Maolin Li, a young entrepreneur based overseas purchased a 1.5 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo at The Residences at the W Hollywood to serve as a home away from home during his frequent trips to Los Angeles. With a few weeks until his next visit, Maolin enlisted Cantoni LA designer, Kyle Spivey to transform the empty space into a stylish, move-in ready home all in time for his stateside arrival.
To create a warm and welcoming urban oasis to suit Maolin’s jet-setting lifestyle, Kyle repainted the walls and adorned them with custom wallpaper, framed the windows with drapes and outfitted each room with customized furnishings and high impact art and accessories.
We sat down with Kyle to get the scoop…check out what he had to say about the design process as well as what inspired him along the way!
The Bedroom
“Since Maolin’s one request was that I incorporate wood in some way, specifically in walnut, I knew immediately that I wanted to use the Ala King Bed with the Stage Nightstands and Dresser. I based the rest of the design and furnishings on those pieces. A really fun and easy way to add texture and interest to your space is by adding wallpaper, something I added throughout the unit. I decided to kick it up a notch here in the bedroom as well as in the living room and combined a modern and classic black matte and gloss wallpaper in an elegant geometric pattern with black drapes. While the wallpaper brings an edgy and masculine vibe to the bedroom, the drapes add height and soften the overall look. Lastly, to provide some contrast, I threw in an electric lime green pop of color, which really ties it all together.”
The Living Room
“Maolin is a young guy, so I wanted his living room to be functional but also a fun and inviting space where he could hangout and relax with friends. When you look out the window, you’re immediately looking upon Capitol Records, the Hollywood Sign, and the Pantages Theatre, so I wanted the interiors to capture the essence of Hollywood. That’s what inspired the drapes originally. I felt they almost added a theatrical element. We painted the walls a rich charcoal to maintain the dark color scheme throughout the unit and chose a white wallpaper with a fun metallic pattern to add contrast. Since the dark elements naturally create a brooding and mysterious ambience, I chose to do the Hugo Swivel Chair in a playful paint splattered design and custom designed the entertainment unit in walnut to tie all the pieces together and add warmth to the room at the same time.”
The Dining Room
“I wanted to create an easy transition from the dining room into the living room. The walnut in the dining table and entertainment unit combined with the white dining chairs and white gloss cocktail table tie the two spaces together. The round cocktail table and wallpaper’s circular pattern in the living room combined with the round chandelier in the dining room further create an overall cohesive design and look.”
The Guest Room
“I wanted to maximize the small space by creating a multi-functional room that could act as both a screening and entertainment room as well as guest bedroom. The Comfort Sleeper by American Leather works so well in this space, because it’s sleek and modern to the point that you would never know it’s a sleeper sofa that easily and almost effortlessly transforms into a queen bed to accommodate guests. To give the small and secluded space some personality, I decided to add a gray and black skull-patterned wallpaper, which gave the room a rock n’ roll, edgy vibe.”
Learn more about Kyle and check out his entire portfolio of design projects, here! Loving Maolin’s midcentury modern inspired pad at the W Hollywood? Get the look below!
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