Rooms That Shine | Glossy lacquered walls create high-impact spaces

Lacquered walls may not be for the decorating faint of heart, but they sure can create unforgettable, dramatic rooms. While the process is more labor-intensive than other finishes, the end result packs a punch that eggshell or semi-gloss just can’t match. Click here to see our favorite gleaming spaces.

Scarlet Fever

In the dining room of a Manhattan apartment, designer Brian McCarthy offset traditional furnishings—a 19th-century neoclassical cut-glass chandelier and a George II table—with a glamorous red-lacquer walls and dark moldings. Mirrored doors add another sparkling touch.

Green Room

In the guest room of a Long Island, New York, home, interior designer Steven Gambrel contrasted glossy green walls with a rich, earthy palette on the curtains and furniture. The bed is upholstered in a Schumacher linen, the curtains are of a Hinson crewel fabric, and the walls are painted in Dutch Door Green by Fine Paints of Europe.

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Photographer: Eric Piasecki

Gloss Over

Black lacquer walls bring big-city sophistication to the library of Aerin Lauder’s summer home in East Hampton, New York. A sleek yellow-and-black desk, a Serge Mouille lamp, and a graphic carpet from AM Collections give the room a contemporary punch.

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Photographer: Simon Upton

Polished Look

Richard Mishaan created a bright and bold Manhattan master bedroom with teal-lacquered walls and white furnishings and bedding. Organic materials, including rock crystal lamps, a goatskin rug, and a fur throw, contrast with the sheen of the walls. The bed and nightstands are by Mishaan, the artwork is by Chuck Price, and the bedding is by Pratesi.

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Photographer: William Waldron

Surface Appeal

James Aman, of Aman & Carson, used automobile spray enamel to create the gleaming walls and ceiling beams in the Manhattan library of Candia Fisher. The vintage armchair and sofa are by Knoll, and the antique chinoiserie linen press was converted into a bar.

Photographer: Pieter Estersohn

Shine On

Designer Steven Gambrel’s Greenwich Village townhouse sports colorful lacquered surfaces throughout, including shimmering gray walls in the dining room. Gambrel notes that the glossy, saturated hues show less wear and tear—an added benefit to their glamorous good looks.

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Photographer: William Waldron

Grand Entrance

The show-stopping gallery of a Manhattan apartment decorated by Miles Redd is a mix of bold elements including glossy Yves Klein-blue walls, a red leather-covered door, and floors painted with a geometric faux-marble pattern. The bench is from John Rosselli Antiques and Decorations.

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Photographer: Miguel Flores-Vianna

Rise and Shine

A bedroom at interior designer Stephen Sills’s Bedford, New York, home, includes striking olive-green walls—a brilliant background for the elegant furnishings, including an Italian Empire steel bed, a Louis XVI children’s chair upholstered in green horsehair, and a mahogany Directoire chair.

Photographer: Thibault Jeanson