This Investment Educator’s Brooklyn Rental Is Compact, Colorful, and Cool
This Vintage Seller’s New Orleans Home Is Filled With Stunning Secondhand Finds
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Name: Carly Sioux, with Maine Coon Cat, Winston
Location: Lower Garden District — New Orleans, Louisiana
Size: 1600 square feet
Type of Home: Craftsman Style Bungalow
Years lived in: 1 year, renting
I currently live in a Craftsman Style Bungalow home located in the heart of the Lower Garden District. My home was built in 1909 and was designed by renowned New Orleans Architect Thomas Sully, who also designed The Columns Hotel. What I love so much about this space are the quintessential traits of the Craftsman style. My home features a large covered front porch, abundant natural light, fireplaces throughout, a beautiful stained glass window in my entryway, built-in bookshelves and just great all around storage. If you live in New Orleans, you know exactly what kind of luxury I’m talking about. There are also these great little nooks where you can create little moments and vignettes of play. My front parlor also has these large red pocket doors that allow me to partition the space. I can either keep it open and fluid or I can close the doors and create a little intimate moment that feels secure and snug.
I am the owner and founder of NO ERA Design and specialize in vintage interiors; I have an Instagram shop, @shop_noera. I also do interior styling, staging, sourcing, design, all with a focus on vintage interiors. I use this space as my home studio for all my product photography and design inspiration.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My Style: Is always evolving. Previously, I coined the term “Regency Goth” to describe my aesthetic. This current space however, has me moving into a fresh new direction. At the moment I am mostly inspired by the 1970s and early 1980s aesthetic of Milan, Italy, and New York City. No matter what direction inspiration takes me, mirrors, plants, and original art are always the unifying elements that tie in all of my work.
Inspiration: My background is in arts, both as a practicing artist and my degree is in Arts Administration. So I approach interiors more so with the mindset of an artist rather than a traditional designer. I prefer the uniqueness and warmth of collective objects rather than achieving perfection through custom design and contemporary furnishings. Art, cinema, and music are the biggest influences that guide my creative process and I think a lot of that comes through on my Instagram Reels.
Favorite Element: Mirrors and plants. Lots of them and everywhere.
Biggest Challenge: Adapting to white walls. With all the fire mantels, wainscoting, and built-ins, the walls needed to stay white. I’ve always preferred darker, moodier palettes but I’ve really been embracing the crisp, freshness of white walls and all the natural light that radiates from them.
Proudest DIY: I shoot all of my own interior design photographs, which is no cakewalk. I have a background in darkroom photography, as well as I taught myself video and video editing. It’s a real competitive edge in this industry. I absolutely love making Instagram Reels and so many people are missing out on this huge opportunity to do something really interesting and creative with this technology.
Biggest Indulgence: The space itself I would say is my biggest indulgence. When the pandemic hit, I decided to invest more into the space I live in, since so much time is being spent here. It’s really been worth the investment.
Is there something unique about your home or the way you use it? I use my home as my photography studio. Lifestyle photographs are essential in this business so that people can imagine how some of these pieces can and will work in their homes or lifestyles. I often stage furniture and decor vignettes to feature on my social media as well as my online shop.
Please describe any helpful, inspiring, brilliant, or just plain useful small space maximizing and/or organizing tips you have: Mirrors. They just work for all spaces large and small. They open up space, reflect light, and just double whatever you put in front of them. Mirrors are magic.
What are your favorite products you have bought for your home and why? Incandescent bulbs. Nothing kills a vibe faster than LED lighting.
Finally, what’s your absolute best home secret or decorating advice? Don’t follow trends. Spend some time to find out what it is you like and what works for you and your particular lifestyle. Less is more, so slowly collect and invest in pieces you love instead of just filling up space.
Practically everything in my home has been purchased through thrifting and estate sales. I’ve also spent a considerable amount of time developing relationships with dealers and wholesalers who I source from on the regular. Some of my more notable pieces featured in these photographs are as follows:
This house tour’s responses were edited for length and clarity.
8 Interior Design Options for Every Budget and Level of Comfort
Whether you’re looking to add a couple of chic elements to your first apartment or want to go all in, there’s no shame in asking for some help. In fact, you can find tons of resources spanning every budget and required design skill level to help you make your interior dreams come true. From free online offerings to custom consultations, here are eight design resources you’re going to love.
If you’re just hoping for a little help with paint colors, startup Clare’s “Color Genius” program will make some recommendations based on your room’s size, light, existing furniture, and the look and feel you’re going for.
Cost: Free, plus optional add-ons
Without purchasing a single thing, you can use Room Planner to create a detailed floor plan rendered in 3D, place furniture, and more. (Of course, as with a lot of apps, you have to pay to unlock certain features, like additional materials and a wider range of branded furniture.) Heads up, though: If you’d like design guidance, you’ll want to look elsewhere — consider this app more a vehicle to bring your vision to life.
Cost: Between $5 and $10 per month, depending on your plan choice (which vary by number of renderings and ability to load predesigned plans)
This is a more comprehensive computer-aided design (CAD) program than Room Planner that will allow you to transform your 2D plans into a more visually appealing 3D model. Most people who use software like Homestyler are coming from somewhat of an interior design background already. The most consumer-friendly part of this program, however, is that once you design the structure of your space, you can place existing and shoppable furniture in it instead of relying on crafting said furniture from nothing but dimensions.
