Kourtney Kardashian's white living room hides sentimental, charming stories we never expected

Media personality Kourtney Kardashian is often associated with minimalism – most famously through her fashion choices. Kourtney's gorgeous home in Calabasas, California is, at first glance, similarly pared back. 

The reality star enlisted English-born, LA-based interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard to create her seductively white-toned home – most of which offers a lesson in decorating with neutrals, timelessly. 

However, like the rest of the house, the incredibly tasteful living room is far from characterless. In fact, it acts as a stylish backdrop for multiple pieces with charming stories and incredible mid-century finds.

'For the design-living reality star, I helped create and curate Kourtney Kardashian's house to encompass her love for mid-century furniture and contemporary art, whilst blending her number-one passion: her kids and family,' explains Martin Lawrence Bullard. 'We gave them comfortable and easy spaces to  live and grow in while maintaining high style and modern design.'

Kourtney's house, according to Bullard, 'brims with modernist gems', including, in the living room, the museum-quality Oscar Niermeyer chair and ottoman (available at 1st Dibs), and a Christmas gift from ex-partner Scott, a Damien Hirst diamond skull. You can read more about the skull on Artsy, but know that the original was bought for $100 million by an investment group, and is the most expensive contemporary artwork ever made). 

However, while packed with treasures, Kourtney insists the room is 'chic but practical... It's really for special occasions.'

Other finds include mid-century modern ribbon lamps, which you can find at 1st Dibs – 'I love these lamps because they're vintage,' says Kourtney; a 1960s candy box, a pool table, a kissing vignette paperweight and a Yamaha grand piano. 

'This is my childhood piano and all the kids are learning to play on it now, just like I did,' she comments. 

The coffee table is piled with books and game boxes: 'These Syrian inlaid game boxes are very important to me because they were my dad's,' she comments; while the walls are adorned with contemporary classics, such as photography by Ruven Afanador, which you can also buy at 1st Dibs.

So, while a white living room may seem like a safe choice, this room is clearly anything but characterless. 

The Tuscan-inspired palette has not gone unnoticed by New York-based designer Joe Cangelosi, who adds that the socialite's use of textured soft furnishings is equally essential in making the space more exciting and inviting.

'As the room is not focused on color, it's important to pay attention to the element of texture to make things interesting,' he says. For a similar look, he recommends investing in a beautiful boucle fabric sofa or Mongolian wool pillows. 

Joe Cangelosi

Joe Cangelosi is a New York-based designer and the founder of Joe Cangelosi Design LLC. He has decorated homes and commercial spaces around Manhattan, including Greenwich Village, Chelsea, and the Upper East Side – and nationwide in Miami, Los Angeles, and DC. His company won the Best in Manhattan Interior Design Award in 2016, 2017, and 2022. 

Kourtney's black coffee table, topped with (more) art books and plants, centers her space –and injects just the right amount of color. However, Joe adds that we can recreate a similar effect with a marble coffee table – that will add color to the room without overpowering the white. 

'You can also play with the scale and proportion of items, like having an oversized ottoman for seating and big vases on the floors to add yet more visual interest,' Joe says.

In terms of window treatments, Kourtney has opted for a subtle mix of white blinds and drapes– a look that is equally inspiring in our own homes. 'When thinking about window treatment, you can have some beautiful white linen or silk panels or Roman shades to add something beautiful to frame the view,' Joe explains. 

'White has been in fashion forever, and it's easy to swap out your decorative pieces and accessories occasionally over the years to stay on-trend and in style.' This season, we're taking our cue from Kourtney – with these picks below.