Interior stylist and creative director Benjamin Reynaert has cultivated his own lived-in and layered aesthetic that celebrates personality in decorating. His debut book, The Layered Home, is a love letter to homes with soul, stories and objects that make them sing and, here, we share an extract: Benjamin’s essay on living with things you truly love
BENJAMIN REYNAERT. IMAGE: MANUEL RODRIGUEZ
Having spent over a decade getting to peek inside the homes of the designers, artists, and tastemakers I most admire, I’ve learned that the most successful, memorable projects incorporate things that are very much loved. Love for objects doesn’t discriminate between an expensive antique with historical provenance and a whimsical souvenir from a trip or a lovely shell picked up at the beach. Knowing the difference between what’s beautiful, purposeful, and meaningful and what’s simply transactional is no easy task.
Every detail counts, from what type of waste bin sits beneath your desk to the pen you write with. I believe in finding and using aesthetically pleasing things for even the most utilitarian of jobs. It’s common in the design community to encourage someone to live with things they love. In practice, attuning oneself to this idea requires a certain self-determination and awareness of what will make a room special and meaningful to you. This often comes down to a lot of trial and error.
I myself have fallen prey to quick fixes, impulse sojourns to retail stores, and the allure of two-day shipping online when it comes to finding things for my home. These panicked purchases almost always make their way to the charity shop eventually. I’ve come to appreciate the long game when it comes to sourcing, actually leaving the space above a demilune table empty for a while until I find the right thing, whether that be an antique Louis Philippe mirror with a certain aged patina or the perfect piece of art to balance out the colour palette of the room.
One tip I’ve also gleaned from the pros is to keep a list of items I need, along with the desired dimensions, on my phone, because you just never know when you’ll find the thing that completes a look.
The success of finding something just right for our home is often half the reason why we love those things, whether they are perceived as high-end or low-end. This tends to create a calming sense that everything is right, if not in the world, at the very least, in that corner of our room, for a small moment in time.
Extract taken from The Layered Home: Inspiration for Crafting Cosy, Collected Homes by Benjamin Reynaert, published by Mitchell Beazley. Photography by Manuel Rodriguez
PART OF A MUCH-LOVED MEXICAN POTTERY COLLECTION (LEFT) AND A SIDE TABLE IN THE DINING ROOM (RIGHT) AT NATHAN TURNER AND ERIC HUGHES’S CALIFORNIAN HOME. IMAGES: MANUEL RODRIGUEZ
THE CONNECTICUT FARMHOUSE OF INTERIOR DESIGNER AND TEXTILE CREATOR SCHUYLER SAMPERTON, LAYERED WITH PATTERN. IMAGE: MANUEL RODRIGUEZ
(LEFT) A COLLECTION OF BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN AT LARGE CROSS, THE PART HOME PART INTERIORS STORE IN NEW JERSEY RUN BY ALICE MINNICH; (RIGHT) BLACK 19TH CENTURY CHINOISERIE PAPIER-MACHE OBJECTS AT THE HOME OF JAMES COVIELLO. IMAGES: MANUEL RODRIGUEZ
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