Steal the Style: Cameron Diaz's Manhattan Living Room

I was particularly excited to read my last issue of Elle Decor, which featured Cameron Diaz's immaculately styled NYC apartment on the cover. Part of my pleasure was, of course, peeking inside a famous person's place. But even better, I recently interviewed her for a story...and she was in this very apartment while we talked on the phone!

What I love about the place: Diaz chose a warm, layered color palette, yet still managed to create a sense of spa-like calm, without the typical white-on-white sterility. As a commenter on the Elle Decor website wrote, "Her home is an aphrodisiac of gorgeous textures, making it impossible to feel cold." 

I'm not crazy about the custom wall covering, which says "cheap Mexican-inspired hotel" to me, as do the pleated lamp shades, with their outdated A-line silhouette. 

These transgressions can be forgiven, though, if only because the splashes of buttery yellow are so delicious. Check out that chandelier! Yellow Murano glass? Amazing.

Want to steal Cameron's style, without the million-dollar price tag? Here's how:

Chester Tufted Upholstered Chair

West Elm, $599

Murano Glass Style Yellow Pendant Lamp Chandelier

Ebay, $310 (Buy It Now)

HeatherBrooke The Galley Cocktail Table in Glazed Gold Iron

I kind of hate the overbearing cocktail table in Diaz's design. It's clunky, and screams "hotel lobby" to me (notice a theme: Parts of this room is really bordering on La Quinta Inn for me). So, in keeping with the elements of the design that I do like, I'd opt for this...

Wayfair.com, $687.50

Calloway Light Beige Linen Tuxedo Back Sofa

Andella Home, $2,435

East End Imports Loft Wool Armchair in Orange Tweed

AllegroShops.com, $418.35

International Caravan Seville Ottoman

Wayfair.com, $95.95

White Ceramic Buddha Head

If this creeps you out (as it does me), any solid white statue will work.

Overstock.com, $36.99

Image by Charlie Kenya Decorative Pillow

Amazon.com, $66.18

Untitled, 1957 Framed Art Print by Franz Kline

AllPosters.com, $254.99

My Color Obsession: Royal Blue

My whole life I have adamantly hated blue. Until I found this purse:

It was waiting for me on the T.J. Maxx clearance rack. (Side note: Has anyone else noticed how pricey T.J. purses have become? I miss the days of $25 bags.) I fell in love with the rich, sumptuous jewel tone, especially when paired with the slightly irreverent gold spikes. 

When I decided to refinish a credenza left behind by our house's former owner, I took inspiration from my handbag-of-the-moment. I opted for royal blue ("Royal Breeze") paint...in high gloss. This was going to be a statement piece (or as my husband might call it, a glowing blue beacon in the corner of the room). I love it. Which is a good thing, because Home Depot kindly gave me a full gallon of the paint, instead of the pint I asked for. 

Next came this Loloi rug, purchased from Tuesday Morning for just $150 (compared to a list price of more than $350). (The colors match in person. I promise.) 

Then came trouble. I realized it is almost impossible to find royal blue (or even cobalt) accessories. For months, my living room has felt incomplete, all of the blue notes clustered on one side of the room. 

At last, I found these Cynthia Rowley lanterns, which I hung from my mantel (again, they do coordinate in person). 

This still leaves one part of the room without blue. A few interesting possibilities...

Gates Lacquer Side Table

$149, West Elm

I've recently become obsessed with lacquered finishes (so Hollywood regency!). 

And I can't resist a funky end table, especially one that looks like a bird cage.

Hillary Thomas Rock n' Rolla Blue Velvet Finial 

$49.99, Wayfair.com

I love unexpected flashes of color in a room. Even better if it's from a natural (read: non-gaudy) source, like these agate stones. What better place than the tops of your lamps?  

Anglepoise Original 1227 Desk Lamp

$195, AllModern.com

Industrial elements keep a room from feeling too frilly or contrived. A carefree color, like cobalt, keeps industrial accessories from feeling, well, too industrial.

Handwoven Stanza Cobalt Wool Rug

$832, overstock.com

Coral pattern is as wild as animal print, but without the boudoir vibe. 

Style Inspiration: The Dunphys' Living Room on "Modern Family"

If I'm being perfectly honest, suburbia scares me a little. Not in a Disturbia kind of way—I've just never been the girl who dreams of white picket fences and cranking out 2.5 kids by the time I'm 30. 

