We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Every once in a while, a partnership comes along that’s sort of unexpected but yields such great design inspiration that it’s worth taking a beat to give it a little love. Such was the case with CB2’s release of their “Best Of” collection, an assortment of their best-selling, most recognizable, and hardest-working products. To showcase these iconic pieces, the brand tapped Jason Saft, real estate agent and founder of Staged to Sell, to use a selection of them while decking out one of New York City’s most exclusive addresses: a four-bedroom apartment at the residences at The Plaza New York. Sure, the bones of the apartment are top-notch and the views are wild, and the CB2 products brought in are among the brand’s most viral (you probably remember the Gwyneth Ivory Bouclé Swivel Chair and the Clooney Antiqued Round Wall Mirror, for starters) — but it’s Saft’s tricks of the trade that helped the whole space really shine, and these decorating tips can work a little magic in your home, too.
Use mirrors — and glass — to your decorative advantage.
Whether you’re lucky enough to have a built-in cabinet in your home — or if you’re just working with a freestanding shelving unit — don’t underestimate the lightening and brightening effect a mirror can have behind your shelf backs. Here, Saft seized the opportunity to turn this mirror-backed nook into a bar cabinet set up with a tray of bottles and glassware, ranging from the Eve Coupe Cocktail Glasses and Marta Optic Double Old-Fashioned Glasses to the Domenica Decanter and shiny Boule Ice Bucket — all CB2 “Best Of” products that start at just $4. Adding glass and other reflective pieces in front of the larger mirror keeps the look extra bright and airy. If you don’t have the architecture to copy this glam, bistro-like setup at home, you can recreate the idea on a budget with reflective contact paper or frameless mirrors lining the shelf backs of a freestanding bookcase styled out as a bar.
Almost every room can benefit from a dining chair or two.
If you like to entertain on the regular, spare seating is something you want to have in spades — even in small spaces. Accent and occasional chairs are great, but when you really want to make your square footage work harder for you, consider using dining chairs — even outside of the dining room — because they’re usually very comfy and tend to be somewhat more compact in footprint. That means they tuck away nicely in empty spots or corners so they’re always handy and versatile but never intrusive. Case in point: Saft flanked this credenza with two of CB2’s Stature Ivory Dining Chairs. Not only does this pair make a sculptural design statement here, but they can also easily be pulled up to any kind of table when needed, and they won’t be a pain to move the way a heavier club or armchair can be.
Hang or display things in multiples for a high-end look.
When you have a lot of room to work with, your inclination may be to go bigger with furniture, artwork, and accessories. That’s not a bad strategy, per se, but sometimes you can save yourself a lot of effort searching for scaled-up furnishings by using multiples of the same item to fake the look of a larger bespoke piece. Saft did exactly that with CB2’s “Best Of” Lina Stone Credenza, which he doubled up on to fill the blank wall space opposite the living room fireplace. You’d never know this wasn’t a custom solution from how seamlessly it anchors the space.
Use curves to soften up straight lines.
With the oversized rectangular artwork, Anders Tencel Area Rug, and the bumped-out walls around the boxy fireplace, this apartment’s living room felt very angular. While Saft loves clean lines, he knew a pair of curvy Muir Camel Velvet Curved Sofas in conversation with one another would soften up the space substantially. The circular coffee table and mushroom-shaped Senza White Glass Table Lamp echo the sofas’ rounded edges and are great solutions for introducing curves on a smaller scale — especially if you’ve already found your dream sofa.
