This Minnesota Home Is a Maximalist Dream

Antique dealer Gladys Tay is a woman of many interests. The Singapore native and current resident of St. Paul, Minnesota explores a few of them in-depth through her eponymous website, which focuses on an eclectic combo of cooking, art and vintage furnishings. For the past two-and-a-half years, she’s shared a three-story, split-level house with her husband, Frank. After an intense period of renovation, Gladys' strong design sense and love of objects combined to turn the 1,800-square-foot space into a wonderful temple of maximalist design.

A self-described “eclectic maximalist,” Gladys puts her design abilities on full display in her living room. The combination of modern furnishings, vintage accessories and quirky objects draw the eye in a dozen directions at once, promising new delights at every glance. Gladys is quick to name the space as one of her favorites in the home, largely because it houses some of her most treasured pieces. “It’s a collection of special objects and happy memories,” she says.

When the couple first entered the space, it took their breath away. And not in a good way. “Everything looked like 1984,” Gladys recalls. “Wallpaper, kitchen, cabinetry — the basement was completely carpeted [and there were] dropped ceilings.” A desire to renovate all at once led to Gladys and Frank living and sleeping in the upstairs living room for several months as renovations took place everywhere else. Once the moment arrived to design a proper living room, however, Gladys made up for lost time.

Like the kitchen, Gladys’ office is one of the home’s more toned-down spaces. The office may not house as many objects as the living room or family room, but what it does share with both of those rooms is a color palette of white and black with pops of red. Despite her bold choices in texture, pattern and size, Gladys admits that when it comes to color, she is “mostly drawn to neutral tones.” It’s the understated nature of this palette that keeps the visual effect of her eclectic style under control while making all of the rooms feel related.