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We’ve seen a lot of interiors inspired by trips around the globe. It makes sense to want to bottle that feeling the adventure left you with and spread it around your home. Take homeowners Caroline and Julien, for example: They wanted the kitchen in their London house to reflect their Miami Beach holiday.
The best person for the job? Designer Justine Guillermou. The couple hired the color-forward designer to help revamp their home, which was “a lot of white and gray.” Justine knew the kitchen needed to reflect the feeling of their trip: warm, playful, and bright.
“[The original kitchen] didn’t reflect the energy of a creative, color-loving family,” Justine explains. “The kitchen and dining are the emotional engine of a home. This one worked practically — but it didn’t spark joy or reflect identity.”
Justine admitted that the original kitchen — with its off-white cabinetry, basic lighting, and missing functionality — lacked personality. To ensure the family was reflected in the space, she spent a lot of time interviewing the couple about how they used the space and which colors they remembered from their Miami trip.
It wasn’t just the colors that were important, but also how they would be displayed. After testing several, Justine landed on an eclectic mix: Benjamin Moore’s Smashing Pink and Sea of Green; YesColours’ Fresh Yellow, Fresh Lilac, and Fresh Aqua; Dulux’s Satsuma Spice; and Johnstone’s Swansong. She then used “Bauhaus-inspired color blocking to avoid chaos and keep it timeless.”
Justine also used paint to designate certain zones for socializing, prepping, and eating. New lighting was incorporated to complement the room’s vibrant color scheme as well. There were also some exciting DIY projects in the mix.
“One of the standout DIY projects was the upcycled tiled and resin dining table,” Justine says. “I gave the clients my design idea, and Julien, the husband, built it — turning a functional piece into a statement, playful, and utterly personal centerpiece for the dining area.”
It took about five to six weeks for the kitchen makeover to be completed. Along the way, Justine found special “treasures that make it feel alive,” like thrifted stools that complement the dining table. “The space balances functional layout with playful, colorful cues, pops of yellow in the skylight, and a table that’s both upcycled and statement-making,” Justine shares. “It’s joyful, layered, and tells a story — not just a snapshot from a catalog.”
To see more of this colorful home, visit the full House Tour on Apartment Therapy.
Further Reading
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