When a client passes on an idea, designer Raili Clasen doesn’t take offense. She simply files the thought away, knowing that one day, she’s going to try that thing in her own home. Years ago, she renovated her Newport Beach house as if she were concocting a science experiment, taking all the risks from the reject pile. “It’s the highest level of creativity for me,” says Clasen. “No one’s there to put up the red light. And if it turns out horribly—sometimes things do—then I know.”

Now, she’s done the same thing again, this time in a 1,100-square-foot bungalow that was ready to be taken down to the studs. Here are 11 things she did in her own place that clients never went for…at least, not yet. 

Pendant Lighting Inside Built-Ins

The living room built-ins triple as a media center, a display case, and a bar (that’s right, those are are Zephyr refrigerator drawers in the bottom). Clasen measured out the niches so they could perfectly fit a TV, liquor bottles, special objects… and a vintage ceramic light. She had her electrician stealthily wire the cords through the top.

Wood Valances

The simplest idea that’s come to Clasen? Cladding the tops of the windows in basic two-by-fours to cover up where the shades and curtains are installed. “I was like, why haven’t I been doing that all along?” she says. 

Tile in Two Directions

Clasen has changed the color of a tile part way up a wall before, but never has anyone been game for changing the direction. She played this one subtle, swathing the kitchen wall in white matte subway tile from Clé and opting for a subway orientation below and a vertical stack up top. “It’s not necessarily visionary, but it’s surprising,” she says. 

Craftsman-Inspired Open Shelving

“I can’t do another two-inch-thick floating shelf in a kitchen,” admits Clasen. Searching for a way to infuse more personality into open storage, she turned to old California Craftsman homes for inspiration and had her millworker whip up something with side rails and chunky brackets. 

Appliquéd Drapery

Even Clasen wasn’t feeling 100 percent about this one going into it—she feared it would be too quirky. But her nerves calmed when she decided to collaborate with graphic artist and seamstress Jessica Ruby. Clasen simply told her to go nautical and let her run with it.  

Striped Interior Doors

Clasen can’t take full credit for the personality-packed interior doors—Clare V. did it first, just on accessories. She tasked her custom sign painter with the job of translating the stripes onto a larger surface, and it turned out to be one of the easiest updates they made.

Peek-a-Boo Paneling

The only idea Clasen would be hesitant to repeat is the Tetris-like paneling in the guest bedroom. Not because she doesn’t love how the pop of color turned out, but because the unique arrangement required a lot more work (and a lot more money) to create than she thought.

Dueling Tile Patterns

In the guest bathroom, Clasen was torn between a half-moon tile from her Concrete Collaborative collection and a classic checkerboard, her go-to pattern. So, she thought, why not do both? She clad the shower in the former and added a strip of checks along the vanity wall, linking them together with the same green and gray-blue palette. 

Two-Toned Closet Storage

The need for a good-looking closet stemmed from the fact that there wasn’t a door. With any clutter on full display, closed cabinetry was a must. At the California Closets showroom, Clasen spotted plain wood samples on one side of the room and navy blue on the other, she asked if it was possible to combine the two. The answer, of course, was yes. Before the system was installed, she swathed the walls behind the open storage in a floral print from CW Stockwell. “I love when details just peek out,” she says.

A Stained-Glass Shower Window

Clasen found glassmaker Dirk Maes when scouting out the artist scene in Laguna Beach. Again, she barely gave him any directions for the stained glass window in-between the vanity and shower. “I said, ‘These are my colors, have at it!’” she remembers. 

Painted Words on Wall Sconces

Clasen’s design ethos is probably best summed up by the bathroom’s custom-painted Stoffer Home sconces. The phrase that spans the two fixtures—“highly likely”—had been on her mind for years. “If I have an idea, there’s a good possibility I’m doing it,” she says with a laugh. The only question is when.