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Carmen Smith | Aquilo Interiors

@aquilointeriors

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Fearless maximalism meets high-end interiors.
⁣Featured in AD Home Tours, Luxe, House Beautiful, BOH + more.
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FEATURED IN ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST | HOME TOUR! YAY!!!

I don’t even know where to begin. This house has been my baby for three and a half years, and seeing it celebrated in @archdigest means more than I can express.

As an artist and designer, I believe a home should tell stories, stir something in you, invite curiosity, and occasionally make you wonder what on earth you’re looking at in all the best ways. I especially love that last part. ✨

This home gave us the freedom to explore it all. From the interior architecture to sculptural details, custom millwork, furnishings, and wonderfully strange moments that make a house feel alive.

My fav designed moments by Aquilo-a monumental front door carved with tree rings, a three-story sculptural tile wall, intimate architectural nooks, a conversation pit beneath the moon, a loft among the treetops, and a powder room that feels like another dimension.

Every room has a story. And so much of my heart lives in this house.

Andrew, thank you for trusting us with your home, sharing your wonderfully curious mind, and embracing our wildest ideas. You gave us the freedom to be artists and create something entirely your own. What a gift.

To my incredible Aquilo team, I am so damn proud of us. Years of imagination, drawings, challenges, and countless details brought this home to life. It represents so much of who we are.

Thank you to Morgan Goldberg @morganhannahg for telling our story so beautifully, the editors @bebehoworth at @archdigest for selecting and celebrating our work, @leinic for your beautiful styling artistry-you are my sister and @timhirschmann for capturing the soul of this place. I’m proud of this house, my team, and the artist I’ve allowed myself to become.

What a wonderful thing to see a little of your imagination out in the world.

With love,
Carmen

Interior Architecture & Design: Aquilo Interiors
Architecture: @butlerarmsden_architects
Landscape: @scottlewis.la
Construction: @jettonconstruction @fidesindustrial
Photography: @timhirschmann
Words: @morganhannahg
Styling: @leinic Lighting Design: @annakondolflightingdesign
#AquiloInteriors #ArchitecturalDigest #InteriorArchitecture #ArtfulInteriors taken in Berkeley Hills by @aquilointeriors

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5 days ago

Our project made the cover of the September/October issue of @luxemagazine! ✨

It is incredibly special to see a project that has been such a huge part of our lives recognized in this way.

This home was a true collaboration, with beautiful architecture by @andrewmannarchitecture and interiors by Aquilo, and I’m so proud of the world we created together. Inside, you’ll see the layers, color, art, materials, details and stunning moments that made this project so deeply personal to us.

Thank you @luxemagazine, @jilleditsluxe and @maryjbowling for seeing something special in this project and choosing to share it.

To our wonderful client, thank you for trusting us and allowing us to make something this singular with you.

And to @andrewmannarchitecture, I could not ask for better collaborators. You are wildly talented, thoughtful and just genuinely good humans. It has been such a pleasure creating alongside you.

Thank you to @rbradleyphoto and @mikhaelromainstylist for capturing the project so beautifully, and to @davisgonthier, my ride or die, thank you for always championing our work. Love you forever.

Very proud of this one. Very grateful. And very excited for you all to see what’s inside. 🖤

#AquiloInteriors #LuxeMagazine #LuxeAtHome #SanFranciscoDesign #InteriorDesign taken in Sebastopol, California by @aquilointeriors

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2 months ago

Today my LA project is featured in Architectural Digest Home Tours. This is MAJOR.
For this to happen at such an early stage in my career is reaffirming and so beautiful. I am grounded in gratitude.
I admire Architectural Digest so much, as this publication defines excellence in design. To have my project selected is an honor and I am feeling extra excellent and excited. I have arrived! 😉

I put my magical soul into this project. And it was easy to do with such a wonderful client who welcomed me to work my magic and create a fearless, strong, fun, beautiful, intentional design. This project will forever be one of my favorites because my creativity was allowed to flow through every surface and innovate something beautiful, maximalist, swanky, and timeless baby!

A super warm thank you, kisses on both hands, and bows to the Queens who made this possible. Alison Levasseur @alevasseur thank you for seeing me. Gabby @gabyulloa_ thank you for writing such a beautiful article, girrrl!! Amy Astley @amyastley thank you for making Architectural Digest the greatest! Madeleine Luckel @madeleineluckel thank you for being so wonderful. To the rest of the AD team- you guys are the bees knees and I respect everything that you do. You guys work so hard!

To Prentice @the_a_prentice and Tasha Penny- thank you for allowing me to create this stunning design for you. Thank you for being such incredible clients. I love you guys forever. 💗

To @archdigest - I feel so excited to grace the pages of your glorious publication. I feel like the Queen of the world. Thank you for everything!

