A Rainbow Take on This ’80s Throwback Appears in Susan Alexandra’s New Store

And, of course, a beaded banana door handle.
Design store interior with yellow tiles, orange shelves and walls and objects on shelves
Photography by Sarah Schecker

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Chic neutrals are cool and all, but have you ever thought about what it would be like to live inside a watermelon? A banana? How about an ’80s roller rink? Susan Alexandra’s New York City store, which opened last week, is a pigmented oasis on the Lower East Side promising all that and more. 

Lucky for us, the shop isn’t just the perfect downtown stop to browse the brand’s signature beaded purses, accessories, and homewares, which includes Janie Korn candles and Dominique Ostuni ceramics. It’s also brimming with innovative and vibrant design elements—hello, beaded banana door handle—that you’ll want to adopt for your own home, no matter your personal style.

Susan Alexandra, holding her dog in her arms and standing at the doorstep of her store
Photography by Johnny Kompar

Susan Alexandra’s founder, Susan Korn, is no stranger to interior design, and so she led the space’s transformation alongside architectural pros Lula Galeano of Studio Galeon and Levi Shaw-Faber of Wiggle Room. And while the store is truly the physical manifestation of Korn’s brand, many of the design choices can be applied right at home, as long as you’re interested in injecting marvelous color into your everyday.

Susan Alexandra's new store in NYC, yellow facade
Photography by Sarah Schecker
yellow banana door handle
Photography by Sarah Schecker

Play With Colored-Glass Bricks

colorful store, yellow tiles on walks, orange painted ceiling, orange shelves with design objects exposed
Photography by Sarah Schecker

Who wouldn’t want to bring a disco home? Add a burst of color and minimize wall hangings by organizing multicolored translucent glass blocks into custom archways, room partitions, or corner tables.

Color-Block Your Ceiling

shelf close up, yellow tiles, orange paint, blue tiles framing the shelves, design objects on shelves
Photography by Sarah Schecker

We’re calling this Accent Wall 2.0. Paint your ceiling (and the top quarter of your walls) for a color-blocked creation that will make any room feel more dynamic. Bonus: Paint accent shelves and cubby spaces to match.

Outline With Tile

Close up on a corner of Susan Alexandra's design store, objects on yellow shelves, round and square mirrors hanging on the wall.
Photography by Sarah Schecker

Mosaics are basically the supersize version of a beaded Susan Alexandra bag, and they’re plentiful in the store. Multicolored tiles in all shapes and sizes are perfect for crafting custom images and patterns, aka embedding visuals directly into your walls.

Get Carried Away With Lighting

Korn’s shop is adorned with giant fruit sconces and intricate beaded chandeliers. While these are bespoke designs, antique and modern lighting finds can serve as bold interior choices that bring interesting colors and silhouettes to a space. We like this Matin wall sconce from Hay.

tablescaping, yellow tiles on wall, glasses, small bowls and tablecloths
Photography by Sarah Schecker