Crafting Contemporary Elegance with Kim Lapin

·1 hr 1 min·5 clips

How did a model renovating seven houses in seven years launch a celebrated interior design firm?

Seven houses make the opening hook, and Kim comes in with the energy of someone who learned her taste by living through the work. Her renovation streak becomes the lab for how she thinks. The best stretch is about the permanent stuff: arches, openings, fireplaces, and built-ins that give a room shape before the furniture shows up. She wants the bones to feel sure of themselves. After that, the softer choices can loosen up, even when every piece is not her personal favorite. Balance keeps sneaking back in. Too many arches can feel fussy. Too little detail can leave a creamy room sitting there with no pulse. The fireplace example makes the point cleanly. She talks about pulling out old surrounds and rebuilding the wall so it feels designed, not decorated around. Then come the pretty risks. Stone and lighting are the jewelry for her, the pieces that add sparkle without taking over. Onyx gets respect, but not a free pass. She likes the drama and still turns down the backlit version because the mood feels wrong to her. The dining room pushes harder, with a normal ceiling becoming a barrel ceiling because the extra shape feels more fun and, in her telling, not wildly more expensive. Her method sounds physical: hit the gas, hit the brakes, give the room relief. The hosts keep it chatty, so it feels like a real design conversation rather than a lecture. Kim closes with her site, social videos, and the advice to do what you love because it does not matter what anyone thinks.

As heard by us

Kim Lapine shows how architectural details can shape a room before the furniture arrives.

Kim Lapine's design story moves with an unusually busy pace: seven houses renovated in seven years, then the launch of Kim Lapine Interiors in 2020.

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Why you'd press play

You want a room with some backbone, and Kim Lapine has sharp instincts about arches, onyx, and when to hit the gas or hit the brakes.

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