Design is a hybrid art form for Leyden Lewis, who masterfully pairs clean modernist compositions with the vibrant color and patterns of his Trinidadian heritage. For his latest project, he brought this intentional perspective to a historic Victorian brownstone, establishing a beautifully unique dialogue between preserved period proportions and bold, graphic updates.
Below, the Brooklyn-based creative director shares how he made separate rooms coexist beautifully and why a custom project relies on authenticity and craft.
Meet Leyden!
Image: Pratya Jankong
Hi Leyden! Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your design journey?
I’m the founder and creative director of Leyden Lewis Design Studio, a NYC interior design studio, based in Brooklyn, New York.
I have always been involved in art throughout my life. My interior design journey began in the 1990s when I attended Parsons. The classical and conceptual structural foundation is where my lifelong love for European Modernism comes from.
Design is ultimately a hybrid art form. At my studio we balance clean modernist compositions with the rich, vibrant influences from my Caribbean roots in Trinidad and Tobago. I am very intentional that my heritage shapes and impacts my sense of color and rhythm.
I’ve never looked at interior design as just decorating a room. It’s this intentional mix of art, architecture, and storytelling. It's a practice and a craft that curates, blending those elements to create spaces that feel deeply personal, expressive, and meaningful for the people who live there.
Tile: 2x8 Adriatic Sea, 6x12 Marrakech Lace Cool Motif | Bath: Contour Monoblock Faucet, Hand Shower in Polished Nickel; Foundry Groove Knob Chapparal Gloss | Design: Leyden Lewis | Image: Pratya Jankong
Let’s talk about the beautiful home! What was the overarching vision for this project, and how did you want the home to feel?
For this project, the vision was to create a home with several distinct chapters, a home that feels connected to its Historic Victorian period, artistic, and reflective of contemporary life. We avoided a uniform, repetitive style throughout the house. Instead, we envisioned the space as a narrative journey, where each room unfolds like a distinct chapter of a story.
The overarching goal was to honor the rich history and grand proportions of the brownstone while introducing a striking contemporary dialogue. While we maintained, restored, and celebrated many historic elements, we completely transformed the kitchen and bathrooms to bring in the necessary modern components.
By carefully playing with varied patterns, rich textures, and shifting color scales, we ensured the home could seamlessly transition between high energy, graphic moments and quiet, peaceful spaces where you can just pause and breathe.
Tile: 2x8 Feldspar Gloss | Bath: Contour 6" Flat Shower Head, Two Handle Shower Trim with Soft Cross Handles, and Hand Shower in Polished Nickel | Design: Leyden Lewis | Image: Pratya Jankong
The wet bar is absolutely stunning. What drew you to the Star & Cross pattern you chose here?
A wet bar is naturally an intimate, social alcove, so it deserves to feel like a special destination within the home. I’ve always been drawn to the Star & Cross pattern for its compelling geometric rhythm. In this space, it struck the perfect balance with the Victorian brownstone, playing off the historic architecture while introducing something fresh, graphic, and unexpected.
The way the shapes interlock creates a beautiful, deep texture that catches the ambient light perfectly. It completely elevated a purely functional drink station, giving it a tactile energy that draws you in.
Tile: Mini Star & Cross Feldspar Matte | Bath: Foundry Two Handle Deck Mount Gooseneck Faucet in Polished Nickel with Pebble Knobs in Feldspar Gloss | Design: Leyden Lewis | Image: Pratya Jankong
We love how each bathroom has a unique vibe—especially the graphic pop of the Handpainted Dot Dash pattern on the walls of the guest bath. How did you approach the balance of pattern and color in this space?
We approached each bathroom as its own individual jewel box. Working with Fireclay tile felt like a playground, giving us the perfect opportunity to experiment and completely resist the "beige bathroom”—something we’re just not interested in. Secondary bathrooms are the ultimate place to take a creative risk and leave a lasting impression.
The Hand painted Dot Dash pattern brings an incredible energy, acting almost like fine art on the walls. Historically, Victorian houses embraced pattern; we are simply translating that rich sensibility into a crisp, contemporary vocabulary.
To balance a graphic that bold, we kept the surrounding color palette tightly controlled and framed the tile with clean, tailored lines. Pairing a high-energy pattern with grounded materials ensures the space feels sophisticated and intentional, rather than overwhelming.
Tile: 4x4 Dot Dash 6 Lapis Motif, 2x8 Garnet Gloss | Bath: Contour Monoblock Faucet, 6" Flat Shower Head, Two Handle Shower Trim with Soft Cross Handles, Hand Shower in Polished Nickel | Design: Leyden Lewis | Image: Pratya Jankong
Now on to the primary bathroom. What guided your selection of the vertical offset tile and warm neutral tones? It’s so serene!
