Best Living Rooms in Vogue

Tradition reigns in the Washington, D.C., living room of Mary Benjamin Rogers, first wife of Standard Oil heir Henry H. Rogers, Jr., as photographed in 1944. The floral carpet and green and yellow tones of the fabric create an indoor garden scheme, as Mrs. William Paley, aka Babe, lounges on a tufted sofa in 1948. In 1966, the yellow Louis XVI chair strikes a very traditional tone against the geometric paneled backdrop in the Long Island home of photographer Horst P. Horst. Light is king in the Montecito, California, living room of architect Jack Warner circa 1970, whose pair of chaise longues provides a great spot to bask in the glow of the sun as reflected in the mirrors flanking the fireplace. The Chinese silk scroll paintings command attention in the Washington, D.C., living room of William McCormick Blair, Jr. circa 1972, rivaled only by the 18th-century gilt mirror above the fireplace. “Locally made” was the theme of Gloria and Loel Guinness’s Acapulco, Mexico, living room circa 1972, designed with a thatched roof in keeping with local architecture, and filled with furniture made in the surrounding countryside. The inlaid mirror, mosaic wall tile, and mirrored banquette fabric might all say Morocco, but the bust of the Queen of Naples on the coffee table gives away the actual location of director Franco Zeffirelli’s Positano villa. Valentino designed the fabric for the walls of his Roman living room himself, creating a cocoon of color for his villa on the Appian Way circa 1974. It is no surprise that this citrine-infused living room belonged to the creator of Palm Beach chic, Lilly Pulitzer, whose dress patterns are not far from the green abstract print fabric chosen for the chairs in her Palm Beach space circa 1975. Marella Agnelli’s Rome living room circa 1977 uses the ornamentation of the city as its decoration; the simplified interior provides a backdrop for the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook St. Peter’s Basilica and the gardens of Palazzo Colonna. Billowing white curtains frame the expansive windows in Linda and Robert Taubman’s Detroit home, whose gardens provided the inspiration for the otherwise neutral room’s green accents. In their home in the Marais, fashion designer Christian Lacroix and his wife, Françoise, chose to be playful in their design using 18th-, 19th-, and 20th-century pieces in a rainbow of colors, set against the backdrop of the 17th-century space’s parquet flooring, high ceilings, and marble fireplace. In Amanda Harlech’s 17th-century cottage in the English countryside, the Chanel muse and creative consultant installed a new stone mantelpiece against the backdrop of a black accent wall, creating a rather modern take on an otherwise traditional room. Designer Rachel Riley’s brand of English-centric chic is ever present, even in her château in France’s Loire Valley, where the Louis XVI chairs are upholstered in chintz. In the Manhattan apartment of author Plum Sykes, the walls are done in Farrow & Ball Pink Ground, which lends warmth to the space without making her husband feel as though the room is too feminine. In the living room of the Argentine estancia of socialite Brooke de Ocampo and her husband, Emilio, there are traditional ponchos thrown over the antique upholstered wing chairs flanking the mantel—a scheme that connects the backgrounds of husband and wife. In the Richard Neutra–designed house of interior designer David Netto and his wife, Elizabeth, in L.A.’s Silver Lake neighborhood, the house had to be at once decorated and family-friendly, which led Netto to the Mies van der Rohe daybed and hide rug. Use of bright color makes an otherwise traditional room—valences, gathered skirts—more modern, as citrine walls combine with candy-striped sofas and armchairs with hits of aqua and eggplant in interior designer Jeffrey Bilhuber’s 17th-century home on Long Island. In the living room of Catie Marron’s Southampton manse, country simplicity reigns; the upholstery mimics the blue and white porcelain scattered throughout the room and is set against a clean white backdrop that highlights the architecture of the historic home. In the 16th Arrondissement apartment of Dior Joaillerie’s Victoire de Castellane, she wanted a bright environment to come home to, which she created with a hanging egg chair she found on 1stdibs and art from Thomas Ruff. The Berber rug adds a cozy element to the space. Built-in bookshelves accentuate