Tara Shaw, a resident of New Orleans and the only non-California designer at the house, has an intuitive connection to Continental antiques. In this bedroom, she mixes Italian and French pieces in a pared-down setting that hearkens to her home city but has the ease of California.

A sinuously curved and crowned canopy bed anchors the room, setting the tone for the rest of the space. "Because the headboard is upholstered, this bed has the added bonus of also being comfortable," she says.

To maximize the headboard’s curvy shape, Shaw had it covered in a swirling, stylized acanthus leaf motif that climbs up to its peak. She decorated the rest of the bedroom with appealing antiques an reproduction pieces as well as hits of photography that would suit the sophisticated teenage daughter Shaw envisioned just embarking for college.