Opulent, elegant, sophisticated and refined. Not to everyone’s taste but there’s an other-worldy quality to Alidad‘s spaces that provide an escape to the everyday.

A historic home with most of the original features maintained, whilst being updated and giving some modern touches is the the type of home I crave and am always so pleased to find and share here. Like this 300 year old Colonial home in Connecticut designed by Ryan Lawson, where he painted out doors/windows/trim in black and added lots of textures with fabrics and rugs to make it really cozy. Inspirational! Photos: Stephen Kent Johnson; Styling: Colin King

It has been a while since I thought about what my favourite colour is. When I came across this home designed by Studio Kaya I quickly realized it is green. Because I love the outdoors so much and have too many plants all over my house I guess this makes total sense. But it’s really the warmth and energy that green in any shade exudes. And this home is so wonderfully serene because of the beautiful shades of green mixed with warm wood and off white.

This home speaks to me on sooooo many levels. Having a history and rustic vibe yet simple, modern architecture on the inside. That dichotomy as well as white vs black makes this home have so much energy and evokes emotion. I am completely smitten. Designed by Hallworth.

Nestled on ten acres in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, is the quintessential Adobe of Montecito, named by an early owner, Ennisbrook, an Irish word meaning land by a river. Dating back in parts to the mid-1800s, it is an early architectural darling of the town it inhabits. The Adobe was left gutted with dust floors, essentially derelict as a result of an abandoned renovation when my clients acquired the property. The property had a heavy, mature, gravitas in juxtaposition to the young newlywed owners. The seriousness of the building required subtle strong detailing. However, the primary design inspiration came from Notre Dame du Ronschamp.  Corbusier’s masterpiece has an air of brutal honesty. The space is monastic and meditative, heavy-lidded and softly lit.   Architecturally we had similar conditions. Ennisbrook has limited fenestration and dark timber, hewn trussed ceiling original to the building.  Ronschamp’s walls are stark white, yet ethereal.  We similarly employed white reflective plaster and floors cast in integral white concrete, which speckled and crazed like a bird’s eggshell. Our light is restricted, but serene.  The kitchen blackened as a hearth itself is the heart of the home. Three years later the client moved into a home that was entirely realized, furnished with brutal simplicity, comfortable and negligently sexy, redolent of the past but infinitely modern, a perfect hillside retreat.

Los Angeles based interior designer and home stager Francesca Grace is elevating interiors with some curves, a dose of colour, a dash of bold artwork, a touch of chic and a lot of style. Love!