Zoë Feldman Design

Raised by art-collecting parents in a mid-century modern house and trained as a designer by Alexa Hampton, an august practitioner of traditional style, the Washington, D.C.–based Zoë Feldman is an ace at blending modern with classic — and always with a sense of fun. Consider this engaging sitting room in a house in Virginia belonging to a globe-trotting couple. The first piece they chose for the handsomely proportioned space with its coffered ceiling was Frédéric Pellenq’s squiggle-back sofa. While that establishes the whimsical tone of the decor, Feldman’s eclectic selection of furnishings and art is what gives the room its lively personality. Crucial to her scheme is “the wooden Turner’s chair I found on 1stDibs,” she says. “It provides warmth and a sense of heritage while softening the other modern shapes and features in the room.” Two other key pieces in her estimation, also found on 1stDibs, are the ottomans, one covered in a geometric pattern, the other in a sheepskin. “The shape and scale of their wooden feet are oversized and playful,” she notes. “But the neutral colorways keep them grounded.”