Tour Designer Dabito's Eclectic, Maximalist Oasis in Los Angeles

Popular LA designer Dabito is best known for bold colors, travel inspiration and ever-evolving vintage collections, but it's not a brand new hobby for the multi-hyphenate visual artist. "Ever since I was a kid, color was my way of expressing myself. And I've always had a fascination for interiors," he says. "I studied printmaking and graphic design in college at UC Santa Cruz. So when I approach design in the interior space, it's very similar to graphic design, how objects and things communicate with each other."

Dabito shares his maximalist, eclectic style with husband Ryan and their three pets — dogs Luigi and Sterling, and cat Verbena — and they all love a living room gallery wall. "I think [gallery walls] are just so special," he says. "So that's what I wanted to show people when they come in, just these really wonderful stories. And a lot of these artworks are mine."

"My style is really eclectic, maximal, vibrant and colorful, and so I love to introduce old and new," he shares. "Old things really add so much life, soul and character, so I have [a lot of] vintage pieces."

"Decorating [and] designing is just [a] fancier word for celebrating — and it's all about celebrating your story and your home," he says. "Our lives are worth celebrating. I don’t think people celebrate themselves enough."

"I get my inspiration from a lot of travels, from food, from memories, from people and also just from looking at other designers’ works," he says. "It's really fun to see how other designers design and listen to other people's stories."

"Right off the living room is the dining room,” he says. “This is sort of like my tiki-modern vibe here, which I really enjoy. And this is where I work, I nap, I eat and I entertain."

"Purple is one of my aunt's favorite colors, and I wanted to dedicate this space to her," he says. "This violet purple is actually just perfect for that. I [also] wanted to use wallpaper to add some pattern." The bright artwork on the wall is another piece by Dabito and pops against the moody wallpaper.

"Opposite of the dining room is my green kitchen," he says. "I wanted something outdoorsy and delicious and I decided to go monochromatic. So we painted the cabinets green and the walls green."

Dabito's modern, minimalist kitchen features a special design trick to add luxe tiles on a budget. "These emerald green Moroccan tiles were really expensive, so I didn't want to tile everything ..." So he purchased enough to wrap the room at a lower profile to still provide the wow factor. "I also concealed the hood to make it feel a little bit more modern," he adds.

"Since I didn't want any shelves over here, I decided to hang this beautiful, large art piece [to add] a little bit more contrast in this green space," he says. "Cool and warm tones, it’s always about the balance. And that's how I like to play with color."

"My design philosophy is finding balance in your life and in your space," he says. "Finding balance in color and texture and materials and everything, that’s really the guiding principle for me."

Dabito displays his art among other artists' work in his home, often with colorful travel ties. "I think of just how I want to use colors and how it reminds me of different people, different things and places I've been," he says. "Tapping into your memories [to] see how you can uncover those colors is such a really powerful way to bring those stories into your space."

The hallway bath is decked out with warm tones and designer details. "We decided to install [floor-to-ceiling] Moroccan zellige tiles that add a lot of variation and depth to this space," he says. Zellige tiles are handcrafted, made of natural clay and topped with glaze that give them their unique look. They come in a wide variety of colors. "Playing with brass, wood and these warm tones feels really cozy, and that’s [how] I wanted this space to feel."

"[This] is my mellow, yellow office," he says. "Yellow just energizes me a lot. I love yellow and [it] makes me feel really excited, really happy. So I painted the entire room, including the floorboards and the ceiling, yellow. It reminds me of Sunday brunch [and] eggs Benedict."

"I like to layer not just art but a lot of lighting," he says. "Ceiling lights, floor lights, sconces, table lights — I love using light as art. And I have always wanted to design furniture and lights and things like that. The Roshani Wall Sconce that I designed with Mitzi was one of my first licensing partnerships, and it's still really, really special to me. It's just the perfect little sculptural, modern light."

In addition to the bright, happy color and designer sconces, Dabito displays one of his favorite designs on the wall, a framed vase print. "This is artwork [from] my wedding invitation and just reminds me of my wedding."

Inspired by a memorable trip to Bali, Dabito kept a cool, relaxing aesthetic in the main bedroom. “I wanted this entire bedroom and en suite bathroom to be more calming and neutral,” he says. “We also added some more visual interest in this space, like the arches and also these built-in bookcases to showcase all of my books and things that I found from my travels."

“We splurged on custom closet doors, which add a little bit more warmth," he says. "The cane detailing makes it feel more special and kind of elevates the space a little bit more." And, to keep costs low but remain custom-feeling, he created the full-length headboard himself. "Headboards can be really, really tricky to find, especially at this size," he continues. "It cost me about $100 bucks to create and I love it. I think it just makes the space cozier and it helps elongate the room."

“This is our dream bathroom,” he says. “This was a teeny-tiny bedroom before and now it actually feels like a really big beautiful en suite bathroom that really serves us.”

“The actual space was very much inspired by a trip to Spain,” he says. The couple brought the look of Seville's iconic ceramic tiles home with this patterned wallpaper, while the arch door also nods to Spanish architecture.

“We decided to add another arch here for the enclosed shower,” he continues. “The [arches mirror] each other to create this fun effect. We [also] added double shower heads, and also more zellige tile and terrazzo floors [that] pick up the terra-cotta colors perfectly and [tie] it all together.”

Outside, Dabito’s backyard oasis offers even more intentional design, pops of color and plenty of space for entertaining guests.

The patio is outfitted with complementary outdoor chairs that ground the varying hues of green in the procured landscaping. “I love the different areas we’ve created in our outdoor space," he says. "I love entertaining and having friends over."

Dabito designed his connected outdoor patio with sleek, modern furniture, colorful patterns to draw on the maximalist interior design and large potted plants for the perfect dose of California cool.

"For me, maximal isn't always about [displaying] a lot of things," he says. "It’s really about maximizing your stories, celebrating all those stories and bringing all those colors, joy, patterns and textures into a space. Maximal living is really about inviting people in and making them curious to ask questions. And I think that's the fun part of decorating — creating a space that allows people to be curious."