       But Modern Family is different. Despite being the centerpiece of a suburban sitcom, the Dunphys' home is a pleasant departure from the housewifey norm. Yes, the living room is outfitted primarily in Pottery Barn—but not in that off-putting "I just copied the catalog" kind of way. The space has character. It looks both liveable and lived in. 

       As the show's production designer Richard Berg told the New York Times, "Their style is very comfortable, upper middle-class, Pottery Barn chic. We wanted people to be able to look at that house and have it be instantly familiar. A lot of pieces are bought in stores at the mall." 

       In Architectural Digest, Berg described the Dunphys' living-room look as "Pottery Barn meets Restoration Hardware," with the stripes as the defining element. "The stripes and splashes of bright color enliven what could otherwise be a pretty humdrum space," he told the magazine. 

       Here's how to recreate the Dunphys' comfortable, classic style...

Primary paint color: "Gray Mirage" by Benjamin Moore

Accent paint color: "Labrador Blue" by Benjamin Moore

 

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Style Tips from the Designer: Shoshanna's Apartment on "Girls"

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Inside My Apartment: The Living Room

 

Style Tips from the Designer: Shoshanna's Apartment on "Girls"

LauraBallingerDesign.com

I'm officially obsessed with HBO's Girls, which is saying a lot, considering I don't even have cable. (I use my boyfriend's HBO password and watch it online. Shhh.) The show is the TV equivalent of New York magazine—so culturally relevant that it makes you feel both in the know ("Hey, I got that reference!") and utterly out of touch ("People do that?!). 

       It's not just culturally that Girls is spot-on. The girls' apartments are the quintessential digs of NYC young professionals: small, air conditioner in the window, unmade bed, packed with a mish-mash of books, quirky accessories, and vintage/odd/IKEA furniture. It's real, not some Photoshopped version of reality, which, apparently, is all part of creator Lena Dunham's plan to position herself as "the voice of a generation." She reportedly refused HBO's larger sets because she wanted her characters to live in realistic apartments. As she said in a recent interview, "I love [New Girl], by the way, but every week there's a new room I didn't know was there!" She wanted her show to be different.

       Take, for example, Shoshanna's apartment (my personal favorite). Her bedroom, living room, and craft area are the same room. Her style isn't aspirational: Anybody, even studio dwellers, can easily imitate her playful, not too matchy-matchy approach to decorating. "The inspiration was really the character herself," says Laura Ballinger Gardner, the production designer for Girls. "Shosh knows what the current trends are, but not quite how to implement them. We referenced Apartment Therapy, DesignSponge, and The Selby." You, however, can steal—and perfectly implement—her favorite trends...

LauraBallingerDesign.com

       Gardner and Rich Devine, the set decorator, shopped at West Elm, Koch Antiques in Manhattan, Jonathan Adler, and IKEA to outfit Shoshanna's apartment. If you're going to invest in just one piece, make it the black-and-white West Elm couch (previously featured here). "Isn't the couch the thing you agonize over most?" says Gardner. "This one has a nice graphic print that I loved. Feminine but still graphic. We knew there would be a few juicy scenes on it." 

LauraBallingerDesign.com

       The defining design element in the craft area is also the easiest to recreate: the Christmas lights shaped in a heart above her desk. "She is a romantic college student!" says Gardner of her decision to hang the lights. 

LauraBallingerDesign.com

      Shoshanna's kitchen has been transformed into a dressing room, which helps explain the boudoir style of the space. Dressing room or not, I love bringing feminine details into the kitchen. (I have a pink mixer, measuring cups, utensils, etc.) Color is the easiest way to personalize a kitchen, especially in an apartment, where you're confined by the preexisting cabinets and countertops.

LauraBallingerDesign.com

If you want to recreate Shoshanna's foyer area, you'll have to get crafty. According to Gardner, the dresser was a DIY project, made from printed contact paper, "because Shosh is very crafty." (You can also adhere scrapbook paper to the surface with Mod Podge.) This gives the space a custom feel, which you can also achieve by switching out your dresser knobs for some that are more playful or stylish. 


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Inside My Apartment: The Bedroom

I'm not afraid of color. In fact, as a general rule, I dislike white walls. However, I wanted my bedroom to feel like a relaxing escape, and white walls, when paired with white bedding, have a soothing, spa-like appeal. I left the paint color untouched, but to break up the monotony (and in homage to my profession), hung pages from a 1954 dictionary on the wall behind my bed. Then, I incorporated cool-colored accents throughout the space: green crystals hanging from the candelabra over my bed, a green coral accent pillow on my bed, turquoise cut glass candle holders, and a green patterned chair.  

My bedroom, annotated. (Click on the images to make them large.)