New construction can look amazing, but sometimes it doesn’t feel as luxurious as you hope it will be. Walking into these stark white spaces can sometimes leave you feeling lost on how to put your personal touch on a space that is otherwise pretty generic. Luckily, Décor Aid is here to show us how they managed to turn their client’s new apartment into a luxurious beachy escape. Hint: Finding the perfect GM print really brought it all together!
With newly constructed apartments sweeping the nation from coast to coast, it can be all the more challenging to make yours feel unique, especially when so many are simply boring and generic.
After all, where’s the ‘luxury’ to be found in these so-called luxury developments?
Many of them are cold white boxes with ample windows that are great to have, but hard to decorate with. And when it comes to adding a unique sense of personality, where do you even begin?
All of that said, a cold white box may seem uninspiring at first, but with the right approach and tools, there’s a tried and true way to make it work to your advantage, and make it all the more memorable to boot.
Take this Bay Area residence for example. At first, it was a sparse blank white canvas waiting to be brought to life, and interior design firm Décor Aid did just that thanks to some enviable updates that you should take note of for your own home.
After getting married and moving into their first ‘adult’ apartment in San Francisco, a newlywed couple reached out to Décor Aid as they were at a standstill when it came to decorating it. Needing help in adding personality to their newly purchased home in the Mission District, they knew they wanted their apartment to boast the calming feel of a beach-inspired respite from the daily hustle of big city living.
But how do you go about creating a beachy yet contemporary and grown-up spirit in a small, ultra-modern apartment? We'll let Décor Aid handle answering that one...
When Décor Aid initially toured the apartment, nothing about the space evoked the laid back feel of coastal living and seaside styling. And the color palette was just as cold and minimal in feel as a snowy winter’s day: the exact opposite of what Décor Aid’s client was dreaming about.
To ignite the design process, Décor Aid introduced their client to the visionary world of fine-art photographer Gray Malin as the ultimate source of seaside inspiration. Together they landed on Bondi Beach Waves, a large-scaled beachside aerial photograph, for the bedroom as a starting point to help define the space with a playful yet meticulously realized gesture. The aerial image boasts warm turquoise waves slowly giving way to sandy taupes, a soothing gradient which helped to serve as color palette cues for the entire apartment.
Continuing with the theme and color story, the bedroom’s walls were painted a calming almost non-color gray as an alternative to stark white walls. Bed linens were kept white to keep the space feeling as large and bright as possible and paired with taupe and sherpa throw pillows for need textural play. Small turquoise and copper decorative accessories were also brought in to compliment the raw wooden bedside table and to mimic the feel of the epic beach shot.
The best thing about taking inspiration from Gray Malin’s beach excursion? Since it could be a beach almost anywhere in the world, Décor Aid wasn’t stuck with evoking a distinct locale, which made the design process all the easier and the beachy theme far from heavy-handed.
Now that doesn’t seem so difficult, does it? We love how Décor Aid made this space feel personal and homey, while still maintaining the fresh, modern feeling of new construction. To learn more about them, please sure to check out Décor Aid online and follow along at @decoraid. As for creating your own beach-inspired space, look no further than the GM shop to find the perfect print to transform your space by clicking here.
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Team GM
Photo: Décor Aid
About The Author:
Décor Aid is an interior design firm that has revolutionized the industry in order to provide high-touch design and renovation services throughout the U.S. Transparent pricing, fixed design fees, trade discounts, and the best interior designers nationwide are what makes the firm unique.