Tour an Artist and Home Product Designer's Cozy Iowa Bungalow

Iowa-based product designer Candice Luter is an all-purpose creative, equal parts artist, designer and entrepreneur. When the advent of the pandemic in 2020 saw her laid off from her full-time job, Candice found one of the year’s few silver linings, turning her furniture-making hobby into a full-blown enterprise. Now she’s quickly making a name for herself as one of the industry’s most innovative new voices, taking us inside the two-bedroom bungalow that has been her home and design canvas for the last five years.

When Candice saw her home for the first time, it took a creative’s eye to see the potential. “It was old and outdated,” she explains. “Green shag carpet and wallpaper everywhere — even on the outlets!” Yet despite the urgent need for an update, Candice found she had a soft spot for the home’s history. “The prior owner purchased the home in 1950 and raised her family there, so it was important to me to keep a lot of the original aspects of the house while upgrading things to my personal style and taste.”

Getting things to her personal taste has become a continual act of revision and renewal. It sounds complicated, but the designer assures us that her first steps were simple. “The first thing to go was the green shag carpet,” she recalls, “and after that the big task of removing all of the wallpaper — even from the ceilings — and updating the entire home with a fresh coat of paint.” Candice’s approach to the work of designing her home is a reflection of the life she lives within its walls. “Since my life is in a constant state of transition,” she muses, “my home has definitely reflected those changes over time.”

Serving as a reflection on her constantly changing life, the look of Candice’s home has evolved and refined as she’s found her voice as a designer and her footing as a business owner. “I first started out designing my home a little more on the boho side, but it is much more modern in its current state,” she says. That modern look is far less thematic, combining influences from many sources into a single, coherent look. “I love incorporating nods to [midcentury modern and] Art Deco with a modern twist on boho to bring everything together,” she reflects. “I like to think it works!”

To call Candice’s design capacity prolific might be slightly understating the facts. So many are her artworks, furniture and accessory designs not only fill up her showroom, they also fill up her house. “Most of the furniture and decor in my home are actually original prototypes of products I currently design and sell including (but not limited to) the ottomans, end tables, nightstands and coffee tables.” With a passion for quality assurance, the designer’s home is the last testing ground for concepts on their way to production, like the coffee table she designed that sits in her living room. “It is very important for me to design what moves me and part of that is to live with each piece for a little bit to see what works, how it works and how that product could evolve.”

Much like the furnishings in this home, most of the art is Candice’s work as well. On this wall behind the sofa, both the painting and the sculptural combination of shelving and mirrors were created by the designer’s hands. “I just painted that abstract painting one evening to try and bring similar tones together in a uniform way without distracting too much from the rest of the space,” she confides. The shelving piece she calls "Totem" that she designed is made up of arches, tinted mirrors and shallow ledges with a variety of textures. “It’s a great way to take up space vertically when wall space is limited,” she says.

The brief transition between living room and dining room was all the space Candice needed to add in an extra bit of seating. “One of the biggest challenges are the lack of wall space, and the walls that do exist are very narrow. It was actually one of the reasons I started designing furniture and home decor. I used myself as ‘the customer’ and combined my decor needs and challenges as a way to start addressing the same issues that other home owners feel. Instead of feeling stuck with those challenges, I felt empowered to find aesthetically pleasing but functional solutions.”

With so many influences making up her home, seamless transitions are the name of the game for this designer. It was especially important to her that the living room, dining room and kitchen all felt like one single, expansive concept. “One of the best ways to do that was with color,” she offers, “so using the same paint color on the dining room bar cabinet as I did on the living room fireplace was a must.”

One of her most recently completed makeover projects, the dining room currently stands as Candice’s favorite room in the home. “I love entertaining,” she confides, “and this room is the biggest conversation piece when I invite guests over.” The key to the transformation, she explains, was removing a wall to better open the space. “This small house suddenly feels so open and full of light,” she says. “It’s allowed so much more room to host!”

In the kitchen, Candice pursued a minimalist vibe to better utilize the small space. “We went from bulky wooden cabinets and outdated appliances to open shelving, new cabinets and a much better flow,” she recalls.” I am a big fan of trying to do everything myself and acquiring the knowledge to be as hands-on as I can be with any project. Having started out my creative journey as a DIY-er, it’s in my blood to just jump in and figure it out!”

Bedrooms are often our places of sanctuary, respite and peace, and Candice has designed her bedroom with all three in mind. “I wanted to create a sense of serenity and relaxation,” the designer reflects. “So instead of playing up a lot of color, I focused on a neutral but visually interesting headboard design that I made and upholstered with cream boucle fabric to bring in some texture, and then played a lot on tone-on-tone for bedding.” Flanking the bed, two austere yet stylish end tables of the artist’s own design complete the scene while offering just enough space for books, candles and a touch of life in the form two potted plants.