For the living room that had everything, we were given the delightful task of incorporating the homeowners unique finds and one-of-a-kind pieces to their one request: they wanted this spacious area to be completed in black and white. They hoped it would read like an old newspaper from memory lane.

We started with a courtly, graphic layered rug and politely added a thick, wool pile to reveal a softer, gentler side. Then, we assigned a classic, Directoire side table with a black granite top to juxtapose a built-to-suit leather loveseat and antique white-washed bench moonlighting as a coffee table. The cabinet behind the sofa bears a nailhead pattern referring back to our bottom rug and we were almost there.

A punch of Cognac leather on the Emma Arm Chair by the Oly Studio warmed up quickly to the all the brown tones in the architectural elements and the original wood peaking out from underneath the layers of stately white paint on the old columns, doors and antique cabinets. Now, the story was told. Something old, something new, something very, very personal.

Photos by Nicole Hill Gerulat