House Beautiful

Interior Designer: Kishani Perera

If the world of interior design was like a high school, Kishani Perera would be the elusive, rocker chick/artistic girl with an eccentric, ahead-of-its-time wardrobe and no desire whatsoever to conform to convention.  Years later, she’d be the person you hear has moved out to LA and is designing celebrity homes and being hailed as an up-and-comer about to take the world of interior design by storm.

Perera’s story isn’t far off.  Based in LA, she’s become the toast of the design world, transforming the homes of celebs like Molly Sims, Kate Bosworth and Christine Taylor.  She is my faaavorite designer, not just for the pure aesthetic of her work, but for the feeling it conjures when viewing it.  I find her style inspirational, glamorous, whimsical, and – most importantly – personable and warm. Whenever I’m helping friends decorate their places, I often turn to Perera’s work for ideas:

(Above): The glam chandelier juxtaposed against the rustic beams and warm tones in the room creates a chic elegance that feels unmistakeably cozy.  And check out the black secretary – it’s painted lime green on the inside (!)  The attention to detail is perfection.

(Above): That big, beautiful mirror is to DIE for.  Wisteria is currently carrying one similar to shown.

(Above): Notice the soothing, neutral paint color that brings a certain calmness to the room.  Layer this monochromatic backdrop with punches of color and patterns, and you get the Kishani effect.  Check it:  Her repetition of pink as an accent color – the roses, the pillows, and the suzani throw – adds to the sense of calm.  The black in the rug, the suzani and the lamp help to anchor the room…  the lucite coffee table gives the room an airy quality…  and the metallic touches – the silvery urn on the hearth and the inside of the lampshade – polish it off with a hint of sparkle.

Perera is always daring, using bold colors and unexpected pieces of furniture or accessories to put together a space.  And yet somehow she always pulls it off.

And now the part that makes me love Kishani even more: Not only is she ridiculously talented and original, but she is a master bargain hunter!  To her, redecorating one’s apartment or home shouldn’t entail spending hundreds and thousands of $$$ buying only high-end furniture and pieces.   Perera is outspoken about how she always mixes in furniture and accessories from stores like Linens ‘N Things and Crate and Barrel, as well as Craigslist and Ebay.

She believes a lot of basics, like end tables, side tables, mirrors and other accessories, can be found at flea markets, thrift shops (see Stephanie’s “GOODWILL HUNTING” post), online sites (Ebay, Homedecorating.com) and mass market stores (Target, Z Gallerie).

(Above): Similar capiz shell lighting at Home DepotAmazon.com or West Elm

Also, she loves to use bold, strong, colorful paint as a relatively inexpensive way to completely change the mood of a room.

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(Above): Similar shag rug can be found at Home Depot.  A couple years ago I found an almost identical ottoman to the one in the above pic at JC Penney.

If I could make Covet Living a shrine to the fabulous Ms. Perera I would… but I guess that wouldn’t be all that interesting to the rest of ya’s.  For anyone interested in checking out more of her work (and her blog!!), go to www.kishaniperera.com.

And stay tuned for Steph’s upcoming post about decorating Kishani-style on a shoestring.

Happy decorating!

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