Room of the Day: Curiosities Bring Quick Intrigue to a Living Room

San Francisco interior designer Ian Stallings had never had a project like this one: He was hired by a couple in their 20s who had a brand-new house and very few things to put in it. In fact, they had only a bed and a single chair. Before they met Stallings, they were growing frustrated about getting the project off the ground. Their message to him was clear: Get it done fast.

They were headed out of town for four days, and Stallings agreed to furnish the home in that time. “I told them that they wouldn’t have custom draperies and things like that, but the house would be pulled together, and it would be a good starting point,” he said. The designer set out to give the couple a home that looked like it was years in the making.

The house had good bones, but without furniture or accessories, it simply wasn’t functional.


AFTER: The house is filled with color and comfortable, beautiful furnishings. Stallings has a fine arts background, so it’s no surprise he usually begins with the art. “You can just assemble pretty things and make a good room,” he says. “But it’s so much more interesting if you tell a story. Art is a great way to begin the tale.” This painting, “Alpha Epic II” by Jagannath Panda, sets the scene with surrealistic images that include a sacred ox covered in bright prints, a large branch or root-like shape, and sleek airplanes taking flight in the background. A ledge holds tribal spears. “The piece sets the color scheme,” says Stallings. “The blue and orange come directly from the ox.” The spears were the inspiration for tribal elements such as the zebra-print chairs and the pillows.


The artwork above the fireplace also references nature. “It’s the image of a dahlia, but when you get so close to it, it almost becomes abstract,” the designer says.

Before the couple purchased the house, it had been extensively remodeled to the tastes of the previous owners. A wall of bookshelves had been added to the living room. “This couple has all of their reading material on an iPad and Kindle,” says Stallings. With a room full of shelves and not a single book to put on them, the designer created a cabinet of curiosities.


In the 17th century, a cabinet of curiosities was something of a personal museum, with much of it dedicated, but not limited to, natural wonders. Sometimes it was a mere cabinet; sometimes it was an entire room. Using nature as the starting point, Stallings assembled an array of objects as diverse as the collections of our ancestors. Displayed are cast models of dragonflies, butterfly specimens, religious paintings and midcentury salad bowls that vaguely resemble African art. He put them all together with the eye of the painter he used to be.

The designer’s reasoning was twofold. “We could have furnished it quickly with modern furniture, but it would be a sterile look that’s been done. These objects make it interesting,” he says. He also says the eclectic collection makes the room look like it was done over a lifetime, not over a little more than a long weekend.


With no time for fabricating cushions, Stallings softened the window seats with an eclectic array of pillows.


The sleek console and illuminated artwork are reminiscent of the industrial images in the art. “I had purchased this piece before I got this job,” Stallings says of the glowing wall-hung dome. “I bought it because it was wonderful, and I knew I’d find a home for it.” The circular shape is picked up in the other objects and upholstery throughout the room.

With the job complete, Stallings waited anxiously for word from his clients. At 6 p.m. on a Sunday night, the initial feedback came via a text message that read, simply, “WOW.”

More: Previous Room of the Day

URL: Room of the Day: Curiosities Bring Quick Intrigue to a Living Room http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-22821.html