GNOSSIENNE: Primary Bedroom

A quiet corner of the primary bedroom: gauzy sconces float above a minimal white oak dresser, topped with simple objects—a small copper vessel and a ceramic cup—anchoring the room’s calm.

The decoration of the primary bedroom of the Gnossienne project came slowly. It wasn’t an early priority for the homeowners—but once the rest of the house began to take shape, the space began to ask for its own kind of quiet attention. And perhaps that slight neglect allowed the room to find its own rhythm—turning away from drama and leaning, instead, into lightness. It became a space that naturally lent itself to feeling airy and soft.

The room’s shape is a little irregular, and the ceiling a bit low, but instead of correcting that, we leaned into it. The proportions made the room feel more cocooning, more like a place to retreat. The Restoration Hardware bed, already owned by the homeowners, was placed simply. On the wall above the white oak chest of drawers, we installed a pair of gauzy sconces sourced from Etsy—not as statements, but as soft, ambient gestures that glowed quietly across the room.

A Room That Pauses

In one corner, a Crate & Barrel chair from the Jake Arnold collection, technically a dining chair, tucks in neatly. It’s not the expected bedroom piece, but it worked—compact, tactile, and inviting. Beside it, a water buffalo artwork, sourced during the project, became the room’s quiet centerpiece. Created by Awais Naqvi, a contemporary Pakistani artist known for his emotive animal portraiture and moody realism, the piece brings both symbolic weight and painterly softness. The water buffalo—an animal of calm power and resilience—holds personal meaning for the homeowner, and its presence here lends a sense of quiet watchfulness and grounded strength.

The surfaces stay quiet: pale linens, smooth oak, a few collected objects. Nothing forced, nothing loud. Just the slow, ambient feeling of stillness. Of a room that took its time, and knew when to stop.