Stylish 800-Square-Foot Home Brimming With Personality
See how the head of merchandising at Palecek transformed his rental apartment with paint, lighting and decor
As an interior design professional who loves to entertain, Tarek Mohamed-Aly knows the importance of working with what you have. In his own rental apartment in Oakland, California, Mohamed-Aly has used clever design solutions that utilize light, pattern and textures to transform the space. When he moved in with a roommate five years ago, it was a blank slate. “It was a white box with not a lot of personality,” he says. He and his roommate, who has since moved out, updated the lighting and painted.
Challenges included an odd layout that created underutilized space, as well as tile flooring and granite counters that couldn’t be changed. Instead, Mohamed-Aly focused on the interior design, which is still evolving. “The style itself is ongoing,” he says. “I always find inspiration. Part of my job is to continue to be inspired, then change something up in the apartment. It’s never done. This is what it’s like in 2019.”
Challenges included an odd layout that created underutilized space, as well as tile flooring and granite counters that couldn’t be changed. Instead, Mohamed-Aly focused on the interior design, which is still evolving. “The style itself is ongoing,” he says. “I always find inspiration. Part of my job is to continue to be inspired, then change something up in the apartment. It’s never done. This is what it’s like in 2019.”
Mohamed-Aly grew up in nearby Walnut Creek, California, and began his career after studying interior design at the University of California, Davis. He’s currently head of merchandising for Palecek, a for-the-trade furniture company. He’s also worked for furnishings companies Thomasville and HD Buttercup.
His work has been a big influence on how he approaches his home’s design. “I had some pieces with me when I moved in and then filled in the gaps,” Mohamed-Aly says. “I have access to a lot of vendors. I work for a fun company and can tap into warehouse sales before customers do. I can cherry-pick pieces and I have utilized that.”
Houzz has also helped shape the apartment’s design, he says. “I use Houzz for inspiration, for personal projects as well as for work. It’s nice to scroll through and get ideas.”
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His work has been a big influence on how he approaches his home’s design. “I had some pieces with me when I moved in and then filled in the gaps,” Mohamed-Aly says. “I have access to a lot of vendors. I work for a fun company and can tap into warehouse sales before customers do. I can cherry-pick pieces and I have utilized that.”
Houzz has also helped shape the apartment’s design, he says. “I use Houzz for inspiration, for personal projects as well as for work. It’s nice to scroll through and get ideas.”
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The living room’s layout has changed over time, with the attractive tall windows now taking center stage. “This room has evolved,” Mohamed-Aly says. “The sofa was on another wall first, then moved against the windows. This is a nice layout when you’re walking in — it forces you through the space.”
He placed the chairs in a circular arrangement for easy socializing. “I wanted it to be all about conversation,” he says. Eight people can fit around the coffee table, and a stool underneath it comes in handy for extra seating. Mohamed-Aly has had the table for 10 years and used it for dining in a previous studio apartment. It was his first purchase from Thomasville, where he worked right after college. The chandelier, made of cascading strands of chain mail, is from Global Views.
He placed the chairs in a circular arrangement for easy socializing. “I wanted it to be all about conversation,” he says. Eight people can fit around the coffee table, and a stool underneath it comes in handy for extra seating. Mohamed-Aly has had the table for 10 years and used it for dining in a previous studio apartment. It was his first purchase from Thomasville, where he worked right after college. The chandelier, made of cascading strands of chain mail, is from Global Views.
A console table on one wall of the living room has an unfinished raw wood top, and its open design accommodates a heating vent on the floor.
On the opposite wall, French-style chairs from Palecek sit beneath a wall of photographs by Keith Carter and brass-finish starburst sconces. The hot pink wall art was created by Mohamed-Aly, who painted other pieces in the home as well. He does the art for styling projects at work, then brings them home.
This marble side table is a sample from Palecek that Mohamed-Aly ended up with after the company decided not to sell it because it was too heavy for shipping. Atop the table, an inexpensive globe vase sits next to an acrylic-and-brass Jonathan Adler blue Globo box. The pairing is an example of Mohamed-Aly’s high-low design scheme. “It’s the same with the lighting. It’s not an exact matching, but they work together. They have the same language,” he says. The indoor-outdoor area rug is made of recycled soda bottles.
