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Take cues from your wedding to design the home of your dreams

WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE—the gifts unwrapped, the wedding dress packed and the wedding album finally designed—the only thing left to do is to set up home. Luckily, throughout the wedding planning, you’ve had plenty of practice merging ideas and compromising on taste. Combining households requires just as much creativity and patience, for while your wedding declared the kind of marriage you’ll have, your home lets the world know just how you plan to live it.

To make things a little easier as you come off cloud 9, here’s a collection of inspiring ideas and resources for setting up your abode. Now that you’ve had the wedding of your dreams, deciding on the look and feel of your home should be cake. And if it isn’t, do as you did for your wedding…consult the experts.

URBAN COOL

Was your wedding cool and contemporary at the Hard Rock Hotel? Well your home will likely speak a similar language: a comfy Roche-Bobois sectional, a Barbara Barry table from Seaside Home, the crystal-drop chandelier from Esteban Interiors and a kitchen laid out with Nambe bowls, a Cuisinart wine chiller and a tea set from Teavana. Your outdoor room won’t be an afterthought either—not with Dedon lounge chairs and Eden-like accessories from Gardenology in Encinitas. Sources for an urban cool palette include the many boutiques along Girard Avenue in La Jolla, as well as Mission Valley department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s Home.

Life’s a Beach

With paradise found, it’s easy to set up a home reflecting the SoCal lifestyle. If your wedding took place on the sand in front of the Hotel del Coronado or another one of our beachfront resorts, take cues from the ocean and design a palette that’s coastal fresh. Start with pieces upholstered in linen, cotton and other natural fabrics in shades of neutral and pearly whites. Rustic Rooster in Encinitas and Birdcage in Solana Beach both stock unique furnishings and accessories to carry out your theme. And to outfit the ultimate sun-worshipping deck or backyard, head to Saddleback of San Diego where Lane Venture and Lloyd Flanders highlight an inspiring collection of outdoor furnishings and accessories.

Clean and Simple

One of the hardest things to do was keep your wedding day sweet and simple—a pared-down guest list, fresh farm-to-table cuisine, a welcoming cocktail reception at your parents’ ocean-view home. But with a little help, you more than did just that—you even left room for a casual post-nuptial barbecue the following day. When it comes to designing your dream home, minimal is the only way to go. Luckily, it’s also one of the easiest looks to pull off, with a growing number of local resources for classic and emerging mid-century design. If you didn’t register for it, treat yourself to the womb chair at Design Within Reach in East Village. That, along with the Eames lounge chair for your home office, will anchor your design scheme. Throw in some upscale vintage pieces from Boomerang for Modern in Little Italy, local art from Mixture, lighting from Hold It Contemporary in Mission Valley, and you are on your way to living like the Rat Pack.

Old World Abode

If the hand-stenciled ceiling was one of the reasons you chose The Prado for your big day, you’ll have no problem infusing your home with that same romanticism. It is Southern California, after all, and Old World romance still lives on in places like Rustic 101 in Solana Beach, Nativa in Hillcrest and Kern & Co. on Cedros Avenue. Seek out wrought-iron chandeliers, tables backed by Spanish craftsmanship and textiles in luxurious patterns. For your intimate dinner parties, set the table with dinnerware hand-painted in Deruta, Italy, available at Neiman Marcus in Mission Valley. And to create a sense of history in your home, head to Genghis Khan or the David Alan Collection, where you’ll find centuries-old cabinets and statues.

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