Interior Styling with Merie Subryan

Everyone has a subject they return to: a craft, a pastime, a passion. In this series, we step aside and let others share theirs, in their own words.

Merie Subryan, interior stylist, designer, writer, and founder of Studio Subryan, approaches a room the way she once studied people: closely, and with an eye for how systems and environments shape behavior. Before styling, she studied psychology and sociology, then trained in interior design at Parsons, work she now channels into Section Plane, her newsletter on interiors, domestic objects, and materiality.

Her method is contextual, less concerned with matching than with character, and led by a simple sequence: feeling first, then lifestyle, then the space itself. “Home, to me, is almost an extension of the psyche,” she reflects. “It's one of the most intimate expressions of how we live and what we value.”

Ridge Coffee Table

$1,160

Archer Sideboard

$3,220

Spindle Dining Table

$2,250

Saddle 4-Piece Modular Sectional Right

$5,340

What does “home” mean to you, in this season of your life?

Home, to me, is almost an extension of the psyche. It's one of the most intimate expressions of how we live and what we value. To invite someone in, whether through entertaining or otherwise, is to share a very personal part of ourselves.

What's a design rule you happily break?

That everything framed has to be hung. I like framed photography or bas-relief pieces leaning against a wall, especially at a larger scale. An oversized photograph hung on its own, rather than above a sofa, can feel oddly placed in a room, almost like another screen. Leaning it changes its relationship to the space. I like that informality, when things feel imperfectly edited rather than presented as a finished composition.

What's the biggest thing you've learned from living in a small space?

There's an element of trompe-l'œil inherent in small-space design. A small room can feel expansive when the proportions and circulation are right, the same way a much larger room can still feel cramped or underused. Limitations often bring out the most daring decisions in a room, since every inch has to pull its weight. Small spaces don't have to be timid.

How do you approach making a space feel good to live in?

I think a space feels good when the things in it work well for everyday life and have enough individual character to stand on their own. I'm less interested in everything matching than in the character of each piece. Quality and longevity matter too. I want things that become more beautiful over time.

When you're styling a space, what are three things you'd think through before you begin?

Feeling comes first, then lifestyle, and then the space itself, its historical context and real spatial conditions. I usually ask: how should it feel to live here? How does the room need to function? And what is already there that should be preserved or amplified?