Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1501754
"Memphis is definitely out there, so a drop of it in a room is all that's needed." – Olivia Persia Sede, which she purchased from a friend. The cats have not discovered it yet — but just in case, she had it reupholstered in a high-performance leather by Holly Hunt, the kind used on private aircraft. Next to the fireplace is an unusual Memphis chair that performs double duty as a table and holds a metal lamp by Ron Rezek, which she brought from her childhood bedroom. "Memphis is definitely out there so a drop of it in a room is all that's needed," she says. The matching white oak butcher-block coffee table and chest are her own designs. "There was already enough going on in the room with different materials, and I didn't want the pieces to be distracting; matching them was the best way to solve the puzzle," she says. A large mirror on the wall keeps a seating area tucked into one corner of the living room from feeling claustrophobic. "It's just a piece of cut glass — no frame, nothing special," she says. "Some things in a room just need to be functional and disappear." What the mirror reflects is special, however: a rare 1970s travertine pedestal table from W. Gardner Antiques and a prototype wood chair designed by Philippe Starck in the 1980s, a part of a larger suite of chairs that belonged to her father. An ad for nail polish on her Instagram feed inspired the uncommon burnt-pink color for the living room's custom rug. "I was working on the living room, and when I saw it, I said, 'Oh my god, the color is so weird and Opposite page: Handmade fireplace tiles from Clé. Antiquity on mantel was brought back from Italy by Persia's father. Shell painting by Kristy Luck from Philip Martin Gallery, L.A. Chair by Memphis designer Massimo Iosa Ghini. Ron Rezek lamp is from Persia's childhood bedroom. Coffee table and sofa designed by Olivia Persia. Ana Montiel painting from Gallery OMR, Mexico City. 39