Open kitchen with a veined stone backsplash and island, gray cabinetry and herringbone wood floors, an interior by Apel Design

Interior Design · Material + Color

A room is remembered by what it is made of.

Apel Design selects and composes interior materials and color for homes in Malibu, Los Angeles and Southern California: stone, wood, plaster, metal and tile, tested as samples and mockups before a surface is ordered.

The idea

A palette is a set of decisions, not a mood board.

Most rooms fail on material before they fail on plan. A stone that looked warm in a showroom turns green under a north window, a wood that matched its sample darkens within a year, and a white paint reads blue beside marble. The studio treats material and color as design work with its own drawings and tests, so every surface is chosen for its light, its use and its neighbors.

A palette usually starts from one material with real presence, often a slab with strong movement, and the rest of the room is composed to let it lead. Wood, plaster and metal are held to a narrower range so they support it instead of competing. Color comes last and mostly from the materials themselves, which is why a room can feel calm even where one surface is loud.

Knowledge + experience

What goes into choosing a surface.

Six kinds of knowledge behind every material and color decision.

Stone selection

Slabs chosen in person, with veining and color variation read closely, and each slab planned for how it is cut, matched and joined.

Wood and grain

Species, cut and finish chosen for tone and wear, with stain samples judged in the room's own light rather than a showroom's.

Plaster and relief

Troweled plaster and sculpted relief walls that give a white room depth and shadow without adding another color.

Metal and finish

Brass, black and stainless finishes coordinated across fixtures, pulls and lighting, including how each one darkens or holds its surface.

Tile and pattern

Dimensional, stacked and large-format tile set out on drawings, so pattern, scale and joints land where the eye expects them.

Color over time

Paint colors tested against the actual materials, and a palette planned for how the stone, wood and metal will look in ten years.

Selected work

Surfaces chosen to carry the room.

Kitchens, baths and quieter rooms where one material sets the tone.

Kitchen with a cloudy veined stone backsplash, gray cabinetry and round upholstered stools, an interior by Apel Design — **Veined stone backsplash**One slab leads the kitchen

Timber plank ceiling over a navy kitchen island with a veined stone top, an interior by Apel Design — **Timber ceiling, navy island**Warm wood over cool stone

Kitchen with dark timber beams and cabinetry, a pale veined island and lantern pendants, an interior by Apel Design — **Pale island, dark wood**Light stone against deep tones

Orange dining chairs beside a waterfall stone island and glossy gray cabinetry framing an aquarium, an interior by Apel Design — **Orange against gray**One saturated color

Bath with floor-to-ceiling veined white stone, brass fixtures, a long vanity and a freestanding tub, an interior by Apel Design — **Veined stone and brass**Slab walls, warm metal

Freestanding tub below a black-framed window, with white stone slabs matched across the walls, an interior by Apel Design — **Matched slab walls**Veining drawn across the room

Shower wrapped in banded brown stone beside a white freestanding tub and slim pendants, an interior by Apel Design — **Banded stone shower**A stone with strong movement

Gray stone walls and a long grained wood vanity beside a sculptural tub, an interior by Apel Design — **Gray stone, grained wood**A close-toned palette

Navy floating vanity against a stacked stone tile wall, beside a glass shower, an interior by Apel Design — **Stacked stone and navy**Texture beside a flat color

Black dimensional tile wall above a black stone trough sink with a wall-mounted faucet, an interior by Apel Design — **Dimensional black tile**Pattern in a single color

Powder room with black and gold geometric wallcovering, gold sconces and a black stone floor, an interior by Apel Design — **Black and gold pattern**Dark tones for a small room

Bedroom with a white sculpted relief wall, pale wood floors and a skylight, an interior by Apel Design — **Sculpted white relief**Texture in place of color

Streams of water falling from a smooth white wall into a narrow pool beside palms, an interior by Apel Design — **Water wall**Water as a surface

The path

From sample to finished surface.

Direction

A short palette of stone, wood, metal and color, drawn from the architecture, the light and how each room is used.

Samples

Physical samples gathered and viewed together in the house at different hours, because color shifts between daylight and lamplight.

Mockups

Larger mockups test the decisions that matter most: a slab layout, a plaster finish, a stain on the actual wood.

Review

The studio reviews shop drawings and finished surfaces against the approved samples, and flags any substitution before it reaches the room.

Design-Build interiors

Designed by Apel Design, built through Design-Build.

Rooms from Maliview, The Aviator and Mintcello, where the studio carried its own design through Design-Build, with construction by Creative New Dimensions Inc, in conjunction with Apel Design for Design-Build.

Polished concrete hall with a stone stair wall and a violet panel, at Maliview in the Malibu Mountains, by Apel Design — **Maliview**Malibu Mountains

Timber dining table under a textured relief wall, open to the hills, at Maliview in the Malibu Mountains, by Apel Design — **Maliview**Malibu Mountains

Dark green world map and compass sculpture on a red wall, at The Aviator in Malibu, by Apel Design — **The Aviator**Malibu

Black tub set in a pale veined deck below an orange wall, at The Aviator in Malibu, by Apel Design — **The Aviator**Malibu

Rough stone walls framing an arched niche with a cello motif, at Mintcello in Malibu, by Apel Design — **Mintcello**Malibu

Questions

Useful clarity before the first conversation.

How do you choose stone for a kitchen or a bath?

We start from the room's light and its other materials, then select slabs in person, because veining and color vary from slab to slab. Each slab is laid out on a drawing so its strongest movement lands where it will be seen, such as a backsplash or a shower wall, and the joins fall where they are least noticed.

Will natural materials change color over time?

Yes, and the palette is planned for it. Oiled woods deepen, unlacquered brass darkens and honed stone softens with use, while sealed and lacquered surfaces change very little. We explain which surfaces will age and how, so the choice between a living finish and a stable one is made on purpose, room by room.

Can a room be designed around one bold color or material?

Often that is the best place to start. A red wall, a dark tile or a heavily veined slab can anchor a whole room when everything around it keeps to a quieter range. We test the strong element first, with samples in the space, then tune the surrounding wood, plaster and metal to it.

Can Apel Design stay involved through construction?

Yes. Apel Design can lead an interior from the first sketch to the final placement, whether the house is delivered through our Design-Build practice or built by a contractor of the client's choosing, with the studio overseeing the interior work. On a Design-Build project, construction is by Creative New Dimensions Inc, in conjunction with Apel Design for Design-Build.

Let’s shape the experience: from room to object.

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