Go check out my Afro-Century Ranch project featured as a Home Tour in Architectural Digest!! Link in my bio!
#aquilointeriors
📸 @stephen.paul
Styling by @emilybakerworks
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#ArchitecturalDigest #InteriorDesign #LAProject #Gratitude #Excellence #Creativity #MagicalDesign #Fearless #TopQuality #Affluent #Maximalist #Swanky #Timeless #ThankYou #ClientLove #HomeTour #DreamComeTrue #ADTeam #HardWork #FeaturedDesigner #DreamProject #blackinteriordesigner #eclecticmaximalist Woman posing with client in designed room for architectural digest taken in Los Angeles, California by @aquilointeriors

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3 years ago

10 THINGS I LIKE TODAY: FALL SHOW EDITION

A little surrealism, a lot of fabulousness, beautiful art, wonderfully eccentric objects, creative friends, a few questionable derrière sightings, and of course, my magic eggs.

Just a few things that delighted my strange little heart at the San Francisco Fall Show.

I do love a good collection of curiosities.

#TheFallShow #SanFranciscoFallShow #ArtAndDesign #AquiloInteriors #ThingsILikeToday taken in San Francisco, California by @aquilointeriors

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a day ago

This guest bedroom suite from our Retro Space House, recently featured in @archdigest, became one of my favorite rooms in the entire home.

You know what I love? When someone from another team says, “Carmen, I have to be honest. When I first saw this, I didn’t get it AT ALL. And now it’s my favorite room in the house.”

My mind is a wonderland of strange and wonderful ideas, and I can see exactly where we’re going long before everyone else can. So when someone looks at my design, scratches their head, and tells me they don’t quite get it, I simply say:

“You will.” Haha! 😘😉

I’m so grateful for our clients who trust our vision and are excited to explore the unusual with us. This project was full of those wonderful opportunities.

From the upholstered headboard integrated into the architectural wall paneling, to the soft blue plaster walls, that punchy green wall-to-wall carpet, vintage furnishings, and all those unexpected colors. It’s playful, nostalgic, a little strange, and still incredibly beautiful.

And then we carried that green right into the bathroom!

Green cement tile floors, vintage orange Flowerpot pendants designed by Verner Panton, a little yellow duck watching over everything, and a bathroom that feels bright, retro, and wonderfully fun.

I love creating spaces that feel like they belong to another time or an entirely different world, while still feeling completely right for the people who live in them.

That’s the magic for me. Taking the things that live in my imagination and making them real.
Check out the Home Tour at link below!

Interior Architecture & Design: @AquiloInteriors
Architecture: @butlerarmsden_architects
Landscape: @scottlewis.la
Construction: @jettonconstruction @fidesindustrial
Photography: @timhirschmann and Peter Lyons for the third image
Words: @morganhannahg
Styling: @leinic Lighting Design: @annakondolflightingdesign

#RetroSpaceHouse #ArchitecturalDigest #InteriorArchitecture #ColorfulInteriors #BerkeleyInteriors taken in Berkeley Hills by @aquilointeriors

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4 days ago

Love is a funny, complicated, beautiful thing. And through it all, you’re still my favorite person. Happy anniversary, Melinda ❤️

#HappyAnniversary #LoveIsLove #WifeLife #MyFavoriteHuman #LifeTogether taken in The World by @aquilointeriors

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9 days ago

Some homes are especially close to my heart. This is one of them.

One of the things I loved most about working on this home was how intentional my client was about EVERYTHING. Every decision had meaning, every detail had a story, and she wanted her home to reflect not just her taste, but her history, her culture, and the people who came before her.

We created custom wallpaper featuring ackee fruit, a beautiful nod to her Jamaican heritage. And then there are these magnificent portraits that we lovingly refer to as the ancestors. Watching over the room, bringing this incredible sense of presence and history into the space.

It’s these kinds of details that make me fall in love with what I do over and over again.

But today I also want to celebrate the woman behind this home.

HAPPY (almost) BIRTHDAY!!! @drburkeharris

You are such a wonderful soul, and I don’t think you fully realize how much you’ve meant to me and my journey. You trusted me and my vision during the earlier days of my career, gave me the freedom to create, and somewhere along the way, you became a dear friend.

And that is something I will always treasure.

I love that this home is filled with so much of YOU. Your history, your joy, your culture, your family, your beautiful spirit.

Here’s to another trip around the sun, my friend. And to making more beautiful memories in this wonderful world we created together.

With so much love.#AquiloInteriors

📸 @rbradleyphoto
💐 @mikhaelromainstylist

#InteriorArchitecture #BlackInteriorDesigners #DesignWithMeaning #JamaicanHeritage taken in Sebastopol, California by @aquilointeriors

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10 days ago

Fall is here and I want to make it SWANKY.

Sometimes I like to make moodboards that manifest. This is my fall season manifestation board. Isn’t she so sensual?! The velvets, the deep greens, the reds, the gold, the weird little moments. I’m into it.

And even though it’s approximately 110 degrees in sunny Oakland right now, I am READY for the Fall festivities and energies of Hallows’ Eve. Scary movies, candy, spookiest, boots and all the witchy things. Give them to me.

