Living Fashion
A Life of Beauty: Melissa Lee
“[Design is] a way to help us understand human emotions and create an atmosphere of ease.”
For Melissa Lee, the smell of sawdust conjures childhood memories.
Growing up in a family of real estate developers, Lee often found herself on construction sites for model homes. “It’s kind of cliché,” she says, “but design is very much in my blood.” She might’ve seemed a natural successor to her family’s work. But she took an unconventional path, studying psychology and fashion before finding her way back to interior design. In 2012, Lee founded Bespoke Only: a New York City-based firm that focuses on understated luxury.
In her work, Lee focuses on comfort, confidence, and ease. That decisive, yet ever-evolving approach forms the basis for the firm’s “new romantic” aesthetic: a pursuit of emotional exploration that tells the honest stories of her clients' lives, chapter by chapter, in every detail.
interior Designer: Melissa lee / Brooklyn, ny, 2022 / Photographer: Samm Blake
interior Designer: Melissa lee / New York City, ny, 2023 / Photographer: Nicole Franzen / Featuring the odin® Pull-Down kitchen Faucet with Arc Spout and Lever Handle in Matte Black
How did you find your way to interior design?
It’s not by any means linear. I wasn’t school trained in interior design or architecture. I actually studied psychology and, later on, went to fashion. Interior design was in my roots—my family does a little bit of design and build. But that was mostly on the real estate development side. Still, I grew up on construction sites, where we made model homes for the projects my family was working on. It’s kind of cliché, but design is very much in my blood: the smell of sawdust is so familiar to me. I grew up seeing it, and at first, it was too familiar. But I realized I can do it my own way. It’s not real estate development; this is very custom to each one of our clients and their stories.
interior Designer: Melissa lee / New York City, ny, 2022 / Photographer: Alice Gao / Featuring the litze® pull-Down kitchen Faucet with Arc Spout and Knurled Handle in Brilliance® Luxe Gold®
How did your educational and professional backgrounds shape your approach?
Psychology definitely played a huge role in how I see design: in the end, I’m designing for people. And home is the place where people can express themselves most intimately, most genuinely. It should be the place where you’re most comfortable in your own skin—a true reflection of you. When people come in, they can really see who you are. They can get to know a little part of you.
How do you make detailed selections with intention?
I think the details are the most important part. And the best details, to us, are the invisible ones—they’re so invisible, they don’t really draw much attention. It’s in these backgrounds that you can be at ease, and interior design can help you get there.
interior Designer: Melissa lee / New York City, ny, 2022 / Photographer: Alice Gao / Featuring the odin® Single-Handle Freestanding Tub Filler in Polished Chrome
interior Designer: Melissa lee / New York City, ny, 2023 / Photographer: William Jess Laird / Featuring the Litze® Single-Handle Lavatory Faucet in Brilliance® Luxe Gold®
What’s it like working in New York?
New York is so fun in its own energy and exposure. It’s so diverse. Here, we do a lot of old homes and remodels of town homes. That propels us to play with different types of architecture—and different kinds of people—because storytelling is what drives us to design.
How did you hone the “new romantic” aesthetic?
Design is just a way of expressing your emotions. It’s a way of feeling. This is how we approach design as well. It’s just a vehicle, it’s not the end. It’s a way to help us understand human emotions and create an atmosphere of ease.
interior Designer: Melissa lee / New York City, ny, 2023 / Photographer: Nicole Franzen / Featuring the litze® single-Handle Wall Mount Lavatory Faucet in Brilliance® Luxe Gold®
interior Designer: Melissa lee / New York City, ny, 2023 / Photographer: Nicole Franzen / Featuring the litze® Single-Handle Wall Mount Lavatory Faucet in Brilliance® Luxe Gold®
How do you practice sustainability in your work?
For old homes, we want to create ways to work with the existing architectural details whenever possible. I never really believed in completely ripping a whole house apart just to modernize. It can be done in a very thoughtful way to keep the existing beauty.
In terms of decorating, I really don’t think there’s that much stuff you need to throw out when you go to a new home. If you have been careful about collecting in the first place and mindful about acquiring each piece, they should stay with you. Disposable fast fashion is never really our thing.
interior Designer: Melissa lee / New York City, New York, 2023 / Photographer: William Jess Laird / Featuring the litze® Bar Faucet with Arc Spout and Knurled Handle in Brilliance® Luxe Gold®
interior Designer: Melissa lee / New York City, New York, 2023 / Photographer: William Jess Laird / Featuring the litze® Pull-Down Faucet with Arc Spout and Knurled Handle in Brilliance® Luxe Gold®
How can design empower people to live a better life?
I think it helps you be proud of who you are. People tend to hide their knickknacks, but what if the knickknacks aren’t embarrassing? What if we reframe them, see them in different ways? What if we can properly display them as heirlooms?
Sometimes, for example, it’s people’s own artworks. If you’re an amateur painter, you might say, “This is nothing. I don’t really want to show it.” But if painting is something you truly love, show it. Our role is to show you how the things you love can be naturally incorporated into a beautiful room—to give you confidence.