The primary bathroom was designed to be the ultimate reset button, a quiet, calming counterpoint to the more graphic narratives in the rest of the house. Because the room receives such beautiful natural light, we wanted to make the light the main character and treat the finishes as the supporting cast to evoke a serene, spa-like atmosphere.
We chose the vertical offset stack because it introduces a clean, uplifting rhythm that draws the eye upward toward the terracotta ceiling, maximizing the room's height without adding visual clutter. Pairing those tailored, architectural lines with warm, sandy tones allowed the subtle, natural variation of the tile glaze to really shine.
The result feels sun-drenched, organic, and incredibly peaceful, but never boring, exactly what the clients envisioned for a space meant for unwinding.
Tile: 2x8 Feldspar Gloss, 3x9 Carbon Matte | Bath: Contour 6" Flat Shower Head, Two Handle Shower Trim with Soft Cross Handles, and Hand Shower in Polished Nickel | Design: Leyden Lewis | Image: Pratya Jankong
The blue wetroom is a total showstopper. What was the inspiration behind this saturated look and the handpainted floor pattern?
Wetrooms are already immersive, so I wanted to go all-in on a single, deep emotion. The rich, monochromatic blue walls completely wrap around you, almost like you're stepping into the deep ocean or a twilight sky. It totally changes your perception of the space.
To anchor all that intense color, we brought in the hand painted floor pattern. Underfoot, it acts almost like an artisanal woven rug, breaking up the blue and playing beautifully with the light, shadows, and moving water.
Tile: 2x8 Adriatic Sea, 6x12 Marrakech Lace Cool Motif | Bath: Contour Monoblock Faucet, Hand Shower in Polished Nickel; Foundry Groove Knob Chapparal Gloss | Design: Leyden Lewis | Image: Pratya Jankong
You specified Fireclay faucets and showers throughout the bathrooms. How did these fixtures help bring your vision for these spaces to life?
Hardware and plumbing are like the punctuation marks of a room; they're where your hands interact with the architecture. Fireclay’s bath collection has this beautiful mix of metal and ceramic that fit our vision perfectly.
The clean silhouettes and refined finishes didn’t just accessorize the bathrooms; they grounded them. They match the craftsmanship of the tile, so the transition from the wall surface to the actual faucet feels totally seamless and sculptural.
Tile: 4x4 Dot Dash 6 Lapis Motif | Bath: Contour Monoblock Faucet in Polished Nickel | Design: Leyden Lewis | Image: Pratya Jankong
For the wet bar, you chose our Pebble ceramic knobs (and we love the result!). How did the ceramic handles add to the design of this space?
Choosing the Foundry fixtures with the Pebble ceramic knobs was all about keeping that sense of handmade craftsmanship and warmth going.
Standard metal hardware can create a beautiful sleek look but can sometimes lean a bit cold and purely functional. The Pebble knobs, on the other hand, give you this soft, organic, tactile experience the moment you touch them.
Matching them to the tile backdrop creates a subtle, custom detail that makes the cabinets feel like functional art. It’s a relatively small upgrade that anyone wanting to bring a new look to their space can benefit from.
Tile: Mini Star & Cross Feldspar Matte | Bath: Foundry Two Handle Deck Mount Gooseneck Faucet in Polished Nickel with Pebble Knobs in Feldspar Gloss | Design: Leyden Lewis | Image: Pratya Jankong
Looking at the finished project, is there a specific design moment or detail that feels particularly rewarding to you?
Honestly, the most rewarding part is seeing how all these distinct rooms coexist so beautifully.
Moving from the graphic pop of the guest bath, into the deep blue wet room, and then landing in the warm serenity of the primary bathroom suite feels incredible. It’s proof that spaces don’t need to 'match' to feel like they belong to the same family if they just share a commitment to authenticity and craft.
Tile: 2x8 Feldspar Gloss, 3x9 Carbon Matte | Bath: Contour Monoblock Faucet in Polished Nickel | Design: Leyden Lewis | Image: Pratya Jankong
Is there a Fireclay color, shape, or product you haven’t used yet but would love to incorporate into a future project?
The studio glazes are so beautiful and the depth and color variation so rich. I am looking forward to the opportunity to use the “Golden Hour” and "Tiger's Eye" glazes. I feel very close to both of those color ways. They remind me of Asian /Japanese pottery, which I absolutely love.
Tile: Golden Hour Studio Glaze
We love seeing how Leyden brought his distinct perspective and eye for craftsmanship to this historic brownstone. If you're ready to bring this level of custom detail and handmade quality to your next project, our team is here to help—book a free design consultation to get started.
