This included the Lips on White wallpaper by Voutsa that Stein selected for Morelli's office, which she says "added a level of drama and femininity that resonated with both of them," and the Alicia Savage photographs which were "one of those finishing touches that really pulled the living room together." Stein adds, "They were particularly interesting to Samira, not only because they are dramatic, but also because they are actually self-portraits!" Wiley agrees: "Everyone is struck by those when they come into the house."
Both the actress and television writer may have admittedly fallen into the novice category when it came to design, but Wiley tips her hat to her wife and says: "I'm just not used to decorating a house. We're both new to it. I'm just starting to learn I can have opinions: 'Yes, I love that wallpaper. Yes, I love this.' And it's just great learning from Lauren."
"I love the sinuous lines of the living room sofa. The curved back’s softened angles open up the room’s entrance," says Stein, who was paired with Morelli by Homepolish.
"I definitely knew that I would move in, but I'm just not used to decorating a house," admits actress Samira Wiley, who married writer and producer Lauren Morelli in March 2017. "We were both new to it. I'm just starting to learn I can have opinions: 'Yes, I love that wallpaper. Yes, I love this.'"
"At one point, during the concept phase, I showed Lauren a bedroom that happened to have leopard-print ottomans and she absolutely loved the pattern," Stein says of the throw pillows. "Guepard Noir by Le Manach is one of those everlasting wovens that never goes out of style and it perfectly complements the Alicia Savage photographs."
"It happened that Lauren was traveling to the East Coast frequently for the show when we started working together. She wanted her home to be light and bright—a refuge from the Orange Is the New Black's material," explains Stein. "For me, Lauren’s home is reflective of her personality. It perhaps sounds a bit strange, but the colors and textures I selected for the space were a representation of how I interpreted her energy. She is vivacious and simply exudes warmth and positivity—I felt like I somehow wanted to create a visual narrative of those qualities."
"Because there was a lot happening with pattern and color in the dining room, I really wanted the lighting to be more minimalist and clean-lined," explains Stein. "The proportions of the Dot Line suspension light, in relation to the dining table, were ideal."
"My goal was definitely color. I love patterns. I wanted it to feel like it was a representation of us, and I felt like we had an opportunity to do something uniquely feminine because it's two women in a house," says Lauren Morelli.
"Arty, by Pierre Frey, had long been a favorite of mine and Lauren’s eyes lit up the moment she saw it," Stein says of presenting Morelli with a fabric idea. "I proposed pairing it with the dining room wallpaper and she loved the idea. Her comfort with juxtaposition and the mingling of unexpected elements became very clear to me from that moment."
"Lauren is the cook, and I love to hang out in the kitchen while she's cooking," says Wiley.
"The office was always an important consideration. Ultimately both Lauren and Samira would be using the space to inspire creativity," says Stein. "The Lips on White wallpaper by Voutsa added a level of drama and femininity that resonated with both of them."
"Because of Lauren’s love of color, the office felt like the perfect room to be even more bold. It is a relatively contained space, but a glimpse of the wallpaper is visible from the living and dining rooms, drawing one’s eye all the way through," explains Stein. "I love the interplay of the wallpaper with the greenery outside. The simplicity of the clean lines, paired with the striking oxidized mirror finish on the pair of tables was the perfect melding of glamour and ingenuity. They are actually storage cubes, which was essential in a small space that needed to be highly functional."
"Grounding the more colorful selections with organic materials, such as marble [and] oak, and a foundation of crisp white walls, brought a sense of balance to the composition," says Stein. When it comes to her love of color, "I think, if anything, she had to rein me in," Morelli laughs.
"The house isn’t huge," says Morelli. "It’s a little cozy California bungalow." Here, a guest bedroom.
Color was even infused into the outdoor area of their home by using multicolor chairs.
"This was a total 'learn-as-I-go,'" says Morelli. "Stefani was so wonderful. I love the house so much, and I see it as a testament to her taste and a challenge, and she constantly reminds me we did it together."
"My goal was definitely color. I love patterns," says Morelli. "I wanted it to feel like a representation of us, and I felt like we had an opportunity to do something uniquely feminine because it's two women in a house."
"I'm just not used to decorating a house," admits Wiley. "We were both new to it. I'm just starting to learn I can have opinions: 'Yes, I love that wallpaper. Yes, I love this.'"
The Handmaid's Tale star and Orange Is the New Black writer have a Homepolish-designed California bungalow that is as bright and fun as they are
When Lauren Morelli first hired Stefani Stein from Homepolish, Morelli's girlfriend Samira Wiley had yet to move into her Los Angeles home with her. But according to Morelli, Wiley was "always a consideration" in her design process. Actress Wiley backs up her wife of just seven months, saying: "I always knew I was going to move in."
The couple first met in 2012 when Morelli, a writer and producer for the Netflix dramedy Orange Is the New Black, wrote an episode that Wiley appeared in (Wiley now appears on another Emmy-winning show, Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, as well as the comedy Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television, which just debuted on YouTube Red on October 25). The pair officially became a couple in 2014, and Morelli proposed in 2016. They married in March 2017.
"Starting a marriage, and coming into a house that you weren't a part of in the beginning, and learning how to make it part of your own is something I'm having to do after the fact," explains Wiley.
"I'm just not used to decorating a house," admits Wiley. "We were both new to it. I'm just starting to learn I can have opinions: 'Yes, I love that wallpaper. Yes, I love this.'"
"My goal was definitely color. I love patterns," says Morelli. "I wanted it to feel like a representation of us, and I felt like we had an opportunity to do something uniquely feminine because it's two women in a house."
I love our house so much. It’s my happy place. I also love @stefanisteinla, who’s an absolute dream of a person and an interior designer. I love @homepolishfor connecting us. I love @archdigest, because of course. But more than anything, I love that Duncan’s modeling career is finally taking off.
See More : Newlyweds Samira Wiley and Lauren Morelli Take AD Inside Their First Home Together
We did it! We also gave our extra pair of glasses to a food delivery guy and he was... less than impressed.
One of my favorite pictures because we were like what if we go to this movie premiere in our normal clothes and don't spend hours getting our makeup done and goddamnit I'll EVEN WEAR MY GLASSES.
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