In my last Design Soulmate post on Rita Konig, I shared this image that has inspired me for years. Writing about Rita’s propensity for using personal photos and mementos throughout her interiors made me think of LA designer Schuyler Samperton's touching fairwell to her powder bathroom — due to water damage, she had to dismantle the memories plastered all over the wall, and shared this about the intriguing little space:

“A few years ago, I started creating a ‘wallpaper collage’ in my bathroom of some of my favorite images. It was a giant patchwork of photos of friends and family, postcards from museums and cities I’d visited, watercolors from my godchildren, bits of leaves from Central Park - you get it. Everyday I loved looking at all these things that meant so much to me and on occasion the walls provided a pretty vibrant backdrop for some hilarious selfies. I now have to dismantle this special place - I’m heartbroken to see it go, but I hope to replace it with something just as inspiring.” - Schuyler

Source: Schuyler Samperton — *Source:* *Schuyler Samperton*

As someone who has always been captivated by nostalgia and memories, I found the entire tribute incredibly moving. Moreover, the whole design concept just blew me away. That might sound strange, but I'm so used to studying "perfect" designers as well as producing "perfect" spaces for clients, that I nearly forgot that it's okay to completely break the rules in favor of creating a deeply personal, special place. If the bowl of Polaroids next to Rita's oven made me swoon, you can only imagine how much Schuyler's ode to her powder bathroom touched my soul.

Schuyler is the daughter of an award-winning architect, and later studied art history (does that make us Design Soulmates??). Schuyler describes her work as "modern-classic — an imaginative blend of low-key and elegant pieces with a youthful, West coast flair." She's been featured in Vogue, Architectural Digest, and Elle Decor, to name a few. She and her precious pup Tricky (above) were also featured in one of my favorite design books of all time, At Home with Dogs and Their Designers.

I kind of feel like Schuyler is the cool, laid-back American cousin of Rita — the Los Angeles counterpart. Her work is similarly classic but playful. They are both clearly drawn to pattern and color and a thoughtful touch of ‘clutter.’ I'm inspired by her fearlessness in being so effortlessly casual and fun. Voila, a wall of framed Simpsons screenshots:

What a vibrant little vignette below. I spy some Paule Marrot! (I wrote about Paule’s colorful textile art here.) Schuyler’s clearly not afraid of pops of fuschia and lime green, which you’ll see throughout her work. Below, a selection of some of my favorite Schuyler spaces.