Decadence Is the Word for Casey Kenyon’s Bedroom

If like us you’re driven by an insanely curious nature, then you also jump at the chance to peek inside other people’s homes, explore their creative process, and interpret their visual language into your own spaces. Unlocking the kernel of inspiration that gave rise to a design idea has always been what fascinates us more than the finished look. It’s this preoccupation for the behind-the-scenes that gave birth to our Room Swoon series. So join us as we tap into our inner voyeur for a captivating glimpse into spaces we love and the design spark that inspired them—then shop the look to bring it home. Up next, Casey Kenyon’s moody bedroom.

Sometimes a room comes along and completely envelops you in its unexpected beauty. The color, the materials, the texture, the scale, the light all convene in harmony to induce an emotive reaction from the viewer. This is the sentiment that Casey Kenyon’s moody bedroom evoked in us just upon seeing the images, so we can only imagine how visceral our response would be in person. Kenyon’s distinctive mélange of furnishings and decor spans the gamut of eras and styles paying tribute to the details and the forms without compromising his unique vision. While immersed in a rich aura of history there is a fresh modernity in the delivery that has timeless appeal.

In this edition of Room Swoon, we ask interior designer, Casey Kenyon to share more details about his decadent bedroom in New York, his design process, and top three decorating tips.

Describe this room in 3 words:
Decadent, luxurious, and ever so slightly lurid.

What was the inspiration behind this room design?
For me, my design process often starts with reference images. I love to revisit great rooms or details from the past. This bedroom started with Betty and Francois Catroux’s old bedroom where they had a very simple platform bed and a coromandel screen hung on the wall behind it and around the room. It’s a great room and iconic image for me.

Please share a fun anecdote about the design process?
Fun anecdote: Finding a bed that was the right proportion for the room was really hard, so we actually just made the bed out of plywood and I took the leftover carpet from our carpet install and wrapped the bed with it. The room, despite how it feels in the photos, is actually not super large, so we tried to play with proportion a bit. Keeping the bed pretty low in front of the taller screen helped the room feel bigger.

What is your favorite thing about this room and why?
I love the Coromandel screen behind the bed. It took us ages and ages to find one we liked, and could afford. I love the quality of the lacquer, the sense of history, and also the glamour of it.

Three tips for decorating an interior you always follow:
Proportion, Proportion, Proportion! Proportion and scale for me are super important. I think it can really make a room feel different than it is. It can make small rooms feel larger or rooms with low ceilings feel taller.

I also really think you need to think about how people live in a space. It should feel comfortable. Easy to move around. Design is only as good as someone feels in the space.

Third, I really like to approach each space with a sense of collection. For me, spaces feel more alive when they feel personal. When people can say, oh, we bought this great silver vase on vacation here or we bought this ceramic on that trip there. I try to encourage people to take time and learn about things and begin collecting on whatever budgetary scale that means to them.