Personal Patterns with Designer Michel Van Devender

Designer Michel Van Devender's design mantra: mix and match and then layer on more

“I put my house together like a puzzle,” says Michel. “With my home, I don’t design it all at once.” A large Suzani sheet covers the dark gray sofa, and when paired with the tribal-print rug and graphic throw pillows, the look is somehow cohesive.

The vignette at the bottom of the stairs, says Michel, is a great example of mixing “the high and low, old and new, layering different textures.” The white lacquer fretwork console is from Shine, and the vintage lamp and portrait are through Lisa Sherry.

Five-year-old Jude’s bedroom is a mix of patterns, from the striped rug and polka dot sheets to the plaid coverlet and the floral draperies—a coupling of two vintage fabrics Michel found—which were the inspiration for the room.

In twelve-year-old Noah’s bedroom, Michel layered stripes over stripes with the painted walls and an oversize American flag that she found at Sleepy Poet. “I love stripes,” says Michel. “For Noah, it’s like a large boys rugby shirt.”

Michel approached six-month-old Silas’s nursery just as she approaches projects for her clients: with a floor plan and design board. Not sure where to start, she found a vintage piece of art that served as inspiration for the color scheme of the room.

Extra-long draperies by Schumacher in Chiang Mai Dragon serve as the bold pattern in the stairwell where Michel created a collage of her kids’ school artwork with vintage pieces and paintings. “I love to mix kids’ art in with more grown-up stuff,” she says

The entire kitchen was gutted prior to the Van Devenders moving in, which resulted in all new cabinetry and a separate breakfast nook, which today showcases the family’s artwork. A Galbraith & Paul drum shade plays off the patterned drapes and pillow.

Michel completed her three sons’ bedrooms before tackling the master bedroom, so when she started to address it, she knew she wanted to use all of the colors in the kids’ rooms but make it more adult—“a more sophisticated version,” she says.

“That room came together before any of the other ones,” says Michel of the living room, which is a mix of traditional pieces with modern accents. Michel covered the sofa in a graphic David Hicks fabric and re-covered two wingback chairs—flea market finds.

Though the décor throughout the home is more modern than traditional, Michel didn’t want to strip the circa-1934 home of its history, hence the wainscoting in the downstairs bath.

The Van Devenders papered the dining room in a bold, black-and-white hexagonal print by Tres Tintas Barcelona. With such a graphic-patterned canvas to work with, Michel scaled back the layering of patterns by painting the existing chandelier a bright red.

For six years, Michel Van Devender and her husband, Ladd, lived in a small bungalow in Dilworth. But as their family began to expand they found themselves outgrowing the space. It was either renovate and add on or look for a bigger home.

The couple chose the latter and began their search in Dilworth and Elizabeth—“I love historical neighborhoods,” says Michel, a designer with Lisa Sherry Interieurs—and fell in love with a five-bedroom 2,800-square-foot home in the heart of Elizabeth. But there was significant work to be done—the kitchen and up- and downstairs baths were outdated and needed to be gutted, the carpeting needed to be pulled out, and every room required a fresh coat of paint or wallpaper.

Soon after the renovations, the family moved in and Michel began applying her self-described bohemian style, which meant a mixing and matching of textures, price points, and lots of pattern. “When you mix things, it’s all about the balance,” she says. “There’s no hard and fast rule about how pattern and texture should work together.”

The resulting look is a combination of traditional meets modern, she says. “I love being surrounded by color, print, and pattern,” Michel explains. “All of that makes me happy—it’s a reflection of my life.”