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With our Book Club series, we hand over the proverbial mic to our Experts—letting them share their work, their thought process, and their best tips, all in their own words. The following is an excerpt from Brigette Romanek’s Livable Luxe, published this month with Chronicle Chroma.

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These clients are super cool, a family of artists in their respective careers, and flat-out art lovers.

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I love having meetings with them because they’ll share a new art piece, or a recent gallery visit. And that was the design brief, let the art, a painting, sculpture or furniture, be the star. The project didn't need many pieces, just a clear direction and point of view.

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The dining room is minimalist but has all it requires. The Pierre Jeanneret table and chairs are pieces of art unto themselves. Vintage, octagonal floor tiles also provide a pop of color and contrast against the walls, framing the dining set beautifully. To balance the lines of the furniture, the curves of the Murano chandelier—a lovely statement piece on its own—brought softness and elegance. Having so few pieces in the space was intentional, and I think the end result is really quite spectacular.

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I can be minimalist, or a maximalist, I love all of it. This one in particular is a lesson in understated beauty and sophistication. Likewise, the hallway is like a gallery space that displays several unique works of art including a Haas Brothers bench that provides whimsy and a sense of motion.

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The Rick Owens daybed in the living room is a spectacular piece, not only to look at but to lay on… enjoy. Stunning Ferrari Sheppard artworks frame the window in an embrace, providing a fluidity of color that flows from the swimming pool outside to the complementary rug within. That’s where you get into design being in the details. It’s just a few pieces, but they all connect in such a beautiful, seamless way. As avid art collectors, the homeowners appreciated these details as well.

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Designed with input from the homeowners’ children, the bathrooms are a departure from the rest of the house, and the result is so sweet. A bit of inspiration came from the Chateau Marmont, a Los Angeles institution, for their daughter’s bathroom, using floor tiles with delicate flowers and embracing her favorite color, pink, which I adore of course.

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For their little boy, I wanted something graphic. The combination of tiles is sophisticated, but still subtle. I love the way the bathrooms came together and brought out the personalities of the children, which was most important. It’s an excellent representation of the ability to show that bathrooms can truly be personal, one’s own statement.

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One of my favorite moments in the house is the pink tile I used in the pool. I usually get requests for blues and greens, which I love to use, but this pink was a refreshing take on pool tiles, that glimmer so beautifully in the sunlight.

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Book a one-on-one consultation with Brigette to get personalized advice for your own space, or shop her curated Showroom to bring her signature look home.

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Buy Liveable Luxe.