moody maximalism portfolio

While I love creating minimalist, modern spaces, and I adore midcentury modern design, I also really relish creating dark, interesting, moody spaces where you can curl up by the fire with a book and insulate yourself from the world, surrounded by memories and the beloved detritus of a well-lived life. This style is often called “Dark Academia” and can lean towards the macabre, but there’s so much joy in surrounding yourself with things you love. An entire house done this way might be a bit much, but it’s great for a sitting room or study or even a bedroom.

Take a look!

BEFORE: This would function as many folks' idea of an "after" photo, I know. It's a lovely room, very calming and clean. It's just not very....interesting (this is how the home was staged for selling, so that's fair. It can't be too interesting when you're trying to sell). The new homeowner wanted to turn this front sitting room into a true library, with dark built-in bookcases filled with their photos and objets d'art and memories of their travels.

BEFORE, continued: ...and that is a challenge, when the space is open to the foyer and entry of the home. It's hard to know where to start and stop the definition of that room, and to make sure the transition between spaces makes sense and isn't too jarring. The rest of this home is pretty solidly "transitional midcentury modern," so this was a fun challenge. Scroll down for the after!

AFTER: This cabinet is black to match the bookshelves, but has rattan inserts in the doors and midcentury legs--coupled with an MCM tiled artwork on the wall, these two pieces help the eye transition from the dark library atmosphere to the foyer/entry which is more transitional modern

DETAIL: The gorgeous bar - again, a rich textured black cabinet, this time with brass handles and legs, but adorned with numerous older-vintage finds, like the ornate metal mirrored tray the bottles rest on, and the Edison bulb at left, plus the beaded-shade lamp and the heavy cat statue the owner once brought back from a trip to Egypt.

AFTER: an antiqued mirror top on this elongated octagonal side table reflects the light from the woven lampshade.

AFTER DETAIL: My favorite corner of this room. The portrait (from an etsy artist) is striking and looks a lot like the teen girl who lives in this home. The mirror reflects light out of what would otherwise be a dark corner, making the room bigger.

AFTER: a little "pride corner" on an otherwise fairly monochromatic shelf for a little serotonin boost

BEFORE: A vintage-loving 17yo girl wanted to transform this low-ceiling basement bedroom into a "moody, maximalist opium den vibe...(without the opium"). Note the entire wall of closet doors made of plywood with metal hasps - yikes! (these were removed)

AFTER: teenager's bedroom, the inside of the left-hand closet space, with doors removed, became the nook into which we stuck the head of the vintage cast iron bedframe. An affordable "crystal" chandelier from Amazon lights up the space beautifully for reading. It's hard to pry this girl out of her room now, it's such a cozy space that reflects her personality. MORE OF THIS ROOM IN THE KIDS' SPACES GALLERY

BEST OF ALL, this project didn't cost what it would cost to have a handyman custom-make built-in bookshelves. These, my friends, are IKEA "Billy" bookshelves, which I assembled and anchored to the wall and had my handyman cut and affix trim to the top of to make them look more built-in. (you can see the white trim at the top left of this photo - this is a recent project so the trim hadn't been painted yet in this photo). Using existing items and retrofitting them to your space is not without its headaches, and it takes a CAREFUL, EXACT eye (like mine) to measure the room out and ensure that the products you buy will actually fit together in this crazy puzzle you're imagining. But when the materials + labor cost you $800 + $250 instead of $700 + $3000, it's worth it!

INSPIRATION PHOTO #1 - this was one of the homeowner's inspiration photos on Pinterest when conceptualizing this project

INSPIRATION PHOTO #2:: I think we did a pretty good job approximating the inspiration, no?

Bar detail (sadly, the button isn't actually connected to anything, but it's a fun addition)

custom artwork of the family's late dog riding a narwhal into battle