![Michelle Nussbaumer_SenecaDrive.0824 Wearing luxurious, brightly colored pajamas and robe, designer Michelle Nussbaumer stands in her entry hall, painted pink and filled with house plants. She tends to potted plants on her entry table. Her dog stands at her feet.](https://flowermag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Michelle-Nussbaumer_SenecaDrive.0824.jpg)
Michelle Nussbaumer’s more-is-better decorating aesthetic transfers to her entertaining style; she stages multiple rooms with a mix of antique and new tableware and bountiful floral arrangements.
The moment you enter her 1940s Hollywood Regency-meets-Dallas house, you know you’re in for a glamorous adventure that will be vibrant and unexpected, with just the right dash of drama. Peony-pink walls and a profusion of potted flowers worthy of an English country-house conservatory will be your first tells, as will the hostess who greets you dressed in a flowing caftan and looking every bit the part of a glamorous movie star (she did major in theater at college, after all).
![Michelle Nussbaumer_SenecaDrive.0233 Michelle Nussbaumer’s house, mantel covered in vases of lush floral arrangements, gilt mirror, pink walls, oriental rug, and drapery panels with horizontal strips of pink, green, and chocolate brown](https://flowermag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Michelle-Nussbaumer_SenecaDrive.0233.jpg)
Michelle’s drapery fabric, Neopolitan Ice Cream, will be available in her shop, Ceylon et Cie and on her website.
It’s not surprising she titled her first book Wanderlust: Interiors that Bring the World Home (Rizzoli, 2016), as her personal environs brim with saturated color, plentiful pattern, and a mix of cultures and design periods, all expertly brought into harmony and focus through her maximalist lens.
![Michelle Nussbaumer_SenecaDrive.0252 dahlia floral arrangement by Jimmie Henslee](https://flowermag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Michelle-Nussbaumer_SenecaDrive.0252.jpg)
Dahlias, black-eyed Susans, Japanese maple, garden roses, wild grape vine, and more tumble from Old Paris porcelain on the mantel.
![Michelle Nussbaumer_5000SenecaDrive.0342 blue-and-white ginger jars, table lamp, and blue-and-white bud vase](https://flowermag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Michelle-Nussbaumer_5000SenecaDrive.0342.jpg)
A few blooms are all that’s needed to embellish Michelle’s collection of blue-and-white porcelain.
![Michelle Nussbaumer_SenecaDrive.0440 Michelle Nussbaumer’s moody red dining room, decorated with floral arrangements by Jimmie Henslee](https://flowermag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Michelle-Nussbaumer_SenecaDrive.0440.jpg)
A centerpiece of garden roses, cockscomb, and strawflowers. Chair fabric is Cartagena, one of her designs for Clarence House.
“I’m also a big believer in engaging multiple areas of the house,” she says. “People can mingle freely, perch on the edge of a living room sofa with drink in hand or a plate in their lap, and then move on to the library or outdoor patio to join another conversation.”
![Michelle Nussbaumer_SenecaDrive.0170 A blue-and-white ginger jar, a large salad, shallow bowls of summer tomatoes, and a pair of lush red and orange floral arrangement fill a mosaic patio table](https://flowermag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Michelle-Nussbaumer_SenecaDrive.0170.jpg)
The patio table features zinnias, Mexican marigolds, coleus, and roses from the garden.
While Michelle enjoys creating arrangements herself, she frequently turns to her dear friend Jimmie Henslee, a floral designer and stylist, to kick things up a notch. “He just gets me and the vibe I want to achieve,” she says.
— Michelle Nussbaumer
![Michelle Nussbaumer_SenecaDrive.0122 Michelle Nussbaumer's patio, outdoor furniture](https://flowermag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Michelle-Nussbaumer_SenecaDrive.0122.jpg)
On the patio, the peacock chairs are from Michelle’s Dallas design gallery, Ceylon et Cie. Pillow fabrics include Joseph’s Coat, (the stripe on right chair) and Fez Embroidery (left chair, front pillow) from her Clarence House collection. “My garden never looked better than last summer, because for once I was actually home to tend to it,” she says.
His interpretation of Michelle’s aesthetic includes vines dripping from chandeliers (“that’s one of her signature moves,” he says) and the contrast of high and low, a philosophy they both embrace. Controlled masses within a singular palette or flower variety appear in casual baskets and pottery, while more humble clippings from Michelle’s garden spill from elegant containers such as Old Paris porcelain.
![Michelle Nussbaumer_SenecaDrive.0282 dessert table](https://flowermag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Michelle-Nussbaumer_SenecaDrive.0282.jpg)
In the living room, Michelle puts out a spread of desserts with a mass of pink roses for additional eye candy.
![Michelle Nussbaumer_SenecaDrive.0301 overhead view of the dessert table, including a bouquet of pink roses and a lidded blue-and-white chinoiserie jar](https://flowermag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Michelle-Nussbaumer_SenecaDrive.0301.jpg)
A mass of pink roses provides additional eye candy.
This story originally appeared in Flower magazine’s July/August 2021 issue. Find Flower in a store near you or subscribe.