When Sissy Yellen’s client bought an apartment in downtown Birmingham, she recruited the owner of Sissy Yellen Living to create an inspired dwelling that was perfect for her and her dog.
As with many great designs, contrast was key. The apartment building is traditional, but Yellen’s client wanted a home with an interior that matched her avant-garde personality. “The living room is the focal point. It sets the tone for the other rooms, so it was a priority from the start,” the homeowner says. “My main concern was that it felt like a very narrow room with a long, empty white wall. I was unsure where to start.”
Given the length of the room, Yellen needed to find a way to activate it. The solution was a custom 22-foot rug that allows for a personalized floor plan. Inspired by internationally renowned interior designer Kelly Wearstler’s home, Yellen utilized the elongated length to create two living rooms within one. There’s an extra-long, 10-foot tufted sofa, as well as two sets of chairs and coffee tables. “That’s one of my favorite aspects of the room,” the client shares.
One of the biggest tasks was to deliver “anything but boring,” Yellen says, adding that the client’s living room needed to be comfortable and high-performing. The color palette is natural and feminine, with a little grit, while the textures are playful, with touches of bouclé, velvet, and linen. “It’s a mixture of earthy, calm colors that feature patterns that hold a touch of drama,” Yellen says, noting the floor-to-ceiling Schumacher sheers that look neutral from afar but actually have a subtle polka dot pattern.
In terms of furniture, one coffee table features a Calacatta viola marble with violet-colored veins streaming throughout, while another, a piece from a gallery in Pittsburgh, has smoked glass and a distinguishable squiggle iron base. Then there’s the showstopper: four larger-than-life panels from Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the world-renowned architect. The masterpiece, a full-scale exterior drawing, is titled “Museum for a City,” and was a part of a 1968 Mies van der Rohe Retrospective at The Art Institute of Chicago. Yellen found the prized piece through an art dealer in Chicago.
Given the scale of the living room, Yellen searched for something her client would not only connect with, but that was large enough to fill the space. She happened to spot this original drawing as a standing listing late one evening. At over 8 feet tall and 17 feet wide, “the scale sounded the alarm,” Yellen says. The artwork would be a make-or-break element, and while at first the idea seemed crazy, it ended up being the perfect marriage of artistic forces.
“My favorite thing (about the panels) is the character that their age gives them; you can see where things have been erased or patched over, and there are a lot of different holes from being on display in various places. All of these things make them all the more interesting,” the client says.
When asked what the key ingredient to the project’s success is, the designer replies, “My client really trusted me. That’s the most important part of our relationship — trust.” Yellen, a self-taught interior designer, launched her business in 2019. Because her family is in the construction business, she never skipped a beat absorbing information. “I’ve been general contracting projects since I was 18 years old,” Yellen says.
What’s next for the busy designer and mom of four? She hopes to grow her team and build a retail-facing experience for clients interested in high-end, bespoke furniture. Stay tuned!
More information: sissyyellenliving.com
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