interiors having an extraordinary sensitivity to the harmony of things relationship, honesty, and design

Spaces that combine emotional depth with refined craftsmanship to celebrate individuality through interiors that feel curated, intelligent, and unmistakably one-of-a-kind.

a home has a story to tell

0.000, 0.001 Christina on Approaching a New Project -

0.001, 1.660 Well, the

1.660, 5.980 first thing I'll do is stay

5.980, 9.100 in the room for a little while.

9.100, 16.140 Take a moment with the home

16.140, 17.680 and all her rooms.

17.680, 20.320 I believe that

20.320, 22.580 a home has

22.580, 24.340 a story to tell.

24.340, 27.460 It usually downloads

27.460, 29.880 onto me when

29.880, 31.480 I hang out with the

31.480, 34.400 house for a while.

34.400, 35.900 I often will ask the

35.900, 39.560 client if I can sit with

39.560, 41.880 the home by myself.

41.880, 46.280 What colors come to mind?

46.280, 47.980 What floor planning

47.980, 49.900 would make the most sense?

49.900, 55.040 Create the magic in the space that

55.040, 55.780 isn't there yet…

The earthy way I was raised and soulfully nurtured shaped my artistry and is the core of my work. I was surrounded by the great classic works of the mid-century modern masters, as my parents were collectors of their furniture. Eames, Knoll, Baughman, Platner, and their groovy counterparts co-created the warmth of my childhood home, so from day one, I understood the importance of visual impact.

Visually,
I am always creating for artful homes.

“Cold woven grass wall paper that shines at certain times of the day. Italian leather bed and vintage Moroccan rug cozy up the space and keep the palette elegant.”

Christina on Developing Her Signature Style - 

0.000, 2.680 When I had my first home my Spanish

2.680, 5.600 home in the Hollywood Hills in Bronson Canyon

6.160, 8.660 and I needed to

8.660, 11.680 furnish it. I was in my 20s and

11.680, 14.220 it was this cool Spanish place -

14.220, 17.160 with barrel ceilings, really incredible.

17.160, 19.800 I furnished this really cool house and everyone wanted

19.800, 22.880 to be in it. That's when I realized the

22.880, 25.440 impact of design; the impact

25.440, 28.340 of what goes together.

28.340, 30.880 A well-curated house doesn't

30.880, 33.680 have to be expensive, it has to be

33.680, 36.520 well curated and everything tells a story.

40.140, 42.920 What lamp is next to a set of books next

42.920, 46.060 to an end table next to a

46.060, 48.780 rounded, cool vintage chair that

48.780, 51.280 has a blanket draped over it and

51.280, 55.380 a pillow you love from

55.380, 58.180 your great aunt. It has

58.180, 61.220 a blend of love, life.

61.220, 68.480 Not a catalog. It's not a catalog.

68.480, 71.960 Can't do it from a catalog.

71.960, 74.600 It's quick and easy, sure, but

74.600, 78.560 that's why I have a job because

78.560, 81.340 I know how to gather. It's

81.340, 83.980 like a hunter and gatherer thing. You go out

83.980, 86.660 and you find it and you place

86.660, 89.300 it and then it harmonizes with the next thing

89.300, 92.800 that comes and the sourcing and the vibing.

92.800, 98.060 All of the sudden you're down a rabbit hole, and you found 10 things

98.060, 100.660 that all talk to one another that will go

100.660, 103.280 throughout all the different parts of the home

103.280, 106.740 in different rooms, and that then

106.740, 109.440 starts the storytelling of how the house

109.440, 112.200 merges all the rooms together so

112.200, 116.160 it doesn't feel like each room has a theme. It's

116.160, 118.740 almost like you're designing a

118.740, 121.500 home and all the rooms as just one big room

121.500, 123.220 that happen to have walls.

no one likes to get out of bed

0.000, 5.020 I find beds beautiful. I find bedrooms,

5.380, 10.600 if done well, the jewel of a home for

10.600, 15.780 sure. This definitely reminds us what

15.780, 20.480 we're all yearning for. You know — first of all, no one likes to get out of bed and

20.480, 23.700 (there’s) nothing like hanging out with your lover in a bed.

My favorite accents are black — the blacks of a fireplace the blacks of a table table legs of a candlestick in bronze which has all those blackened hues.

if it doesn’t sound well, I don’t know why you’re living there.

0.000, 5.080 How sounds and acoustics influence

5.080, 11.040 how I design a room? Yeah, it's a biggie because that's sort of everything to me. 

