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In new home, avid decorator comes to rest
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WHEN Lisa Browne’s twin boys returned to Canada to attend university there, she decided that it was time to look for a new apartment.
“When my children were little, outdoor space and play space were important, but now, space wasn’t as much of an issue as was the layout,” she said.
A year ago, she found a new home that came with the right layout.
“This apartment in the heart of the city simply met my criteria. And the former French Concession is by far the coolest area to live in Shanghai,” she said of her 390-square-meter home.
Although space wasn’t the big issue anymore, Browne had been looking for a place that would still serve as the family’s main base. The right amount of privacy was key.
The smart layout of the new apartment made it possible, she said. “No one’s personal space shares walls with anyone else’s. So the bedrooms, the office, the living room and kitchen are all private areas. It keeps the noise levels down and my husband, daughter and I have privacy, as do our guests, which we have in abundance,” she said.
Natural light streams through the huge windows in every room. “We have east, south and west facing windows, so the light is fantastic. I love the kitchen and living room for their size and openness. We never feel like we are actually living on one floor,” Browne said.
Browne said that, although there are a few little amendments that she’d like to make, she is in love with the space and she enjoys using her creativity to make it an even more welcoming home.
That Browne is an avid decorator is obvious. Art and design pieces adorn the walls and she has a knack for mixing and matching textiles, styles and colors. Somehow, it all comes together.
“I actually wasn’t trying to create a certain look or style,” Browne said. “I’m a firm believer that if you love it and you ‘own’ that look, it will be believable to others.”
Guests, she said, often point out that she has a talent for grouping things on a drawer or in a corner that they’d have never thought would match when looking at them separately. “Whether that be furniture, art or collectibles, I always tell them that if that piece has meaning to them — if it is part of their story — it will work.”
That thought process is also behind Browne’s personal style. “Buy or collect what speaks to you, whether it be from your travels, your grandma’s basement, or a big department store, and let those pieces tell your story visually,” she said.
“The base of my interior tone is always the color black and I love to add colors that pop. It’s funny that I dress very much like I decorate. Simple lines and patterns with a pop of color,” Browne said.
A lot of the pieces she owns have become interchangeable, like the armoire from her daughter’s room in the previous apartment that’s now the food pantry in the new apartment’s kitchen, or a large sideboard that used to be a shoe cabinet.
The colors then come from the accessories and the art.
“And when I want to change the look of a room, the accessories can be moved very easily from one place to another,” she said.
Over the years, Browne has collected interesting objects from around the world. “I have so many pieces that have so many great stories behind them. We have a beautiful silk rug that we carried back from India, a fabulous turquoise Buddha that I brought back in my carry-on luggage from Bali, a wooden window from Thailand that caused a big family fight until it was agreed upon that it would be hauled back to Shanghai. I’m not quite sure how my husband talked the airline into that one,” she said, laughing. As a photographer, she also tries to pick the best shots from her journeys and prints them.
The living room is so spacious that furniture from three rooms from the old home are now filling the space. With different seating areas, it’s a big, open concept. “This goes back to my comment about the common thread of my decor that can be moved from room to room. It really came in handy in this situation,” Browne said.
The master bedroom might be the place that has seen the most change over the years. At first, she said, the look was conservative, then chic, then retro. Today, it feels like a travelogue of the family’s life in Asia.
“Many may think that the busy nature of our bedroom goes against everything that a bedroom should be, but it makes us happy. It reminds me of a cool villa in Asia and we love to feel that we were on holiday.”
Her daughter’s room also reflects Browne’s sense of fashion and design.
Browne used to change the decor of rooms frequently. When her husband returned from business trips, he’d be unsure where to take a seat.
But in her new home, she has found some rest. “I’m so content with how things look in this apartment so I can’t foresee changing it anytime soon. Every room in this place makes me so happy and I just feel complete contentment when I walk through the front door.”
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