de Gournay wallpaper.
Paint on lower walls: Banana Yellow, Benjamin Moore
Paint on lower walls: Banana Yellow, Benjamin Moore
Office loft. Up the stairs from the kitchen, Wills has created an office. The bookshelf contains samples and client files, and Wills does much of her design work here. “I’m up here almost daily,” she says.
The space overlooks the living room and is located directly beneath a skylight. Wills painted the walls leading up to the skylight pink. Though the skylight lets in a lot of warmth, it unfortunately doesn’t open, which means the summers can be oppressive. “Last summer I worked from my dining table or I’d go to Soho House, because there were some days I just couldn’t think, it was so hot up here,” Wills says.
The wall colour is the same mint as she used downstairs.
Desk and bookshelves: Ikea; skylight wall paint: Light Chiffon Pink, Benjamin Moore
The space overlooks the living room and is located directly beneath a skylight. Wills painted the walls leading up to the skylight pink. Though the skylight lets in a lot of warmth, it unfortunately doesn’t open, which means the summers can be oppressive. “Last summer I worked from my dining table or I’d go to Soho House, because there were some days I just couldn’t think, it was so hot up here,” Wills says.
The wall colour is the same mint as she used downstairs.
Desk and bookshelves: Ikea; skylight wall paint: Light Chiffon Pink, Benjamin Moore
Here’s a look at the skylight from below. Photographer Jeff Anzulewicz, who is a friend of Wills’, took this picture while lying flat on his back.
Private bathroom. This bathroom lies off Wills’ bedroom. She chose a pinkish peach she found soothing, and contrasted it with an olive colour for the ceiling. She also installed the light fixture shown here.
Wall paint: Springy Peach, Benjamin Moore; ceiling paint: Avocado, Benjamin Moore; art: Etsy; light fixture: One Kings Lane
Wall paint: Springy Peach, Benjamin Moore; ceiling paint: Avocado, Benjamin Moore; art: Etsy; light fixture: One Kings Lane
“I love colour,” says Wills, pictured in the living room.
Tell us
What do you love about this home? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, save the story, and join in the conversation.
More
Find a renovation professional in Singapore
Browse more Singapore photos for design inspiration
Tell us
What do you love about this home? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, save the story, and join in the conversation.
More
Find a renovation professional in Singapore
Browse more Singapore photos for design inspiration
Apartment at a Glance
Who lives here: Lauren Wills of Wills Design Associates
Location: Fort Greene neighbourhood of Brooklyn, New York
Size: 1,100 square feet (102 square metres)
After a breakup, designer Lauren Wills decided to give her Brooklyn apartment a makeover. “My goal was to create a place where I’m OK being all the time. Bright, happy. New York winters are pretty miserable,” says Texas native Wills, who both lives and works in the apartment. She got new window treatments, changed some lighting fixtures and purchased new bar stools. But her most dramatic tool was paint. Every wall in the apartment got a new colour.
Wall paint: Coral Spice, Benjamin Moore