Studio Kestrel

Studio Kestrel Interior design projects are surprisingly complex.

At Studio Kestrel it's not just about interior design - it's about transforming the way you live - and making every moment spent at home an unforgettable experience. Throughout the lifecycle of a project we produce technical drawings, curate materials and mood boards, source inventory from dozens of vendors, select and manage contractors, place orders and track logistics, coordinate on-site instal

lations, and so much more. Keeping track of all of these processes and making sure that progress is always moving forward on a project means that organization and communication are key. That’s why we've designed and implemented robust project management methods to not only track all of the moving parts, but also to keep clients informed at every step of the way.

06/04/2026

Most rooftop terraces have amazing views but rarely ever get used.

The rooftops that actually get used have a few things in common — different seating areas so you can hang or dine or anything inbetween, a corner that feels private even when the city is everywhere, landscaping that makes you feel happy and at peace, plantings that change through the seasons, and materials that belong outside and actually age well.

If you’re lucky enough to have an accessible rooftop on your apartment, it should be the most glorious part of your home, not an afterthought.

👇 What’s the coolest feature you’ve seen on a rooftop terrace? Let me know in the comments.

05/27/2026

Do your curtains say Four Seasons or freshman dorm?

Here’s something most people don’t think about — your curtains are one of the first things anyone sees from outside your home. They’re forming an opinion about how you live before they’ve even walked through the door. But they have just as much impact on the inside as they do on the outside. Done right, they bring privacy, light control, and a level of elegance that almost nothing else in a room can replicate. Done wrong, they make a beautifully designed space feel unfinished.

So here’s how to get them right.

Hang them as high as you possibly can — ideally right at the ceiling or just below the crown molding. It makes your ceilings feel taller and your windows feel more dramatic.

Make the stack as wide as possible on either side of the window. This makes the window feel wider, beautifully frames, and softer. Just make sure the fabric doesn’t cover more than a couple of inches of the glass when the curtain is open.

Choose a lightweight, drapey fabric — I love translucent sheers — and have it done in a ripplefold style. The even, consistent folds give it that hotel-tailored elegance that’s impossible to fake with a standard pleat.

And finally — let them almost kiss the floor. Not pooling, not hovering two inches above it. Just grazing. That last inch is the difference between bespoke and bought-on-sale.

👇 Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments.

You walk into a kitchen and something feels off. The room feels lower than it should. Smaller. You look around trying to...
05/22/2026

You walk into a kitchen and something feels off. The room feels lower than it should. Smaller. You look around trying to figure out why — and then you see it. Two feet of dead air between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling.

It’s one of those things clients don’t always notice — until you point it out. And then they can’t unsee it.
Taking cabinets all the way to the ceiling does something a standard cabinet run can’t. Visually, it pulls the eye up and makes the room feel taller. In an open-plan space, it gives the kitchen a sense of definition — it reads as intentional, not just functional. Like it belongs in the room, instead of being parked in it.

And practically? You actually get to use your kitchen. No dead space collecting dust above the cabinets. No awkward styling moment where you try to make a basket and a plant look like a design decision.

👇 Does your kitchen have the gap? Tell me in the comments — I’m curious how common this is.





05/19/2026

An outlet can ruin a wall.

You spend months on the millwork, the stone, the finish — and then a cheap plastic outlet lands right in the middle of it. I see it all the time.

On this project, we used recessed outlets by Prado — they sit flush inside the countertop, so they basically disappear. You can do them in a circle or an oval, into tile, wood, stone, or sheetrock.

The catch: they have to be specified before the stone or tile is specified. The structure they mount into gets built around them, and if you’re working with stone, you want the fabricator cutting for them in the shop — not a guy with a grinder on site.

They cost more than a standard outlet, but in a kitchen or a stone bathroom, they’re worth every dollar.

👇 Have you ever had a beautiful finish ruined by an ugly outlet?

05/18/2026

A Simple Trim Job?

Case in point — adding a single piece of trim to a New York City apartment.

In most places, you call a carpenter, they show up, they install it. In a NYC co-op or condo? First, you need a certificate of insurance from every single person walking through that door. The carpenter, the painter, anyone touching anything. No COI, no access. Welcome to New York.

Then there’s the installation itself. Trim is one of those things that looks effortless when it’s done right and can ruin an entire room when it’s not. Every gap, every seam, every transition point gets caulked and feathered until it disappears completely into the architecture. The goal is for it to look like it was always there and for it to fit perfectly with the design.

And then the paint match. This is where people underestimate how much is actually involved. You’re not just picking a white. You’re matching a specific sheen, a specific undertone, and a specific age of paint that’s already on every other piece of trim in the room. Get it slightly wrong and the whole thing reads as a patch job. Get it right, and nobody ever knows you touched it.

That’s the thing about this work — the best outcomes are completely invisible. And invisible takes a lot of effort.

👇 Have you ever had a COI nightmare? Tell me about it.

Ever notice how every good spa has the same color palette? Warm taupes, mossy greens, dusty terracottas. That’s not an a...
05/15/2026

Ever notice how every good spa has the same color palette? Warm taupes, mossy greens, dusty terracottas.

That’s not an accident - there’s actual science behind it. Earthy, muted tones lower cortisol. They signal safety. Your nervous system recognizes them from nature and begins to relax.

That’s exactly what’s happening in this living room. The walls are painted in a warm sage green — not bright, not minty, not gray. Earthy. The kind of color you’d find in a forest after rain.

Pair it with curvy, organic furniture shapes, and the room feels safe, inviting and calm. Like somewhere you’d actually want to lounge around all day on a Sunday.

You can get that feeling at home. It’s just paint.

👇 What’s your favorite wall color? Let me know in the comments.

05/12/2026

Has your furniture ever tried to kill you?

Ever banged your shin on a glass coffee table? Feng shui is the practice of preventing exactly that kind of pain and discomfort in a home. The idea is simple — the way a room is laid out affects how you feel in it. Sharp corners, hard edges, furniture you have to squeeze around — they make a space feel unsafe, even when we don’t notice. Feng shui is about arranging a room so those things aren’t in your way, and the space actually feels good to be in.

Here’s the fix. Round it out.

Swap the sharp-cornered coffee table for a rounded one or bring in an oversized upholstered ottoman. Layer in soft textiles — boucle, velvet, linen — anything that absorbs sound and adds warmth. If something in your room has a corner that’s caught you more than once, that’s not bad luck. That’s bad placement.

👇 You should be able to walk through your living room blindfolded without fear of death…. can you?

One of my favorite things about sunlit rooms is the way the light transforms the space throughout the day. Subtle neutr...
05/08/2026

One of my favorite things about sunlit rooms is the way the light transforms the space throughout the day. Subtle neutrals begin to glow, soft colors become vibrant and alive, fabrics reveal their rich textures, and materials like glass and acrylic reflect and refract the light.

When I designed this Manhattan apartment overlooking the Hudson River, I wanted the sunlight to be a defining element of the space. And as the sun begins to set on the Horizon every evening, and the home transforms from a bright and airy day-space to a romantic amber-hued oasis, it is truly a space that feels warm and inspiring from sunrise until well after the glow of twilight has faded.

05/07/2026

There’s nothing more terrifying than that moment when you feel your feet slipping out from under you and think, “wait really, this is how I go??”

But your bathroom doesn’t have to be your final destination. Just use the tips in this guide to selecting tile for your home to help you create a safe, stylish, and enduring bathroom or kitchen than may let you live to see another day.

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