Here’s a peek from the living room into the TV room, which was formerly Mohamed-Aly’s bedroom. He had the wood coffee table finished in white paint.
Mohamed-Aly says he used the colorful blanket on the TV room’s daybed as a jumping-off point for the design of this space, as well as for the rest of the apartment. “It ties back to the pinks in the living room,” he says. The starburst mirrors from Palecek are stylish as well as functional. “I wanted mirrors on this wall because it’s a dark room and I wanted to reflect light. Since it’s painted black, it became kind of graphic and felt cozy,” he says. “This room is all about cuddling and TV night.”
10 Ways to Use Black on Bedroom Walls
10 Ways to Use Black on Bedroom Walls
The TV room came together with warehouse sale items that Mohamed-Aly picked up, including the corner chair, daybed and a dresser that’s now used as a TV stand. The windows provide natural light that offsets the room’s black walls and other dark elements.
Mohamed-Aly painted the walls using a combination of flat-finish Beluga and Cracked Pepper from Behr, which makes the white ceiling, molding and window trim stand out. “One plus with this apartment is it has great crown molding in all the rooms,” he says. “I wanted to highlight that. I wanted the white molding to be offset and not disappear.”
Mohamed-Aly painted the walls using a combination of flat-finish Beluga and Cracked Pepper from Behr, which makes the white ceiling, molding and window trim stand out. “One plus with this apartment is it has great crown molding in all the rooms,” he says. “I wanted to highlight that. I wanted the white molding to be offset and not disappear.”
The black-and-white window coverings are handprinted fabric that Mohamed-Aly got in New York about 15 years ago. Since the windows aren’t symmetrical, the fabric pieces were an easier solution than trying to custom-fit curtains. They’re hung by clips on wire strung across the top. The metal pendant light from HD Buttercup creates interesting shadows on the ceiling at night, Mohamed-Aly says.
The lamps that flank the daybed have emerald green bases made of pen shell and black shades that blend into the dark wall. They’re examples of the kind of details Mohamed-Aly uses to set the mood in a space. “The shades were made for the lamps with a gold interior to reflect back light. The whole thing is a little over the top, so I wanted the shades to be too,” he says. He created the book tower by using U-shaped acrylic shelving mounted to the wall, with books stacked between them.
Mohamed-Aly did what he could to improve the design of the small kitchen, painting the previously honey-colored cabinets a blue called Undersea by Behr and covering the tile floor with a patterned rug. He considered brass hardware for the cabinets but decided against it, for a clean look. He hung handprinted wooden blocks from India to create a backsplash above the stove.
The brass chandelier is a thrift store find, which his former roommate installed. When they moved in, the first thing you saw was the refrigerator, so Mohamed-Aly moved it to a small adjacent room and replaced it with a console and striking “shag” mirror, visible on the left in this photo.
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The brass chandelier is a thrift store find, which his former roommate installed. When they moved in, the first thing you saw was the refrigerator, so Mohamed-Aly moved it to a small adjacent room and replaced it with a console and striking “shag” mirror, visible on the left in this photo.
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Here’s a closer look at the console table and shag mirror. The console is covered in linen and holds a collection of decanters, a handy feature for entertaining. “That became the bar,” Mohamed-Aly says. A stone cast of a coral sits atop it. The mirror gets mixed reviews from guests. “It’s one of the pieces in the apartment that’s really polarizing,” Mohamed-Aly says. “A lot of friends hate it and are very vocal about it. I love it and think it’s great — it’s warm and it’s fun.” And before you ask: He vacuums it to keep it clean.
Benton console table: Palecek
Benton console table: Palecek
The peninsula counter between the kitchen and living room is often used as a serving area, a spot for keeping wine and glasses when entertaining. The mirror hanging between the entry and living room is from Brooklyn furniture company Organic Modernism.
