Sometimes, one unexpected choice can change the course of an interior design project. That’s what happened in this maximalist house in the city of Mountain Brook, Alabama, which was masterminded by Danielle Balanis Design, based in nearby Birmingham. Early on in the design process, the decision was made to paint the kitchen a vibrant shade of peacock blue. “From there, the design just took on a life of its own,” Balanis remembers. The three-bedroom home became an homage to colour and pattern, and to the finds brought back from its well-travelled owners’ trips abroad.
The homeowners are a couple with a young child. “They wanted a home filled with colour and happiness,” explains Balanis, whose work is often inspired by fashion and by contrasts of old and new. “I always want my designs to be a marriage of runway and reality – I crave layered, luxe, maximalist looks,” she enthuses. As Balanis was working, she came across a 1960s Slim Aarons portrait of Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull that proved inspirational, tying much of the design together. It had a big influence on the choice of deep, moody colours and bohemian vintage finds. A home office layered with an electric Yves Klein-esque blue carpet, for instance, has an almost neo-Egyptian feel, with a vintage black-and-gold artwork from 1stDibs.
Original text by Amy Bradford
Decorative Accents
In the living room, the mud-plastered walls are sprinkled with mica and adorned with an indigo Patan patola textile. Ceramic moon jars are displayed on the coffee table and a modern indigo matka on the sofa.
Suryan And Dang