A World Traveler at Home in NYC, Surfboard Included - Remodelista
Photography by Michael Mundy /An Afternoon With. Kristin Barone is an inveterate world traveler: Paris, London, Los Angeles, Kampala. Barone, an LA native (it's where she learned to surf), worked as international fashion director at WWD in New York and Europe (where she continues to travel as a creative consultant). Barone in her brownstone apartment, with one of her favorite images, Helmut Newton's 1974 iconic photograph of a reclining Charlotte Rampling in the nude. Barone's surf board was custom made to match her apartment. The hat on the left is from Big Sur, while the Panama hat is from one of Barone's many trips to Rio (she once contemplated moving there). "I love the juxtaposition of metal and wood," Barone says about dining table and her Tolix chairs. A convergence of Barone's life from a blanket from the Masai Mara Tribe (L) to her gray and white surf board (R). "British Airways allows three duffel bags free of charge for donations to third world countries—so the military surplus bags are the donation bags I buy, fill, and then leave there every trip." To hide the small kitchen, Barone hung West Elm curtains from a curtain rod she created out of plumbing piping from Home Depot, which cost her $14. Barone's one-bedroom apartment means that lots of things take place in the main room—piano playing, TV watching, dining, lounging. Barone creates Maison Martin Margiela-inspired vignettes around her apartment by painting everything white. Barone purchased her piano for $200 from a flea market in downtown LA and painted it white. "Going to Africa inspires me to practice as the children love to sing." "Since faith and spirituality are very important to me, I collect a cross from every country I visit," Barone says. Pale gray curtains from West Elm add a note of hushed color to Barone's Maison Martin Margiela-inspired interiors. The black and white geometric patterns on the pots from Uganda are paired with a black and white photo. Black and white photos and artwork from every place Barone visits sit above a black leather Chesterfield sofa. "My small bedroom was a designer challenge," Barone says. Barone's most recent souvenirs from a recent trip to Iceland, include the green Jielde lamp on her bedside table and a cross, of course.