“I consider myself an interior nomad. I love moving. Like, a lot. I lived in 11 apartments in three years before I finally signed my first one-year lease,” begins Sophia. “Since I don’t move apartments as frequently anymore, I love changing up my decor — often and drastically. No, I don’t mean rearranging furniture, I mean selling everything, repainting, starting totally fresh. I love exploring how many unique ways I can express myself in one space, and I don’t ascribe to any one style. Rather, I believe all styles are within me and arise intuitively.”

“One thing I love about design, particularly in rentals, is the practice of building something up and then tearing it all down. It reminds me of the Tibetan Buddhist sand mandalas — the creation and destruction of unbelievably intricate mandalas made from colored sand. Once the mandala is complete, as a practice in impermanence and belief in the transitory nature of material life, the Buddhists will swipe every grain of sand away with a brush. Destroying the image it created and releasing the weeks and weeks of work that went into the process.”

“I’ve always loved this idea — building something up, admiring it, loving it deeply, then deconstructing or even destroying it as a means of release, a practice in letting go, remembering how everything we love and have built in our lives — from careers to relationships and anything material — are all impermanent. So what if you’ll only live in your rental for a year? Speaking from experience, a year of sanctuary is worth the effort and time.”

“The driver for this particular refresh was my plan to move at the end of 2021. I knew I’d have to paint all my walls back to white and I wanted to use it as an opportunity to build something entirely new in the space. I also wanted to pare down for the upcoming move — turns out eclectic maximalism doesn’t lend toward traveling light. So I re-homed almost everything I owned and used minimalism, ease, and traveling light as my guide. These concepts translated into a minimalist wabi sabi design rooted in earth tones. Chartreuse is my favorite color, so I kept that pop of color while drawing in rustic, woody, and earthy colors and textures everywhere else.”

“What I ended up with was a marriage of modern and rustic shapes expressed in earth tones and eclectic textures. Reminiscent of a walk through a meadow filled with trees and tall, bright grass, the space is both grounding and enlivening at the same time.”

• Chantilly Lace — Benjamin Moore

• Lewis Corner Sectional in Royale Apple — Joybird
• Vintage Wood Laminate Coffee Table — Chairish
• Yngve Ekström “Lamino” Style Leather and Teak Chair — Facebook Marketplace
• Vintage Scorched Bamboo Hall Tree — Sourced from Narrative (for sale also)
• Wooden sculptural side table — Sunbeam Vintage
• Carmen Drink Table in Rust — Anthropologie
• Custom Log Pole Entryway Bench — Etsy

• Vintage Log Pole Dining Chairs — Sourced from Badlands Vintage (set of two for sale)
• Millerville Extendable Dining Table —  Wayfair
• Oversized Round Wall Mirror — Purchased from Craigslist (for sale as well)
• Faux Botanicals — Abigail Ahern

• “Stacking Lines” painting — ​ Strange House
• Burlwood laminate pedestal — samaan on Instagram
• Wood female form sculpture — Something to Sell About
• Late 19th Century Antique Chinese Burnt Bamboo Chair — Something to Sell About (for sale also)
• Bed linens in Khaki and Oatmeal — Bed Threads
• Zen Bed in Mahogany — The Futon Shop
• 1970s Anna Lamp by Anna Ehrner — Sourced from reixue

Thanks Sophia!

This house tour’s responses were edited for length and clarity.

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