My crows told me this season will be a good one. They also said they feel very elite being placed in the moodboard wallpaper.

And to that I say: duh. You are my beautiful, wise, liminal lovelies for life. Of course you made the moodboard.

🖤

#AquiloInteriors #InteriorDesign #Moodboard #FallInteriors #DesignInspiration taken in Oakland, California by @aquilointeriors

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12 days ago

It appears I’m in full bloom these days. 🌸

And perhaps the strangest part is that I’m allowing it.

I’m letting myself enjoy the things that are happening. Letting myself be proud. Letting myself be surrounded by beautiful things, good people, flowers, gardens, laughter, and moments that feel really fucking good without immediately wondering what comes next or waiting for the other shoe to drop.

That is new for me.

There’s something very beautiful about realizing you don’t always have to brace yourself. Sometimes you can just stand in the middle of everything that’s growing around you and realize that you’re growing too.

So yes. It appears I’m in full bloom these days.

I am allowing it. And that is a beautiful thing. 🌸 #AquiloInteriors

#InFullBloom #Sebastopol #CaliforniaLiving #CreativeLife taken in Sebastopol, California by @aquilointeriors

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15 days ago

AHHHH! WE’RE IN A BOOK!!! CUTTTEEEE!!!

We are so incredibly excited and honored to have our Animal House project featured in PHILLIP JEFFRIES WALLS, the beautiful new book from @phillipjeffriesltd and @rizzolibooks.

There is something very surreal about opening a book and seeing this world we dreamed up staring back at us across the page. This project has always been such a special one for Aquilo. It’s imaginative, strange, layered, whimsical and completely unafraid to have a little fun.

And now it gets to live in a BOOK. A real one. A big beautiful one that I can put on my shelf and obnoxiously show people forever. 😂

Thank you @phillipjeffriesltd for including Aquilo in this beautiful collection of spaces and stories. We are so honored to be a little part of it. ❤️
📸 @vivianjohnsonphoto
#AquiloInteriors #PhillipJeffries #AnimalHouse #InteriorDesign #InteriorArchitecture taken in San Francisco Bay Area by @aquilointeriors

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17 days ago

ANIMAL HOUSE.

I love how deeply we got to lean into imagination with this one.

This client gave us permission to be whimsical. To be unusual. To choose the thing that made us feel something instead of the thing that simply made sense.

So a picture frame turns the corner of a wall. A hand-painted mural from Italy transforms the dining room into a land beyond. Antique pieces live next to items made specifically for this house. A fantasy landscape moves across the upholstery from one chair to the next. And these completely insane hand-sculpted eagle chairs from Spain somehow found their way home.

Nothing needed to be too serious. But everything was considered.

That is what I love so much about this house.

It’s a home, but it’s also a dream. A realm. A world. Our world.

I want to make more spaces like this. Places that lean into fantasy and imagination. Places that aren’t afraid to be strange or romantic or funny or completely specific to the person who lives there.

More things that make absolutely no sense to everyone else but make perfect sense to us.

More of what fills our hearts with joy.

More worlds, please. ❤️
📸 @vivianjohnsonphoto
#AquiloInteriors #AnimalHouse #InteriorDesign #MaximalistInteriors #InteriorArchitecture taken in San Francisco Bay Area by @aquilointeriors

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19 days ago

THE FAMILIARS OF AQUILO. ❤️

We have 8 cats.

But forever, we have 9.

And one very big ol’ Cat Daddy named Yondu who weighs about 80 pounds and remains convinced he is security but respects that Mr. Boobie Tassels is the sheriff lol .

These babies are my family. Full stop.

They are my protectors, my familiars, my little shadows, my coworkers, my tiny weird roommates, my comfort, and some of the greatest loves of my life.

They are there when I wake up. They are under my feet while I work. They sit on my drawings and material samples, climb onto my computer, follow me from room to room, sleep beside me, make me laugh when I don’t feel like laughing, and somehow always seem to know when I need one of them near me.

And I would do anything for them.

The truth is, they are a huge part of the reason I work as hard as I do. I want to give them beautiful, safe, ridiculous lives. I want to help more animals have those lives. And so much of what I dream about for Aquilo, far beyond designing spaces, comes back to them.

They are the reason. They are the purpose.

I want the work we do here to make the world a little better for animals, too. That’s always been part of the dream.

Because Aquilo isn’t just about making beautiful places.

For me, it’s about taking care of the creatures we share those places, and this strange little life, with.

So here are some of mine.

My babies. My family. My familiars. My whole heart.

8 here. Forever 9. And one big ol’ Cat Daddy. Also this song is hilarious right? WTF 😂😹🤣😹😹 #AquiloInteriors #CreaturesOfAquilo #AnimalLovers #CatsOfInstagram #PetFriendlyDesign taken in Oakland, California by @aquilointeriors

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23 days ago