the dramatic height of the ceiling in Jane Pendry’s Paris living room, while the two antique chairs covered in Lelièvre velvet bring the eye back down to earth. In the Brooklyn row house of Miranda Brooks and her husband, Bastien Halard, each of the three floors was allowed a nationality; the living room is on the French floor, as evidenced by the bleached oak flooring underneath the oushak rug. At the Connecticut home of architect Daniel Romualdez, the overriding theme of the living room is a collection of Victorian taxidermy, which lends itself to the comfortable country-house vibe that was the owner’s intention. The Paris apartment of Chloé creative director Clare Waight Keller is both stylish and kid-friendly; the clean lines of her furniture, paired with Jonathan Adler needlepoint pillows, highlight the architectural details of the 19th-century space. The living room in Florence Welch’s London home is an exercise in cozy, color, and character. The Keith Haring poster is a family heirloom and jumps against the aqua background of the room’s walls. Clean lines abound in the Tangier home of shoe designer Bruno Frisoni, with woven chairs and marble floors against cool blue walls. Comfort is the order of the day at the Locust Valley, New York, estate of former PR executive Emilia Fanjul Pfeifler, where deep upholstered furniture anchors a room that includes the original circa 1917 flooring and an antique mantelpiece sourced in Italy. In the Upper East Side apartment of model Miranda Kerr, the otherwise traditional space is offset by the owner’s bohemian approach to decorating—pairing a carved wooden daybed with an antique gilt mirror and glass coffee table. In Jacqueline Sackler’s Amagansett home, interior designer Jacques Grange chose a trim color for the interior that mimicked the lichen on a tree in the garden; in the living room, that beautiful green hue stands out against the creamy slipcovered furniture and white walls. In the New York City townhouse of model Karlie Kloss, interior designer Nate Berkus followed the homeowner’s desire to pair high and low, combining catalog finds like the Restoration Hardware curtains with antique treasures. A purple duchesse satin developed for dresses in his studio covers a gilded settee in the uptown apartment owned by fashion designer Zac Posen, whose portrait hangs above the settee, surrounded by a lifetime of artwork and antique knickknacks—which against the coral red walls evokes the feeling of being in a jewel box. There are no sofas in the living room of designer Giambattista Valli’s Paris apartment; two modernist daybeds and a four-poster 17th-century Italian daybed provide the seating, making the space great for parties. In the living room of the brownstone shared by menswear designer Robert Geller and his wife, Ana, the minimalist chairs by Phase Design in the living don’t compete with the almost-ceiling-height windows that look out onto their tree-lined Fort Greene, Brooklyn, street, which help to bring the outside in. In the home of designer Sophie Buhai, 1970s chic, complete with shag rug, mixes with the cozy Mediterranean-inspired architecture of her 1930s Silver Lake bungalow, creating a California-cool atmosphere. The geometric pattern on the pillows and the clean lines of the ottoman provide the perfect juxtaposition with the paneled walls in designer Adam Lippes’s converted 18th-century barn, situated on 100 acres in the Berkshires. In Maja Hoffmann’s Arles living room, Prouve chairs are in sync with the terrazzo floors and large-scale contemporary photographs in the 17th-century château. Studio KO architects Karl Fournier and Olivier Marty’s Corsican carpenter’s cottage is a study in restraint; the duo painted neutral tones throughout the space and adapted a less-is-more approach with their furnishings. Sculptor Marie Christophe and her husband, interior designer Emmanuel Fenasse, brought life back to a 19th-century house in the French countryside—which had been empty for 20 years—with the help of brightly colored modern furnishings from Knoll At the Fire Island beach house of designer Michael Kors, the all-white color scheme helps the view of the ocean dominate the decor. In the living room of Jeremy Scott’s circa 1947 John Lautner–designed home in L.A., the architect included a lot of built-in furniture; this furniture, along with the swimming pool, dominates the space, and all the designer had to do was add some lamb-covered bean bags.