Cost: From $159 to $499, depending on your plan choice (which vary by number of room renderings and experience level of designer)
With Modsy, you start off by taking a style quiz and choosing your favorite decor themes from photos, explanations, and examples. You also provide your budget up front, as well as a list of items that you already own. A few days later, you receive two rendered options of your space, both with shoppable items, from the program’s designers. Of course, this is not the extended conversation you would get from a face-to-face (or Zoom-camera-to-Zoom-camera) interior designer consultation, but if you have no idea where to even start and a budget that falls in this range, this is a great alternative.
Cost: From $99 to $179, depending on your plan choice (with a cheaper plan that includes product recommendations and a more expensive one that also includes custom renderings and floor plans)
You also kick things off with Havenly by taking a style quiz about your space and providing your budget. With the $79 “mini” package, you receive some product recommendations; with the $129 “full package,” you get help designing an entire room with 3D renderings. Plus, Havenly gives you the option of a back-and-forth conversation via online messaging, text, and phone calls with the designer after product options have been sent to you. Response time isn’t always the speediest, but you can’t really beat the price for the individual attention.
Cost: Packages range from $295 to $1,695, depending on your plan choice (which vary by number of rooms, as well as your expected number of plan choices and duration of each check-in with your designer)
Though many furnishing companies offer similar services (Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, and more), a design consultation from One Kings Lane is a great option because of all of the different brands and styles of pieces they carry — including vintage! — so you aren’t stuck with a single “look.” Of course, this means they only suggest products that they stock, but that list is extensive. And they also offer color consultations with Farrow & Ball, as well as art consultations (for a separate cost).
Professional Interior Designer
Cost: Varies based on location, experience level, and the size of your job
Hiring an interior designer is certainly not the most economical option on this list. That said, designers have access to deals on products and services that the regular consumer does not have, so using a designer doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to have to fork up way more than you would if you put together a room on your own. If you go this route, remember to do your research to make sure that your designer is well-matched with your personal style and comfortable working within the confines of your budget, no matter how small or large.
If you would like to go this more personal route but at less of a premium price, it’s worth looking into interior design students by reaching out to programs at technical design schools in your area. Professors will often pass along inquiries to their students so that they have the opportunity to grow their experience and portfolios.
We’re obviously biased, but we think this group is one of the loveliest places on the Internet for those seeking or offering interior design advice! Join now and then ask any question that arises during your design process, from the big (“What color couch would look best?”) to the small (“Which wall should I put this console table on?”), and you’ll get supportive, thoughtful recommendations from the Facebook community.
An Interior Designer’s Townhome Is a Perfect Example of Eclectic Maximalism
This Brooklyn Apartment Masters the Maximal Minimalist Look
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Project: Rozit Arditi of Arditi Design
Location: Brooklyn, New York
As a design style, minimalism often doesn’t leave much room for personality or punch. That’s precisely why designer Rozit Arditi of Arditi Design leaned into a beautiful brand of maximal minimalism in this young family’s Brooklyn apartment, adding pops of color and pattern to a soothing base of warm woods, textural wall coverings, and wool carpets.
“This was the first home the couple owned together after living in the husband’s previous Gramercy apartment for a few years,” says Arditi of her clients, Hillary and Adam. “The goal was to bring together both of their styles and belongings — from the colorful Le Creuset collection to the inherited artwork to the custom-made road bike.”
Blending two drastically different aesthetics is never easy, but a hybrid style like maximal minimalism can offer a happy medium. While Adam embraced bold hues, Hillary was more of a neutrals person. So it was up to Arditi to find colors, patterns, and pieces that would appeal to the couple’s combined sensibility and offer flexibility for the possibility of children in the future (they now have two). That meant seeking out bright, almost unexpected pops of color — red-orange Wishbone chairs and an abstract canvas painted by the clients’ long-time friends in the dining room; pink wallpaper from Brook Perdigon Textiles and a Joybird appletini green sectional in the family room — and marrying them with grasscloth and other natural materials, hits of wood, and neutral Clare paint colors like Timeless and Dirty Martini.
Before they got to all of those fun design details, Arditi and her clients mapped out a plan for furnishing the individual spaces. “We started the project by identifying what each room’s function would be and how we would lay out the furniture for now and for future additions to the family,” says Arditi.
Everything would have a specific purpose and justification for its finish, fabric, or silhouette, and you can see how certain items, from the wooden dining table to the patterned rugs in each space, were selected for their kid-friendliness. Most things that were brought into the apartment had to be both durable and beautiful.
One of the most challenging parts of the process was designing the open plan living and the dining room. “The goal was to maximize the use of the space without compromising the stunning views,” says Arditi. “We eliminated the TV from the living room, instead placing one in the family room and one in the primary bedroom. This allowed us to have a better flow.”
The kitchen, located right off that joint living and dining space, definitely skews a little more minimalist. Arditi turned the glass open-shelving into a display area for favorite dinnerware and Le Creuset pieces, arguably making this area the true focal point of the cook space.
The primary bedroom and nursery, shown above and below, respectively, are true studies in maximal minimalism. Underfoot you’ll find vibrant rugs from the likes of Anthropolgie and Aelfie, but the furniture, bedding, wall treatments, and other textiles are, on the whole, more muted but still visually interesting.
One final element worth noting about this project is how deftly Arditi wove her clients’ existing art collection into the design scheme. While the pieces in the bedrooms were sourced and purchased from Uprise Art, most of the other works throughout the apartment were vintage, gifted, or purchased prior to living here — and you’d never know it from the way they complement the palettes of their immediate surroundings.
Thanks to Arditi, what started as a white box condo is now a deeply personal space that strikes the right balance between maximalism and minimalism — and its inhabitants’ individual design aesthetics. “I think we would all agree that we love the fact that the apartment now represents them both,” says Arditi. “It is really a home they created together to reflect their personalities and styles.”