When veteran interior designer Andrea Monath Schumacher was growing up, her father’s career in virology took her family around the globe, from Nigeria to Boston and many places in between. From that uniquely diverse upbringing came a love of amalgamation—of cultures, styles, and designs. “Life is colorful,” says Schumacher, “so why limit your palette to bland hues? Give yourself permission to go for it.”

This is the mantra the Denver-based designer lives and works by. In her first book, Vibrant Interiors (Gibbs Smith, April 2022), Schumacher’s love of maximalism is put on full display, giving readers an inside look into some of her most exclusive projects, as well as vignettes of her experiences with the personalities behind them.

Pictured here is a ladies’ lounge Schumacher decorated at the 55-room Greystone Mansion, secreted away in a manicured garden in Beverly Hills. Given carte blanche to do as she wished with the space, the designer pushed the envelope as far as she could go: the Hermés-orange wallpaper “is still feminine while serving to give your skin a bit of a glow”; a sizeable painting by figurative artist Alex Katz hangs above sleek Lucite vanity tables for women who “would swan in between dinner courses to powder their noses and refresh their lipstick”; and custom-made armchairs upholstered in luxe cut velvet are designed in a “decidedly masculine silhouette.” Schumacher, who calls chandeliers “diamond earrings for your home,” hangs this spritely one from the hand-painted ceiling—what she considers to be the “fifth wall.” The result, like all of Schumacher’s projects, brims with personality.

Ready to have some fun yourself? Here’s our editors’ selection of nine picks to make your next room project a little over the top, in a good way.

1. 3-Piece Gold Leaf Sabre Leg Coffee Table with Antique Mirror Tops // burkedecor.com
2. Nevo Pendant Light // lumens.com
3. Luce di Carrara Pigreco Stool // frankbros.com
4. Chinois Palais Panel // fschumacher.com
5. Fluted Alabaster Cone Vase // campfirepottery.com
6. Alex Katz, Sophie 2012 Print // 1stdibs.com
7. Angled Arm Club Chair // westelm.com
8. Riya Hollywood Regency White Wood Pearl Overlay Bar Cabinet // kathykuohome.com
9. Bronzetto Serpente Sconce // artemest.com