Dopamine decor is so much more than just another fancy trend: Its bold and bright approach is expertly edited to alter our brain chemistry in a good, make-me-smile way. This mash-up of saturated hues and surrealist furniture is not everyone's cup of tea, but LA-based creative Leah Ring is not your typical designer. She's not afraid of colour, and has a way of convincing her clients to embrace it too: case in point, this feel-good Los Angeles home that can only be described as a bubble of positive energy.
That she can get away with colour is now a proven fact, but could she live with her own style? That is the question her new holiday home in the California desert answers. And it is a resounding “Yes!”
“I wanted to own a property and Los Angeles (where I live and work) was out of reach,” confesses Ring, founder of Another Human. “I've always loved the high desert and looked for a real fixer upper that I could make my own.”
A 10-minute drive to Joshua Tree National Park and less than an hour from Palm Springs, this 140-square-metre, three-bedroom property in Yucca Valley, California was originally built in 1957 in the style of a homesteader cabin. Consisting of four buildings (the main house, a guest house and two sheds housing an office for Ring and an art studio for her husband), each was in various states of disrepair but all provided the designer with a blank canvas. The envelope of the structures was the only thing left intact. The rest became a test of Ring’s limitless imagination.
“I used this house to experiment with ideas I’d wanted to try and to really push the limits in terms of colour usage,” says Ring. “Because this was always intended as a vacation property and not to be lived in full time, I knew I could be quite bold in terms of the tones and finishes.”
Contrasting with the subtle neutrals (browns and greys) that echo the surrounding desert landscape, the main house is purple with a connected green and blue outdoor bar. The guest house, meanwhile, is peach, and a yellow picnic table rounds out the bright exteriors.
In the interior spaces, the palette is even wilder with each room painted in a different hue. The living room brings the blues, furnished with a sofa designed by Ring that mixes three shades of denim complemented by curtains and an upholstered bench featuring hand-dyed fabric from India.
Blue and green saturate the kitchen and bathroom. In the main bedroom, lime green walls combine with tri-colour custom curtains, while a symphony of warm red, pink and orange prevails in the bunkhouse, making every corner a new interpretation of dopamine decor.
In the guest bedroom, Ring tones her ultra-colourful style down ever so slightly, but was she give away in terms of wall colour (a cosy, caramel tone instead of her typical saturated hues), she makes up for with a statement-making, headboard; its squiggly, Schiaparelli-esque shape made even more unforgettable in Bordeaux red.
“I just love energetic tones and thought it would be fun to really drench the small spaces in bright colours,” says Ring. “I used my little compound as a bit of a lab to play with some design ideas that I didn't think clients would allow me to try.”
Ring opted for durable materials and sourced or designed comfortable furnishings. “I wanted the spaces to feel fun and relaxed,” she says. “We love to host out here and we want everyone to feel happy, welcome and at ease in the home.”
If Olympic medals were being given out for feel-good decor, this joyful desert oasis would clearly win the game.
