MILAN — It’s deep summertime in Los Angeles and model turned designer Rocky Barnes has just put the finishing touches on her outdoor edit for Crate & Barrel’s design forward brand CB2.
Over the years, Barnes has infused her creative touch into a variety of brands, including lifestyle brand Skatie, and launched her new fine jewelry collection in collaboration with Norman Silverman in February. Her image has also been embraced by home and furnishing brands like Saba Italia and ABC Carpet & Home. This time, the CB2 partnership coincided with a redesign of her backyard, which now features lounging areas and space to entertain like a bar. Through their interior design services, CB2 was able to create multiple vignettes throughout the space — from a bar setup to a pool lounge area that Barnes envisaged with her husband, photographer Matthew Cooper.
“Matt and I are not designers but we’ve become more interested in the home. Obviously through building our own house, we deep-dove into that arena.…We travel so much and are constantly bringing stuff back from trips. Picking up on that feeling of curation and uniqueness in the backyard was something that was really important to us,” she said, recalling a recent trip to Morocco in which they brought back local artisan rugs and paintings.
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Standout pieces include CB2’s Hazel Teak outdoor dining table designed by former fashion designer Brett Beldock. Made with eco-conscious teak, the model is CB2’s largest dining table to date and seats 10. Decor layered throughout the backyard featured CB2’s Black in Design Collective, including the Luana woven natural vase designed by Miami-based artist and designer Élan Byrd and the Sorena Warm White and Sienna Brown Indoor/Outdoor rugs by Nigerian architect Mariam Issoufou of Atelier Masomi. The pool area features the La Paloma marble outdoor drink table designed by Los Angeles interior designer Ross Cassidy.
CB2, launched in 2000 as a brand where younger, budget-minded customers furnishing their first apartments could find affordably priced pieces, has launched collaborations with Lenny Kravitz, retailer Fred Segal and Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop, among others, in recent years.