Mikel Welch’s Hamptons Style Meets New York City Living

This piece was originally written by Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason in 2019. Photographs by Chinasa Cooper.

Mikel Welch is a bonafide design celebrity. A Season 7 contestant on HGTV’s Design Star, Mikel went on to share his gift for transforming spaces on The Steve Harvey Show and The Real Housewives of Atlanta before joining the cast of Trading Spaces. Mikel has now used all of that talent and experience to turn a 650-square-foot apartment in New York City into his own Hamptons-inspired getaway.

From the moment he stepped into his new home, Mikel liked what he saw and knew what he wanted to do. The designer remembers that the unit had just been renovated and had everything he needed to create the space he wanted. With a fresh clean slate, he set out to create his perfect aesthetic — bringing the look and feel of his favorite Hamptons getaways to his own home. Combining different textures in a soothing, neutral color palette, the living room embodies the warm, rustic feel that he wanted to come home to every day.

 To create the perfect city escape he added in rural and rustic elements. In this case, the designer drew on his Trading Spaces experience with a DIY project. Mikel couldn’t get barn doors delivered in a small New York elevator, so he decided to build his own. “This is New York and we don’t have yards,” he says, “so I had to bring the wood up and build the doors in my living room.”

Known for the modern design that he creates for his clients, at home Mikel takes a more restrained approach marked by the elegant use of small details and a love for historic cultural objects. The living room coffee table is a perfect example of his approach. The books are large enough to be attention-grabbers and they fit seamlessly, along with the table itself, into the room’s overall color scheme. 

Entertaining in a small space is always a challenge, and Mikel has been both clever and stylish in his solutions. In his dining room, eschewing a fourth dining chair in favor of a bench increases the capacity at the table, while the upholstered stool can do double-duty, adding substantial seating to the living room for the conversational part of the evening.   

Woven throughout the home are small homages to Mikel’s love of global culture and history. “Research,” he cites, “is one of the major elements in creating design that has personal meaning.” In the dining room an antique jacket hung on the wall is one of the designer's prized possessions. An authentic 19th-century Chinese rain coat — the type of garment that would have been worn by rice farmers — becomes a striking piece of art in the hands of this skilled designer.  

The living room console offers a menagerie of cultural details. Layers of texture meet here, with wooden sculptures atop the metal display. Pieces like a carved horse offer a whimsical touch, reminiscent of the Trojan Horse. 

The serene, distant feel of Mikel’s space is a direct result of the color palette the designer has chosen. The home is a study in neutrals. Brighter colors are used sparingly and, unsurprisingly, to great effect. The large art piece that hangs in the entryway is not a huge departure from the color scheme of the overall living room, but with its small pops of bright orange and dark red it easily stands out, bringing the perfect amount of life and energy to the room. 

Mikel’s love of art is clear in the important role it continues to play in the home. The hallway leading to his bedroom is home to an amazing gallery wall that maintains the understated elegance of the home. Combining different sized art with hung objects, the gallery wall plays with space and is an eclectic note in the home’s design. 

When Mikel moved into his home, the bedroom was the first room that he designed. Motivated by a desire to bring the comfort and luxury of the Hamptons to his New York abode, this room set the tone for the rest of the interior. The canopy bed is an elegant centerpiece in the room and the range of silver-gray neutral tones evokes luxury while creating comfort. 

One of the big selling points of the remodeled home was the built-in storage. However, instead of storing towels and bed linens, in Mikel’s home these built-ins are a design element, showcasing even more of the designer's impressive collection of cultural objects: a unique array of baskets, sculptures and vases. Pieces like Senegalese baskets, an antique Chinese document case, and a display of wooden vases from India can be spotted within. Here they add yet another dimension of global design to this flawlessly constructed interior. 

Overall, Mikel’s home is truly a unique setting that effortlessly blends the tranquility of the Hamptons with the vibrancy of New York life. He has brought not only his professional skills to his home, but also a personal aesthetic through his display of intriguing cultural collections. 

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Josephine Wool Crepe Sofa

Amur Perforated Iron Sconce

Landscape [Trees] By Edward Mitchell Bannister

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Glyph Oat Pillow

Morning Glory Cream Wool Moroccan Rug