Room for connection for award-winning artists Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad

For Grammy- and-Oscar-winning musician Jon Batiste and his wife, Emmy-winning journalist and author Suleika Jaouad, their 19th-century Brooklyn brownstone renovation was a deeply personal labor of love.

The home’s natural arches reminded Suleika of her Tunisian roots while the high tin ceilings and moldings echoed homes in the Garden District of New Orleans where Jon grew up. And so “Tunisiana” – a mash-up of their two backgrounds – was born.

Collaborating with California Closets New York and interior designer Hallie Goodman, the couple dreamed of carrying this melded style into their shared dressing room one that not only outfitted for their wardrobes and Jon’s sequined stage suits, but also offered a place of reflection and connection. The room’s centerpiece John Derian “tête-à-tête” chair, an S-shaped couch consisting of two seats facing opposite directions, sets the tone beautifully.