ELLE DECOR December 2020

ANY OTHER YEAR, AN ELLE DECOR ISSUE ON THE SUBJECT OF escapes would be about getting out into the world and relishing the perspective that travel gives us on our homes and ourselves. But this is 2020. So where do you go when you can’t go far? Quite simply, you go inward. Our December issue is a celebration of the power of interiors—and of design in general—to inspire, nurture, and delight. In these pages, we explore the ideas of sanctuary and safety, and what it means to create a “sphere of agency” at home (page 21) in a time of pandemic and protest. As always, we’re serving up doses of fantasy, too; we need every bit of glamour we can get in a year like the one we’ve experienced. Our annual holiday…

THE DAY AF TER NEW YORK CITY shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I watched people fight over the last roll of toilet paper at a deli, and a guy I met on a dating app offered me his only bottle of hand sanitizer. After that, I didn’t leave the house. Our homes became our refuges—and our panic rooms. Designing my own escape within became a priority: I repainted my closets; I covered my kitchen in white laminate; I reupholstered my sofa in a thick sunflower-print cotton that my grandmother left behind when she moved to Florida, where she was now in a nursing home no one was allowed to enter. I sewed pillows in chartreuse velvet and painted large abstract canvases in jewel tones. I waited for seven…

How have you spent your quarantine? BD: I’ve been locked in the house by my family. I’ve been completely isolated. But I’m enjoying the world, and there hasn’t been much change except that I watch a lot of movies—Indian comedies. They present some very unexpected intrigue. Have you somehow found an escape through isolation? BD: I turn to my subconscious. The best way is to get lost in it. When there is no destination, there is a constant discovery. It’s like going into a voluntary dream. Whether you’re locked in a room or outdoors, your focus is on something happening outside of yourself. When that happens, you’re free. In this pandemic, we are constantly thinking about things beyond our control. I think one has to become a child, so one can become lost…

A BRUNCH FOR TWO Dressing the table with all the accoutrements of a favorite eatery is one way to bring high dining home. We recommend wearing jewels. BOUTIQUE HOTEL BOUDOIR Re-create resort style at home with crisp percale bedding, then cozy up with slippers and a good read. COCKTAIL HOUR ANYTIME In 2020, the special occasion for elevated drinkware is every day. IN ON THE TOWN You don’t have to brave the cold when you can keep warm on a romantic night indoors.…

1 CHUBBY OTTOMAN BY MODSHOP KRSNAA MEHTA: This gives off that ’80s modernist vibe with its bright pop of color. COURTNEY McLEOD: I’d use it in a small space as a multifunctional accent piece. 21" dia. X 21" h.; $295. 1stdibs.com 2 MAH JONG BED BY ROCHE BOBOIS CM: I like the mix of fabrics. It would look great in a downtown loft. KM: This would be the ideal thing for that cozy feeling in a contemporary bedroom. 90.5" w. X 97" d. X 40" h.; from $6,565. roche-bobois.com 3 ROWAN CHAIR BY INTERIOR DEFINE KM: I love the practicality and the way in which this would make its presence felt in any home. CM: This is perfect in a pair for a starter apartment. I’m fond of the open arms. 28" w. X 31" d. X 33" h.; $995. interiordefine.com 4…

When Sarah Sze had her first solo show at the Fondation Cartier in Paris, in 1999, she built her entire multimedia installation, Everything That Rises Must Converge, on-site. For “Night into Day,” her current exhibition at the same institution, the process couldn’t have been more divergent. As a result of the pandemic, Sze created her two works—a planetarium of found and pop-culture images that unfolds in immersive layers, and a pendulum that melds filmic imagery with objects—in her studio in New York. She then used live digital feeds to erect them in Paris, an approach completely in sync with the show’s focus. “The work is about being in a state between the digital and physical,” says Sze, who is known for her boundary-collapsing, site-specific pieces. “I’ve always been interested in…