Fun and Function Define This Interior Design Student’s Eclectic, Black-and-White Manhattan Studio

Freelance writer, lifestyle YouTuber and interior design student Carrie Carrollo surrounds herself with lots of her favorite things, things that don’t always fit perfectly into a cookie-cutter design theme. “My style is eclectic, overwhelmingly. A little kitschy, a little quirky for sure, and also fun and feminine,” she says.

A big selling point in many homes is natural light, and this apartment definitely has it. “A lot of people separate their studios with a bookshelf or something like that, and I really wanted to emphasize the open layout and also the light in here,” Carrie says. “So I use rugs and intentional decor pieces like a bookshelf to separate the space without putting up any walls or partitions.”

Working from home in a small space means furniture must be multi-functional. Carrie's dining area doubles as a home office, and lacks nothing in style, with two beautiful suede chairs and a key element that sparked her idea for the whole space.

“These salt and pepper shakers were a housewarming/birthday gift from one of my best friends and actually were the first black-and-white pattern that I had in here,” Carrie recalls. “And I remember saying to her that I was going to have too many black-and-white patterns, that it was going to look crazy — and then I flipped the script and really committed to the mismatched black-and-white.”