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It was only a few short months after Mary Claire Beach left her project manager role at Studio Jake Arnold that she got an inquiry from a young couple asking if she’d redesign their two-bedroom apartment. For Beach, who was focused on getting her own business, Cypress Studio, up and running, it was an ideal job: they were organized, eager, and had a specific vision in mind for their space. The only catch was they lived in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, nearly 3,000 miles away from the Santa Monica-based designer. Beach happily took on the project, even though she wouldn’t step foot in the apartment until it was completely finished.
The homeowners had been in the space for a little over three years, so they very well knew it wasn’t reaching its full potential. They were living with a hodgepodge of old furniture and, at that point, were planning on starting a family. “We really wanted to do what we could to increase the apartment’s lease on life,” shares the client. They tasked Beach with creating a space that felt cohesive; one that could grow with them as they welcomed their first baby, and more recently, their second.
Leave No Yellow Swatch Unturned
The moment Beach heard her client say “cheerful” when describing her ideal space, the designer pictured a yellow kitchen. It was an easy decision to make, but a hard thing to pull off. “We probably tested eight colors,” Beach recalls. The challenge was finding a shade that looked the same on the upper cabinets as it did on the lowers. “It was tricky to get right with the natural lighting and the overhead lighting,” says Beach. “We also didn’t want a yellow that clashed with the floor finish.”
Luckily, the client was game for testing swatches and texting Beach pictures of the results. All that back and forth led them to Benjamin Moore’s Da Vinci’s Canvas—a fitting name, given all the sampling they did to get it just right.
Give an Unused Room Meaning
A design switch that has impacted the family’s everyday life? Turning the old dining room into a reading-slash-TV nook. Beach added a new, extendable table in the corner of the living room, making way for a cozy striped sofa and tons of bookshelves where the clients used to dine (there are more shelves and a TV on the wall opposite the couch). “We use that space to its full potential now,” says the homeowner. “After the kids go to bed, my husband and I sit in there and watch TV or read. It’s been a huge unlock for us.”
It was important to Beach that the color palette throughout the apartment be harmonious. “I didn’t want it to feel like you’re getting whiplash,” she says. “You should be able to easily move through the space visually.” Cue Farrow & Ball’s Templeton Pink. The mid-tone shade plays nicely with the nearby kitchen cabinets and the new Lulu and Georgia sofa in the living room.
Weave Old Furniture Back In
While Beach’s clients were happy to start anew, there were a few pieces of furniture they weren’t willing to part with. It was up to the designer to incorporate said items—many of them mid-century-style—with the new, English-countryside-esque space. A worn wood bench that used to live in the corner now holds pride of place as a coffee table; the counter stools fit perfectly into the new kitchen as-is. Beach even kept their existing nightstands, pieces the owner has had since her childhood.
She was a little hesitant about reusing the CH23 dining chairs. “They’re such a classic mid-century chair, I didn’t want it to throw off the design,” she says. Ultimately, they ended up working really well. The finish of the wood matched the new pine dining table nicely and the paper cord seats brought the right level of coziness.
Don’t Leave a Ceiling White by Default
Beach relied heavily on her client’s willingness to compare samples when they got started on the nursery. “There was a lot of mailing samples back and forth,” recalls the designer. They weren’t just weighing wallpaper, but also a corresponding paint for the ceiling. White, Beach realized, made the space look unfinished. “I convinced them to let me paint it blue,” she shares. Initially, they painted it the same tone as the window trim, but that was a smidge too dark. Painting it for a third time was the charm. “I just love being in there,” shares the homeowner. “It’s so cozy, and my son loves it, too.”
Wallpaper a Bathroom When New Tile Isn’t in the Cards
Beach initially explored redoing the bathrooms but buying all new tile wasn’t in the budget. Instead, she pivoted to meaningful cosmetic updates, like painting the primary vanity, swathing the walls in wallpaper, and upgrading the lighting. In the kids’ bathroom, she created more functional storage for bath toys by wrapping the existing pedestal sink in a fabric skirt.
“It was really fun to walk into the space for the first time, having never been there,” shares Beach. “I was like, ‘Wow, this feels really good. And I did this from 3,000 miles away.’”