HOME BETTER LIVING
BY MALLORY ABREU PHOTOS TESSA NEUSTADT STYLING JENNA COOPER September 2019 | Z1
T
hough downtown L.A. hums
along outside Tia Zoldan’s home,
inside, the Tudor’s white plaster
walls and vaulted ceilings create
a gallery-like atmosphere. But
it’s not hands-off like a museum. In the living
room—the home’s main gathering spot and
where Tia displays items like an oversize
plaster “necklace” and stone busts—her motto
is simple: “Touch the art!”
“Texture, art, and light are the three things
I focus on,” says Tia, who designed the room
as a celebration of her and her daughters’
creations. (Abby, 17, paints; Zoe, 19, studies
photography at the University of California, Los
Angeles.) Pattern is kept at bay in exchange for
nubby, neutral fabrics. Color comes from pieces
like Tia’s original purple-and-navy painting
above the black sofa. “Art can elevate a room,”
she says. “It’s my final touch.”
artist in residence
A simple, seamless shell is the base of interior designer Tia Zoldan’s
living room, where her original art takes center stage.
Tia Zoldan is known
for finishing her rooms
with art. But she starts
with rugs. “A rug is
the biggest piece and
usually the most
expensive,” she says.
In the living room, she
topped the black-
and-white shag with
cream shearling
armchairs then
contrasted that
softness with a wood
table covered in a
scaly shagreen hide.
A slender sideboard
turns the corridor
behind the sofa into
another space for Tia
to create tabletop
vignettes; the mirror
gives the hall depth.