When today’s Happy Chic Home contestants, Clayton and Carolyn, wrote of ceramic zebras, tennis balls, knights of shining armor, and Cornel Mustard guiding their design aesthetic–Jonathan and I were a bit skeptical. But when we opened the photos, we saw personal style at its best. A cleverly edited selection of decor from their travels, friends, and pastimes elevate funky to the respectable genre we know it is.
Here, Jonathan Adler puts this Missouri home to the Happy Chic Test
DEN
Let’s look at what Clayton refers to as his den for some inspiration! Frisky and fancy, this room works because it’s about adding a touch of eccentricity here and a dash of modern sensibility there. That is a j’adorable cluster of moi’s vases on the lacquer cocktail table. I always encourage creating a cluster of your favorite finds.
Do I spy tennis balls in a glass vase perched on a console, and a knight statuette poised on its own–Bravo! This vignette clever Clayton has styled throughout this room allows it to play and interact with the space.
BASEMENT
This basement is also about playful moments that make the space fun and easy. I’ve mentioned it before, and it’s perfectly represented here, styling your possessions together creates order where there could be chaos. Me thinks it’s important to mention Maximalism is not about how many objets you have in a room, but how you display the many objets in a room. Our entrant is using his keen eye and making sure the colors in the room are edited consistently on the shelves. They don’t look cluttered or too overwhelmed.
MASTER BEDROOM
Most people stop decorating too soon. Once you have the walls and floors and furniture in place, it’s the finishing touches that can really make a room your’s. J’adore the grandeur in this room with the two Bel Air lamps in white with baby blue lampshades, moi’s design (merci!), placed on the bedside tables. Their size and proportion to the rest of the space make this a bold gesture. Going for grandeur is the sign of a Maximalist! You’ve no doubt read moi’s advice on the signature color scheme of chocolate brown and baby blue. They are perfect together. They’re classic and fashion forward. With this scheme in mind, clever Clayton has transformed this bedroom with a unique color combination. We saw it with last weeks’ designer and we see it again here; replace those white walls and add some color! Also, those decorative pillows with silhouettes are a brilliant find.
GUEST BEDROOM
I’ve blogged before that I love a good color narrative throughout a room. The guest bedroom of this Happy Chic abode is about navy, red, and white. Its simple, clean, and non-obtrusive, exactly how you want your guests to feel. Do I spy moi’s product styled throughout this color narrative? Merci! But important to note: consistency of a color palette brings the space together. Look at the red tassels hanging from the lamps, and the red trim on the X-Bench, and finally, the red detailing of the pillows on the bed–your perspective of this room comes full circle. Happy Chic is also about making your guest-staying-overnight-room feel right at home.
STYLE NOTE
This Midwesterner reminds us that Maximalism is about fun! Styled throughout the home is dedicated Happy Chic design. Its both exuberant and ornate, a mixture of personal and eclectic taste. I am a designer who wants to bring a perspective of style, craft, joy, and a general feeling of grooviness to the home, and our clever entrant, Clayton, echoes moi’s sentiments.
LAST CALL
Today is the final day to enter the Happy Chic Home Contest so send in your photos and style story to irresistible@jonathanadler.com before midnight tonight! Check back next Thursday to see who wins the $2,500 gift certificate to Jonathan Adler stores and the grand title of Happiest Chicest Home in America (and the two runners-up)!
Anne E. Collins (Editor) and Jonathan Adler (Product and Interior Designer)
We closed on our condo! After months of prepping, the final meeting with the lawyer wrapped up in a mere hour and a half. In that time we signed what felt like 100 documents, but before we knew it we had an 1,100 square-foot piece of a Hoboken brownstone. We were so excited we almost sprinted there, but unlocking the door to your first home is a major moment; it needs a bit of ceremony. So we threw ourselves an impromptu house warming party. Mike bought the champagne and we stopped in our new neighborhood antique store 
We won’t actually move in for another three weeks (and it will undoubtedly be a paint-splattered, sawdust-mess for the next six), so something stylish and with no-assembly required sounded like a step in the right direction.