A sure-fire sign that a designer and a client are sympatico? When the client asks for the exact same furniture and lighting that the designer has in her own home.
“She purchased her place and saw a photo of my Brooklyn home, and she said she immediately bought the chairs and light that I had—and then realized she needed my help and gave me a call,” explains designer Delia Kenza, of how she came to be hired.
“The client’s vibe inspired the project. She appreciates things made by hand, prefers a vintage organic vibe over stark, and has beautiful pieces she either inherited or purchased,” says Delia. “She has a real sense of what she likes and does not like.” On the like list: the grand proportions, large windows, and pre-war architectural details of her two-bedroom apartment. On the dislike list: the kitchen.
Now that Delia has applied her considerable design talents to the space, her client—”a real bad-ass (and I mean that in a good way) professional woman”—has a home that marries old with new, bold with refined, and Delia’s curatorial eye with the client’s personality.
Below, Delia takes us on a tour of the refreshed home, now as “bad-ass” as her client.
Photography by Nick Glimenkis, courtesy of Delia Kenza Interiors.
![to give the pre war apartment a more modern feel, delia had all the walls and m 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/delia-kenza-interiors-brooklyn-apartment-living-room-733x482.jpeg)
![delia mixes new and vintage pieces in the living room. a west elm sectional pla 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/delia-kenza-interiors-brooklyn-apartment-living-room1-733x480.jpeg)
![the mooi random light and the drop chairs are the pieces that delia also has in 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/delia-kenza-interiors-brooklyn-apartment-dining-room1-733x479.jpeg)
![the french doors were \2\20;another one of the beautiful elements still 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/delia-kenza-interiors-brooklyn-apartment-dining-room-733x475.jpeg)
![all the artwork is from the client\2\17;s own collection. \2\20;s 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/delia-kenza-interiors-brooklyn-apartment-dining-room2-733x1091.jpeg)
![the client is an avid cook and requested a gut renovation for the kitchen. it t 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/delia-kenza-interiors-brooklyn-apartment-kitchen-733x1089.jpeg)
![\2\20;what we managed to squeeze in in that narrow space, i think, is in 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/delia-kenza-interiors-brooklyn-apartment-kitchen1-733x477.jpeg)
![\2\20;we selected a greige leaning towards light lilac for the cabinet f 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/delia-kenza-interiors-brooklyn-apartment-kitchen2-733x481.jpeg)
![the clam floor lamps flanking the bed are by avionstudio. \2\20;i use th 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/delia-kenza-interiors-brooklyn-apartment-bedroom-733x472.jpeg)
![the round velvet pillows are from west elm. 26](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/delia-kenza-interiors-brooklyn-apartment-bedroom1-733x487.jpeg)
![a quiet, artful corner. the parquet floors are original to the apartment. & 27](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/delia-kenza-interiors-brooklyn-apartment-bedroom2-733x1094.jpeg)
For more Brooklyn style, see:
- Before/After: A Remodelista’s Refreshed Parlor Floor Flat in Brooklyn Heights, NY
- Second Time’s the Charm: ‘A Renovation of a Renovation’ in a Brooklyn Duplex
- Before & After: A French-Inflected Townhouse Renovation in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
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