above: This sleek, modern kitchen strikes a balance between style and functionality. The bold Arabescato Corchia marble backsplash serves as an unexpected statement piece, complemented by white quartz countertops. A reeded island adds texture and visual interest, tying together the contemporary design with thoughtful details.

Balancing Act

A designer marries contemporary style with comfortable living for a young family

INTERVIEW WITH KYLIE K. BASS, KKB INTERIORS // PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIRSTEN FRANCIS
STYLING BY BRITTANY ALBERT

Who lives here?

They’re a young family with two kids. We had gotten connected through mutual friends, and this was a new build.

I’ve done a couple of modern farmhouses in the past and I feel like the reason that people come to me is because they really like the way that I can make it still feel comfortable, still feel like a family lives there. Even though the general aesthetic has more clean lines and expansive windows, it’s more of a clean minimalist look. For a lot of areas, they brought me in to give that elevated non-spec feeling with more custom details.

What were their asks for this home?

They would send me the inspiration images of more transitional, cozy homes.

There weren’t all just white walls, they had details. So, I had to find that blend of staying true to the architecture of the house—because that’s always what I try to do—and make it cozy and make it livable, especially for a family with really young kids.

For instance, they really wanted high-end, quality furniture, but also didn’t want to be petrified to touch anything in the main family room of their open-concept house. We focused a lot on really good quality materials, but also durable materials.

This is why so many young families hire me. That’s my bread and butter—durable materials that still look really pretty.

What was the starting point for your design plan?

As far as starting with fabrics and shapes and things like that, I really would put myself—our kids are the same age—in her shoes, and I imagined my kids running around this family room. I thought about, “What is going to make me calm if I’m standing in the kitchen, and I can’t get over to them in time?” In addition to the durable fabrics, I included shapes that didn’t have any crazy corners. I wanted to make sure that everything felt organic, but not in a way that looked like it was baby-proofed.

The perfect example is their family room where we made a custom sofa for them because they had this very specific vision of a shape that they wanted with an elongated chaise. Then they wanted a coffee table that their kids could run in circles around, or they could have orange juice and not say, “You can’t go in this room.”

I made sure that the tones were warm—nothing was too white—and used a solution-dyed acrylic for the sofa. All of the colors just work really well together.

Tell us about the kitchen.

They cook a lot, so they were turned on very early to quartz. I am personally a lover of natural stone, but I design in a way that is true to the clients, in a way that I really love.

The way that the architecture of the kitchen worked out—which was really cool—was that they had the stove sitting in front of this large window and a hidden hood, and then the sink in the island. It all set the stage for this really sleek, minimal kitchen.

We tried to lean into that, knowing that we had this minimal range aesthetic, and she really wanted white quartz countertops and a white kitchen, but then asking, “How can we make this space also feel designed?”

It came with selecting the backsplash slab, which was this beautiful Arabescato Corchia that was veiny and beautiful, and then adding the paneling underneath the island.

Pendant-wise, she just wanted something minimal, substantial, really good quality, and I immediately thought of these Allied Maker pendants. They’re stunning, even better quality in person. On the counter stools, we did a Perennials back and then a vinyl seat cushion, so that she wasn’t nervous for her kids to sit on them.

It looks like you had fun with the lighting choices. Talk about those.

Okay, so I love lighting, and the lighting in this house is definitely a mix.

We were finding that balance of doing something that was fun and a statement, but that the client also wouldn’t get sick of in five years.

In the stairwell, we used this unbelievable Gabriel Scott piece, and this was definitely a journey. We knew from the second that this house was built and saw this very large window right in front of the stairwell that we were going to need something that looked incredible from the outside—when it’s dark—like a really stunning piece of jewelry.

In other parts of the house, it was a mix between the entry—which has a custom piece that we found on 1st Dibs, the Allied Maker pendants, a couple things from Visual Comfort & Co., and In Common With. We tried to find a mix of high-low, making sure that it really blended well with the rooms.

Tell us about the kids’ spaces.

They were moving from the city, so this was their original furniture. It was great because, honestly, I love them anyway, and I would have picked them. The kids are old enough that they have their own personalities, and they know what they want, but the mom was also thinking, “I don’t want to redo wallpaper and get new rugs in a couple years.” It was about creating little personal spaces for them that they could grow into.

Do you have a favorite room?

I don’t know if I could pick a favorite room, but what I love about the office is that it’s on the third floor of the house, and the roof lines were interesting. That’s my favorite kind of challenge. I love when a room is not a rectangle.

They wanted to incorporate built-ins, which we added to follow the roof lines, and it has a window in it. It’s beautiful.

And then, I love that one angle of the family room where you can see a little bit of the outside. You have these beautiful vintage chairs mixed with the contemporary coffee table.

We have very subtle drapery window panels that add a bit of softness to these really expansive windows. It so perfectly depicts what she was going for.

RESOURCES:
Interior Design: Kylie K. Bass, KKB Interiors, New York; kkbinteriors.com
Builder: Coastal Luxury Homes, Westport; coastal-lux.com
Architectural Details (kitchen, bar, fireplace): Merrin Jones Interiors, Westport; merrinjonesinteriors.com