Edited chic: Living with fewer things, greater style
Laguna Beach, Calif.—For Trey Russell, “less is more” is not just a Modernist creed but a way of life. In his boutique, Aris, and his second-story garden apartment behind the shop, there is a pared-down yet luxurious aesthetic on display.
Art books in home and store sit in low, color-coordinated stacks. A row of dark wood boxes in graduated sizes—think Russian nesting dolls—hides the clutter of DVDs, playing cards and remote controls.
Laguna Beach, Calif.—For Trey Russell, “less is more” is not just a Modernist creed but a way of life. In his boutique, Aris, and his second-story garden apartment behind the shop, there is a pared-down yet luxurious aesthetic on display.
Art books in home and store sit in low, color-coordinated stacks. A row of dark wood boxes in graduated sizes—think Russian nesting dolls—hides the clutter of DVDs, playing cards and remote controls. Objets d’art are deftly juxtaposed: a Nymphenburg porcelain rhinoceros and a grouping of black jacketless books; an Anne Ricketts sculpture of a bronze hand and a slender hourglass.
“Whether you’re displaying merchandise in a store or objects in your home, it’s important to give each object breathing room,” Russell says. “In a small space, you want everything to be important.”
For the engaging Russell, merchandising his gift store—a melange of home furnishings, high-end fashion, consignment clothing, jewelry, teas, chocolates and fresh flowers—is like putting together a big puzzle.
“Every day, I get deliveries of new merchandise,” he says. “I have to make it all fit in a small space and make it look attractive.”
Russell uses his 1,100-square-foot apartment overlooking the rooftops of north Laguna Beach as an extension of the store. It’s as minimalist and restrained as a Beverly Hills boutique. Lilac-gray and violet-slate walls create a perfect foil for his collection of well-edited furnishings, upholstered in a subtle palette of soothing alabaster, beige, gray and chocolate. Like his store, a stylish mix of affordable goods—Pottery Barn shelves, West Elm bookcases and Crate and Barrel chairs—keeps company with Christian Liaigre consoles and $3,000 Caleb Siemon art vases.