An HGTV Design Star’s Happy Chic Home

Name: Kim & Scott Myles (and Ollie)
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Size: 1,100 square feet
Years lived in: 2 years; Rented

It’s not an overstatement to say that Kim Myles is happy. The winner of HGTV Design Star won America over with her beautiful designs, and her cheerful, infectious personality. Now on OWN’s Home Made Simple, this design star is making everyone’s home a little happier with her signature colorful and exuberant style.

This tour is a part of a collaborative series curated by Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason of Aphrochic for Apartment Therapy. They handpicked homes from around the world to share that capture the culture and style that they celebrate in their book, Remix: Decorating with Culture, Objects, and Soul.

In her own Southern California home, shared with husband, Scott and her adorable rescue dog, Ollie, Kim has created a space with her special mix of one-of-a-kind designs, cultural influences, and, you guessed it, lots of color! With pieces she’s made using her very own designs, Kim’s LA home is filled with tantalizing furnishings, including a faux bone inlay dresser that the designer created using stencils from her own collection. In this “happy mashup” as she calls it, you will discover all the ways that this design diva has created a beautiful LA home that is stylish, cultured and all her own.

Kim shows us exactly how to create a beautiful home with fun colors and great conversation starter pieces. From the stenciled walls, paper lantern ceiling fixture, and Indian Inlay green and white dresser, Kim is an artist as well as a tv personality and has incorporated truly unique pieces throughout her home.

“It’s a rental, so I’m all about disguising the things that I don’t want to change permanently,” says Kim. “The dining had the most hideous pendant light ever (seriously, pink ‘aged’ metal was involved). I started by covering it with a large paper lantern, but it looked so lonely that I had to give it some friends. Now it’s a happy bubble convention! Same thing went for the sconces in the bedroom, so I whipped up some ‘slipcovers’ using bamboo table runners and embroidery hoops.”

The space has a de-cluttered, relaxed vibe with interesting wall decor details and practical functionality. The dining room was converted to a workspace with the walls painted teal three quarters of the way up to create a unique detail and in the living room, Kim stencil painted a band of ‘Belgian Lace’ instead of painting the entire wall which created a modern, clean feel. The colors in each room make a statement but are balanced by softer pieces like the white juju headdress and simple straightforward furniture such as the white desk and mid-century style brown sofa.

My Style: Happy MashUp

Inspiration: Homes that bring disparate elements together – to me, they’re always more fun and personal than ‘perfectly pretty’ spaces.

Favorite Element: So many! But my friend just made me a gorgeous walnut and maple cake stand – loving on that pretty hard.

Biggest Challenge: Disguising hideous light fixtures and wall switch plates.

What Friends Say: “It’s light, open and comfortable!” (We keep a really simple, casual home – people and pets are welcome/nothing’s too precious!)

Biggest Embarrassment: I don’t go in for ‘décor shame’ – life’s too short.

Proudest DIY: My Indian Inlaid dresser (it’s a stencil) and the dining room lantern installation (which disguises a single, truly awful chandelier).

Biggest Indulgence: Vivid, exuberant, unapologetic color!

Best Advice: Embrace your rental as if it were your dream home and watch it become just that.

Dream Sources: ABC Carpet & Home, Made Goods, Ochre, de Gournay, the world/travel.

How Do You Bring Culture Home: I take a UN approach – all cultures can have a voice via fabric, art, pattern and handcrafts.

Heirloom Pieces: Things that were gifts from loved ones – the split trunk coffee table, turquoise glass collection, vintage radio, walnut & maple cake stand and Enzo Mari animal puzzle.

Original Art:

‘The Shootout’: Gabe Leonard

Kim’s paintings: ‘Blue Triptych’ (inspired by a series that sold out at Room & Board) and ‘Verdant’.

• Floor lamp: Ikea

• Great Shark print: UrbanOctopus.com

• Vintage kimono: Rose Bowl Flea Market

Thanks, Kim and Scott!

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