Femme Fatale - a SoHo apartment living room design

So excited to kick off this new blog series called “Shop the Designer Style”. Here we'll provide a peek into some of our favorite projects and the inspiration behind them. We'll share tidbits about the people these rooms were designed for, and best of all, our designer sources to buy curated looks for your own space. We'll also share our favorite designer finds such as statement pieces, furniture, art, accessories and décor to help you style your home like a pro.​ ​​

Ive & Co. Interiors, Femme Fatale project elevation illustration

The idea for the color scheme for this SoHo living room design, came up while strolling the cherry blossoms in Central Park, on a trip to New York City this spring. So lucky to have witnessed this fleeting splendor on an impromptu visit!

​Vanessa is a French expat who has lived in Manhattan since the early 2000's. She is 38 and works for a large international bank. She has a small dog named Fifi, and just bought a loft in SoHo. Her career is very important to her, but she’s dating, and her new priority is to find “the one”. She reads French Vogue and Elle Décor and loves visiting the glamourous showrooms in the New York Design Center, on 200 Lex. She reached out to us for help decorating her new apartment, not because she lacks a sense of style, but because between work, dating and Fifi, she simply doesn’t have the time. She's the type of person who values their time over the cost, and has worked hard for that privilege.​​

Cherry blossoms in Central Park color inspiration

Vanessa is kind to people and animals and enjoys the finer things in life. In her precious spare time, she likes to travel, eat good food and listen to music. She has a refined taste: it’s quite particular and definitely not what you would call mainstream. She is strikingly beautiful and very feminine. She is fashionable but in a classical way. She has to have unique things and dislikes uber-trendy interiors, which look all the same to her. She thinks they’re uninspired and lack originality. She likes things with character, yet is a bit of a minimalist. In our eyes, she is the epitome of a femme fatale.
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She asked us to turn her living room into a beautiful oasis, where she can come and relax after a long day at work. She told us she was looking for a designer who understood who she is, where she’s been and where she wants to go. Someone who shares similar values and is worldly like herself.​

The reason we are sharing so many details about Vanessa's life is because our approach to designing people’s homes is custom tailored and bespoke. It's important for us to get to know the people we design for, so we can create a space that reflects their true personality and the things that are important to them. 

Ive & Co. Interiors, Femme Fatale project mood board.

We chose to go with a clean and minimal aesthetic, punctuated with mid-century styling and Scandinavian influences to create a contemporary living space. Soft and plush throw pillows and a curvy blush statement sofa with gold legs and luxurious upholstery, for a glam feminine vibe. The atmosphere is feminine and seductive, reminiscent of the movie ‘Basic Instinct’. The mood is created through juxtaposition of contrasting elements, balanced by a touch of raw masculinity. Color, texture and pattern are injected via rugs, decorative accessories and modern art.
 
In our furniture and décor choices, we also included a white contemporary recliner with clean lines in a calming palette to soften the mood, bringing an instant sense of relaxation.  A glass coffee table with jagged legs reiterates the 'Basic Instinct' vibe of the light fixture. Lots of plants to reinforce a connection to nature and contrasting shapes, textures and colors to add to the seductive atmosphere. 
 
It was important for us not to go overboard with the ‘Basic Instinct’ theme, as to not completely scare off potential mates, so we brought in an earthy and masculine console in natural washed wood color to offset the femme fatale vibe, and added raw earthy tones to insert some masculinity throughout the space, including black wallpaper juxtaposed against the blush velvet sofa.

Ive & Co. Interiors, Femme Fatale project floor plan illustration.

Additional elements we included in the room such as these pieces can be found in our online Designer Boutique.

Do you have any thoughts on our process, the design of this room, the color scheme or the art and décor choices? Let us know in the comments below!  Contact us if you are interested in any of our design services and don't forget to like and share this post if you enjoyed it ♡.