A storage cabinet at the apartment’s entry holds a tray with glassware that Mohamed-Aly uses as a serving area for guests. He often swaps out the tray for a different look. He spray-painted the cabinet a metallic champagne hue. The little mirror and bowl on the wall is where he drops off his keys when he gets home.
Cabinet paint: Metallic Pearl Champagne, Rust-Oleum
Cabinet paint: Metallic Pearl Champagne, Rust-Oleum
This is the small room next to the kitchen where the refrigerator ended up. The step up leads to a second, formerly unusable space, which Mohamed-Aly turned into his dressing room. “Part of the challenge of the space is these two little rooms you couldn’t do anything with. I had to accept that, and utilize the square footage as best as possible.” A tall cabinet next to the refrigerator holds glassware for parties.
Mohamed-Aly’s bathroom got a graphic boost with three panels of hand-inlaid wood pieces from Palecek. He painted the walls using a combination of Clark + Kensington’s Everglade Green and Sherwin-Williams’ Deep Sea Dive, in an eggshell finish. The silvery table was previously a nightstand and moved into the bathroom to house towels and toiletries.
Mohamed-Aly’s bedroom features his boldest mix of pattern, color and texture. With its deep-colored florals, animal art and leopard-print rug, it has a tropical, jungle theme. “I mixed animals with floral wallpaper, bedding and faux fur on top of the bed,” he says. “They all have the same language.”
He floated the canopy bed away from the wall so it would be centered under the striking pendant light. “The light is white on the outside, gold-colored on the inside, so it reflects a lot of light,” he says. “The two strings coming down can be pulled to open and close it to control the light. It creates lovely shadows on the ceiling. I kept the ceiling white for the shadows.” The pink chair was a $3 thrift store find that Mohamed-Aly has had since college — it’s been painted “every color in the universe,” he says.
Shop for canopy beds on Houzz
He floated the canopy bed away from the wall so it would be centered under the striking pendant light. “The light is white on the outside, gold-colored on the inside, so it reflects a lot of light,” he says. “The two strings coming down can be pulled to open and close it to control the light. It creates lovely shadows on the ceiling. I kept the ceiling white for the shadows.” The pink chair was a $3 thrift store find that Mohamed-Aly has had since college — it’s been painted “every color in the universe,” he says.
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Mohamed-Aly created an accent wall by tacking up a floral-patterned wallpaper behind the bed. “I didn’t want to not use it again. I tacked it up with brass tacks. That way I can take it off and reuse it,” he says. The framed animal prints are by Randal Ford, a photographer based in Austin, Texas, known for his animal portraiture.
The black mirrored panel leaning against the wall is from Arteriors. “The room is so dark, I wanted as much reflecting surfaces as possible,” Mohamed-Aly says. The walls are painted a custom blend of Graphite by Benjamin Moore.
The dresser is a thrift store find that Mohamed-Aly painted. He also painted the mirror, from Thomasville. “That mirror has been white, teal, black. I’ve used it in different contexts,” he says. All in all, the bedroom encapsulates what Mohamed-Aly likes most about the apartment. “I’m comfortable with taking risks with dark colors and bold animal prints. They’re things that bring me joy.”
Jefferson armchair: Palecek
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Jefferson armchair: Palecek
See more of this home
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
More on Houzz
See other home tours
Find an interior designer
Shop for home products
Apartment at a Glance
Who lives here: Tarek Mohamed-Aly, head of Merchandising for Palecek
Location: Oakland, California
Size: About 800 square feet (74 square meters); two bedrooms, two bathrooms
The living room is the apartment’s main living space and Mohamed-Aly had entertaining in mind when he designed it. “I was adamant about not having a TV in there, because it’s the only entertaining space,” he says. “I wanted it to be all about conversation, people having drinks in there.”
The blush pink walls are a gentle backdrop to the variety of tones in the living room. Mohamed-Aly used a mix of paints from Benjamin Moore to create the custom soft hue. “That pink hue is its third color in five years. I paint it, then switch accessories out because of the new color scheme. My bedroom is also on its third color in five years. It’s always ongoing,” he says.
Wall paint: Odessa Pink mixed with Milk Shake, Benjamin Moore