The mantra for women’s wear collection Viva Aviva reads, “If you always dress for a party, life will always be one.” One can’t help but draw parallels to founder Aviva Falk’s maximalist Brooklyn abode, which she shares with her fiance Nick Bonham (they also share the apartment with a roommate). Her fashion line is known for loud, energetic colors and prints, along with exaggerated proportions and details. And her home–which she’s lived in for over a decade–follows suit.

Originally from the Chicago area, after graduating with degrees from both the University of Wisconsin Madison and the Fashion Institute of Technology, Aviva worked briefly at the famous fashion house Diane Von Furstenberg before starting her own line in 2012.

In both clothes and interiors, Aviva is a strong supporter of the “more is more” style of design, firmly believing that if you love a thing, it’ll naturally “go” with the rest of your decor. Her small rental apartment is a tribute to these ideas, as well as a museum of fun family heirlooms (like a grape chandelier from her grandparents’ former Napa Valley vineyard). And, enviably, much of the unique finds are thanks to her mom, who runs the estate sale business, Pierson Palmer Estate Sales, and has helped her source vintage treasures throughout the years.

Our Style: Colorful, vintage inspired, very loud, more is more, eclectic, maximalist

Inspiration: We really just wanted to create a happy space full of things that we loved. Living in NYC can be hard sometimes, so it is nice to come home to a cheerful apartment.

Favorite Element: The grape chandelier. It is vintage from my grandparents who used to own a winery in Napa in the ’80s. When my parents downsized their house, I thought there would be a big fight over it but it turned out I was the only one of my eight siblings who actually wanted it. Ditto with the parrots.

Biggest Challenge: Honestly, to stop decorating once we ran out of floor, wall, and ceiling space. Nick has instituted a “one in, one out” policy that I personally find very limiting.

What Friends Say: That it’s a very joyful space. Also that it feels very home-y.

Biggest Embarrassment: In an effort to save money, my best friend and I carried our large living room rug home on the subway which–because it was a weekend–resulted in us making three separate transfers in order to get home. Thanks, M train!

Proudest DIY: We did the wallpaper all by ourselves! It is not perfect, but it is amazing what you can learn by watching YouTube tutorials.

Biggest Indulgence: PLANTS. All of the plants.

Best Advice: Your home doesn’t have to be fully completed in one day. Take your time to find things you love and add them slowly. That will give you the time and space to really be thoughtful about your purchases and only surround yourself with objects that truly make you happy. I also believe that as long as you buy things you love, they will always “go” together regardless of the particular style.

Dream Sources: ABC Home & Carpet, Scalamandre, Demolition Depot

• My mother has an estate sale business called Pierson Palmer Estate Sales in Chicago and she has essentially furnished 70% of our apartment with treasures driven in from out of state. It’s a wonderful resource to have, but also skews your concept of what things actually cost.

LIVING ROOM:

• I found the wallpaper on sale on Ebay.
• The tufted sofa was a Cragslist find, but originally from World Market.
• Even though gallery walls are a thing now, we just always called this our “weird wall” since it is a hodgepodge of random things collected over the years.
• Nick hates our giant red pillow, but I don’t care because I love it. Also a house sale find.
• The rug is from TJ Maxx and the 3rd (and best) rug we’ve had in the space.
• The blue TV stand and oriental bar are both from Housing Works, which has a great mission and is always a wonderful source for affordable, cool furniture.
• My mother saw this giant mirror in the front window at Monk’s Thrift Store in the East Village and somehow talked them into selling it to her for $98. We ended up repainting it green to spruce it up a little bit.
• All of the other wall knickknacks and quirky pieces are from my mother: the lady lamp, zodiac lamp, plant stand, pots, art print, etc.
• I spend a lot of time in San Francisco where Nick is from, so my parents let me have my grandparents’ wine paraphernalia from their vineyard. The crates make great record holders and the original winery sign really ties our weird wall together.
• I am obsessed with our gold tree trunk coffee table. My best friend got it for free from work (she also works in fashion and it was previously used in a runway presentation) but it is originally from ABC Home & Carpet.
• About 6 years ago, I was sitting in the living room and decided I should paint our door gold. So I went to Ace Hardware, bought some gold paint and did it. No regrets.

DINING ROOM:

• I love our ’50s dining table, which is yet another of my mother’s house sale finds
• The dining chairs we bought secondhand from a friend who was moving out of state.

KITCHEN:

• Our kitchen is a typical tiny New York kitchen, but the butcher block from IKEA really helps give us some extra counter space. We also switched out all the knobs on our cabinets with cute ones found on sale at Anthropologie.

BEDROOM:

• Large scale Jazz painting — yet another vintage/ house sale/ mom special
• Our bed, rug and bookcase are all from IKEA.
• I don’t remember where on the internet I found this dresser, but it’s actually a buffet that I painted and repurposed. Some nice man from New Jersey delivered it for me and my downstairs neighbor nicely helped carry it up the stairs.

BATHROOM:

• The shower curtain is from Urban Outfitters.
• The seashell is a childhood heirloom.
• The wooden bath mat is a million years old from West Elm.

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*Correction: An art print was mistakenly attributed to Picasso. It has been corrected on 6/29/2019.