Decorating & Design
See How Bold Moroccan-Inspired Colors Liven Up This Home
Updated on January 17, 2019
Inspiration can come from just about anywhere, be it the lively pattern on a pop can or the neon lights of a city at night. In the case of globe-trotting designer Anne Hepfer, an aha moment struck during a visit to the famed Jardin Majorelle in Marrakech, Morocco, a historic botanical garden created in the early 1920s and later taken over by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé in 1980.
“The day I visited Jardin Majorelle it was pouring rain,” says Anne, who was on vacation but thinking about a design dilemma back home. “I was wondering how we were going to bring our clients’ [grey and white] space to life. I saw the way the yellow and blue popped against the grey skies and it all sort of clicked.” Anne brought vials of color-matched pigments back to Toronto, and incorporated them into her clients’ family home. Click through for a look inside the luxurious space with bold pops of color.
For her symmetry-loving clients’ living room, designer Anne Hepfer chose black-framed, ostrich-covered consoles from her line — which supports Education without Borders in South Africa — and a pair of swivel chairs with brass bases. “Billy Baldwin once said that you need a little touch of brass and a little touch of black in every room — and it’s so true!” says Anne.
Anne in the center hallway, where Kelly Wearstler sconces and a vibrant painting by Jim Dine greet guests.
Dinner party invites are hot commodities when it means sitting on fashionable Gubi Beetle chairs and gazing at a painting by Hunt Slonem. The stain-resistant chairs and Bolon area rug make red wine spills a nonevent.
“If you invest in really beautiful, quality accent pieces, you can easily reupholster them down the road,” says Anne of the family room’s azure blue swivel chairs and throw pillows.
Cheerful yellow delights in the otherwise neutral kitchen. “We sent our clients paint chips for the pendants and, though they were a bit scared of the bright canary yellow, they trusted us,” says Anne.
Painting the dark wood panelling in the home office soft grey was transformative. The pair of Lucite-framed chairs are a contemporary antidote to the room’s traditional moldings.
The yellow ostrich-framed mirror and spiky brass chandelier are in tune with the powder room’s lively tempo, and the electric blue wallpaper nods to the homeowners’ favorite Goyard pattern.
The principal bedroom, with its suede, channel-pleated headboard, facetted mohair ottoman, wool drapery, smoked glass mirrors, white linen sofa and velvet lumbar pillows, is a master class in mixing materials.
In her clients’ daughter’s bedroom, a pleasing mix of neutral greys punctuated with dusty pinks ensures a timeless look.
Virginia Macdonald
House & Home December 2018
Anne Hepfer