Meet the Designer: LA’s Molly Luetkemeyer on the Small Space Big Style Showhouse
Author:Abigail Stone
With her signature bohemian flair, LA designer Molly Luetkemeyer is transforming the mezzanine at the Small Space Big Style showhouse into a creative space fit for a flamboyant costume designer and her husband the rock star. Read on for more of Luetkemeyer’s colorful commentary on her design process.
CH+D: Which fashion trends inspired your room?
Luetkemeyer: I am loving the blasts of neon and native American imagery I am seeing in fashion right now. The combination makes both elements feel current and fresh. I took a lot of inspiration from them.
CH+D: Set the scene: what celebrity can you imagine in this room?
Luetkemeyer: Well, I designed the space to function for our fictional clients, a costume designer and a musician. In my mind, she has just come back from a production meeting to discuss the costumes for the upcoming production of a new opera based on the lives of Georgia O’Keefe and Alfred Stieglitz and is excited to start sketching. She is wearing a vintage caftan made from Dutch wax African batik and a Tony Duquette “talisman of power” necklace. She is barefoot. Her husband the musician is fresh off his tour with Arcade Fire and he’s come to his little spot to relax and unwind. He is wearing broken-down jeans, a comfy t-shirt from the last town he was in and he also has bare feet.
CH+D: What was the greatest challenge of designing this room? What came naturally to you?
Luetkemeyer: The biggest challenge in designing this space was the funky shape. It took a minute for me to figure out what to do with the small adjacent space but once I landed on a jam room for the musician, it all fell into place. The colors and patterns came very naturally. I love getting to use different wallcoverings that I have been coveting. Also, I jump at any opportunity to make an inspiration wall.
CH+D: What advice can you give to people who are afraid to mishmash patterns?
Luetkemeyer: Don’t be! Sometimes you find the most inspiring and interesting results when you put colors and patterns together that at first you think might not work. Try it and see. Juxtaposition and balance are the name of the game, especially in small spaces.
CH+D: Fill in the blank: These rooms are the ultimate ____________________.
Luetkemeyer: Her office is the ultimate creative laboratory and his is the ultimate chill space.
