Joan Smalls is featured in the September issue of ELLE DECOR, on newsstands now.
The 31-year-old Puerto Rican supermodel recently turned to RH, Restoration Hardware’s Interior Design concierge-level services to create a beachy vibe in her new Miami home. Here, only in ELLE DECOR, Smalls opens up about the fashion designer who inspired her to decorate her place, the type of ambiance she was trying to create, and the one item she considers like a “fairy tale” to have in her home.
How fashion designer Jeremy Scott influenced Smalls to design her own home: “I asked him, ‘Is your place decorated in the same style? And he said, ‘Absolutely, not. It’s extremely white and clean.’ You wouldn’t expect oy from him, but I can understand why. He wants the contrast between what you do and how you live, which I love.”
On her design inspiration: “A lot of the time, my eye is drawn to more masculine shapes in furniture and not soft and delicate ones. The colors balance it all out.”
On the feeling she gets in her new home: “It felt like when you walk into a hotel room and think, I love how this space makes me feel. It is such an escape.”
On her favorite piece in her apartment (RH’s polished-nickel Ravelle round chandelier): “I always wanted a chandelier above my bed. To me, it’s like a fairy tale.”