How an Interior Designer Transformed a Small Apartment Into a Book Lover's Retreat

Long before Quintece Hill-Mattauszek opened the doors at Studio Q, her Virginia-based design firm, the former mechanical engineering student already had a deep education in the twin arts of business and aesthetics, learning both skills from her mother, as she created and nurtured her own upholstery and weaving business. As Quintece’s aspirations changed from engineering to interiors, she found that her technical background served her well in a field that is often equal parts measurements and style. Now, with more than 20 years of design experience behind her, Quintece has become a mainstay of the DMV (DC, Maryland and Virginia) design community, teaching design at Montgomery College and co-founding Design Collective DC, an organization for local Black interior design professionals. So when a petite two-bedroom apartment in the Washington, DC, area was in need of extra levels of style and grace, there was no one better for the job.

Sometimes design is a long and drawn out process — and sometimes it’s not. “The home was in great condition,” the designer admits. “It just needed a little touch of modern charm and personality." Adding those touches started in the living room, where Quintece used a striking, royal blue sectional to define the space and ground the room’s color story. Artsy touches like the staggered vertical bookshelves give her client’s expansive book collection pride of place while giving the space an air of modern sophistication.

For every project, designers have that one piece they love the most — the one that brings the whole story together. Quintece has two: a pair of vintage midcentury leather side chairs with lucite backs. “I scoured the internet for weeks, looking for the perfect set of chairs,” the designer confides. “Then late one night I came across these from a seller on Instagram.” When the piece is right you get it, no matter what. “I drove three hours to Philadelphia to get them,” she laughs. "I wanted them for this space that badly!”

The skillful mix of modern aesthetics and classic touches gives this room a feeling of effortless cool. Here, an old-school bar setup is a wonderful design moment and a perfect example. The arrangement contrasts modern elements like the bookshelves and coffee table, while keeping her clients prepared to entertain.

“My clients are drawn to the use of bold pops of color in a livable way,” Quintece explains, “as well as infusing a bit of charm and out-of-the-box thinking.” This moment, between the sofa, rug and coffee table, establishes the uniquely serene yet rich color palette that Quintece repeats throughout the home. Gold, blue and gray elements appear — either singly or in concert — time and again, weaving layers of color and texture into the home.

Though the dining room occupies only a moment between the living room and kitchen, geographically it is the center of the space, offering an ideal vantage point to take in the room’s charming architectural features — like the built-in shelving — as well as one of Quintece’s favorite design elements. “I love that the room highlights books,” she smiles. “As an avid reader, I can appreciate it.”

On closer inspection, the room’s built-in shelves hold more than additional books. Vintage elements like this engraved crystal pump decanter are another example of Quintece’s overall philosophy when approaching this space. “Bold pops of color, injecting personality and vibrancy into the home,” she says. “The mixture further enhances the room's appeal, with a combination of modern lines and vintage charm.“

When mixing classic with modern there’s nothing better than a piece that gives you both. These dining chairs are a modern take on a traditional French design: the armless Louis XVI chair. Though an understated moment in terms of color amid all the gold and blue, they’re an important element in a dining room that is a transitional space between the living room and kitchen. These simple black chairs help hold the aesthetic of the combined space together.

One of the challenges of decorating a small space is to carry a single aesthetic over from room to room with enough variation that each space is interesting in its own way. Here, the golds, blues and grays of the living room transition seamlessly to the bedroom, along with pops of black and green. Yet the geometric wall element represented by the living room’s vertical shelving is replaced with graphic geometric wallpaper in the bedroom. The simple addition of a deep red bolster pillow on the bed is all the punctuation that’s needed to differentiate the two spaces.

Though she succeeded in making the bedroom a visual companion to the living room, the space was not without its challenges to design. “It’s hard to make a bedroom unique or special,” Quintece explains, “because there is a certain expectation of what belongs in that space.” Working around the limitation, the designer fits in some extra visual intrigue with some unexpected flourishes, like the bodhisattva lamp. The space makes excellent use of a natural feature of the home Quintece really appreciates. “I love the amount of light that pours into the space,” she smiles. “It allowed me to play around more with color saturation.”

Just like color, texture tells a story in a home. Mixing and matching them well, even within a single vignette, has an amazing effect on the look of a space. Here, Quintece juxtaposes the warm, woven texture of the bedding with the smoothness of the leather headboard. Between the two are the leather, fringe and fur of the bolster, serving up a full buffet of textures in just one visual bite.