Heavenly Gaines’ Modern Brooklyn Apartment
Photographs by Chinasa Cooper and Patrick Cline
New York City is full of hidden gems, places that seem ordinary enough on the outside, but inside they are marvels of design creativity. Interior designer Heavenly Gaines has created one such oasis. Her apartment in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn is a beautiful mix of colors, textures and eras.
Heavenly’s living room is a perfect look into a design style that she describes as, “daring, eclectic, striking and global.” The room is a gorgeous mix of influences, from culturally inspired wall art to furnishings from many different places and times. The room has a perfect mix of vintage and modern furnishings and accessories, that when blended together, seamlessly help to create a cohesive space.
Heavenly’s living room features a number of beautiful antique pieces from the cabinet to the floor mirror and picture frame. But the vignette is completely built around the settee, which is both an eye-catcher, and one of her favorite things in the world. “I bought it online and had it rebuilt and reupholstered,” she beams. More than just a find, the restoration was a labor of love. “It needed extreme open heart surgery but it had good bones. Now it's the most beautiful sofa in the world.”
Beyond the furniture, the star of this room is its use of color, beginning with the striking black walls. “Black makes a statement,” the designer opines. “Any color set against it instantly pops.” For Heavenly, choosing the right shade took a bit of work. “My biggest challenge was selecting the shade of black that would work well in my living room. I get great natural light so I choose Benjamin Moore's Black Beauty which has a red hue that gives warmth.”
Heavenly’s playful mix of modern and vintage finds is on display throughout the home. An antique cabinet dripping with character flanks the sofa. It’s stylish, engraved metallic fittings and hints of age and wear bring depth to the space. The piece is topped with a framed quote from one Heavenly’s favorite music artists - Prince.
The rest of the living room opens up into a vision of modern pieces and design. Lively patterns on the rug, plush lounge chairs and throw blankets play with the eye as it moves across the space. On the far side of the room, a dark sideboard and metal shelving create a cool entertaining area that simply melts into the dark black walls.
Bringing together so many influences in one room without things feeling disjointed takes imagination and skill. Ultimately, Heavenly credits a well-planned color palette for creating the connections that allowed her to blend her eclectic furniture tastes. “I decided to mix both muted cool and warm tones to enhance the tone of black I chose,” she recalls. “My furniture pieces and decor items range from African and French to modern and Art Deco. But it's all cohesive because of the muted tones.”
One last corner of the living room houses a small home office from which Heavenly plans her projects. Taking advantage once again of the color-boosting power of her black walls, Heavenly opts for the simple-yet-striking pairing of her dark walls with the natural wood tones found in the shelving, desk, chair and, of course, the floor. The feeling of nature is soothing, augmented with the addition of a glass vase holding banana leaf palms. Completing the scene, the shelves are stylishly arrayed with glassware, vases and other curios.
Like the living room, the bedroom benefits from healthy doses of natural light throughout the day. Yet, instead of challenging it with dark walls, here Heavenly accentuates the light with bright white walls. “The living room and bedroom are polar opposites,” she admits. Still, bits of the living room style managed to find their way into the bedroom. The shape of the carved headboard is a callback to the pattern of the living room rug.
“The bedroom is mostly monochromatic,” the designer muses. And while white is certainly the dominant color - appearing in various shades not only on the walls, but in the side tables, lamps and rug as well - it’s the touches of color that give the room it’s character. “The peach chair, brown clay painting and walnut chest give the eye places to rest as they play against the white,” she explains, “and the black and off-white rug provides zest.”
“What I love about my home is how it makes me feel. It exudes warmth and softness. I love my living room and how it shows that a cohesive space can be achieved using different design styles. And I love my juju hats.”