23.040, 28.360 I learned a lot when I worked for MXM as I worked with Vincent

28.360, 30.040 Van Haaff …

33.840, 40.120 he was one of the most influential sound experts

41.520, 44.440 for music studios and

44.440, 46.320 production homes. And

46.320, 51.860 he taught me how to listen to a room — 

51.860, 57.120 and that's a thing — like you can listen to a room. Is it bounce? Is it

57.120, 62.160 echoey? Does it give you a headache because the ceilings are too

62.160, 67.580 high and the sound is traveling everywhere?

67.580, 69.560 He would tell me how to snap in a room and

69.560, 73.680 if it echoes just this certain amount, it's going to eventually give you a headache and

73.680, 77.600 make you want to leave the room. Like there's those great houses and

77.600, 80.760 you hang out in them and all you want to do is leave.

80.760, 83.860 These interiors are multimillion-dollar interiors, but

83.860, 88.380 if the acoustics aren't right, it doesn't matter, you don't want to be

88.380, 92.880 there…

“The atmosphere mixes California luxury with rock and roll wild child.”

"The result is a spirited and romantic space that has proven to be catnip to musicians and songwriters alike. “They can’t get enough of it,” Karras shares. “It’s booked months and months in advance. It’s become the place where they all want to work.” Moroccan rugs, swaths of Grammy gold and brass, Jimi Hendrix florals, and Rat Pack modern swirl together in a sumptuous sundae of musical references. “It was an explosive project,” Karras says. Just like true love.”

— Abigail Stone, read the full article

“Christina Karras transformed this West Hollywood home, formerly owned by Frank Sinatra, into an ultra-cool recording studio for one of the world’s top music producers. Each space exudes a vibrant sumptuous-ness meant to spur creativity for the artists that work here. And, in a nod to the home’s history, Karras has retained quite a few of the furnishings from its original designer, the legendary Tony Duquette.”

0.900, 2.680 Powder rooms have got to be

2.680, 7.760 some of my most favorite rooms to design. I did one at that

7.760, 9.920 recording studio where I did a black and

9.920, 15.520 white striped wall and a floral ceiling… and

15.520, 20.840 the floral had a little bit of Vivienne Westwood punk to it.

20.840, 25.940 And I think that was my nod to her. And the marble in

25.940, 31.200 the bathroom was burnt orange with gold

31.200, 36.420 lion legs - actual lion faces. It was a vintage piece.

36.420, 40.940 And custom little lampshades with

40.940, 44.380 green ferns.

44.380, 49.480 So yeah, powder rooms are a great spot to go visually crazy

49.480, 53.040 and just pick up the volume.

it's sort of like a painting…

I know a room is done because it feels right inside. I can just sit and sigh and go, “yes, okay, onward”. When it has enough layering, it has good flow — It slows you down in areas so you'll sit and contemplate your life or have a conversation. It has enough curves to match the lines. So many angles and straight lines in homes, it's good to bring curves in. It just feels right. It feels like you want to sit and have a conversation with somebody.

How do you feel when you're sitting on it and lying on it… and dreaming on it? Does it inspire you?

3.040, 20.000I am super influenced by fashion. I think due to the fact that those greats that I look up to like John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Jean Paul Gaultier,

21.240, 41.340 Halston, Vivienne Westwood, Rick Owens, and some of those incredible Japanese designers - which I don't want to even try to pronounce. I think the commitment to art form and avant garde and

41.340, 57.840 breaking the rules and pushing the boundaries are really done in fashion. I don't think it's done as much in furniture, and it's not done as much in architecture. It's against the idea of catalog furniture, catalog fashion,

57.840, 75.200 fast fashion, fast furniture. It's the opposite. Who I'm inspired by with these greats that I've just expressed and mentioned is thought thought expertise —

76.500, 93.060 vision. How do you feel when you're walking and wearing it? How do you feel when you're sitting on it and lying on it… and dreaming on it? Does it inspire you?

93.060, 99.520 We're all looking to inspire each other, I think, in one way or another right.

Colors and textures are what unite the concepts. I am considered amongst my colleagues and my clients, and my peers to be a colorist. And it's probably - next to my sensory ability -  one of my specialties. And one of my greatest joys is to create a color scheme for a home. It is either taking what I want the space to be if I'm building it for a new development or a hotel, or what the client feels in, and what moods they want to lean into.  And those will be the colors that I lean into.