Lana Condor is ready to have people over. The actress recently purchased her dream home in Los Angeles with her fiancé, singer Anthony De La Torre. “It was definitely a fixer-upper,” she explains. But the renovation process helped to reveal a passion for interior design. Now she’s partnered with Sundays, a Canadian brand that creates thoughtfully designed and curated furniture collections, to bring her interiors to life.
Here, the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before star speaks about furnishing her dream house with Sundays, why she’s saying no to trendy aesthetics, and her best hosting tips.
What first drew you to Sundays Furniture?
“Well, with house stuff, it’s like once you’re in, it becomes your entire life. I was obsessed with trying to find an aesthetic that my fiancé and I wanted. One night we sat down and talked about how we want to feel in our new space: very safe, effortless, relaxed, and cozy. I honestly was just scrolling the internet trying to find something that spoke to me like that. I kind of organically found Sundays, and that’s how this naturally worked out.”
How did you start the furnishing and decorating process?
“We knew we wanted to do our guest room first just because of logistic reasons. We’re also the type of family that hosts all the time, so we knew the guest room would be the first to knock out. And [Sundays] really helped to bring a clean, safe, noiseless vibe to the guest room, which is what I always wanted. When I’m staying with someone, I’m very attracted to how their guest room feels like my own home. I just love that.”
What are some words you would use to describe your design aesthetic and how you want your home to feel?
“It’s interesting because we’ve been working room by room. I think once it’s finished, each room will have its own character, so it’s a little bit difficult to pinpoint an overall vibe. I will say that as we’ve been designing, Anthony and I have been hanging on to the idea of timelessness and earthy, grounded comfort. We’re hoping to be in this home for a very long time, so we definitely don’t want it to be trendy. With Sundays, we gravitated towards mostly earth tones, but then we brought in a pop of teal colour. We’re doing a lot of that with pops of soft colours. Because we travel so much for work, when we’re home I want to feel safe and light—like an earthy hug.”
Can you pinpoint a favourite piece of Sundays that you have?
“I love my big dresser (Easy Edge Double Dresser, White Oak), and there are two matching side tables (Easy Edge Bedside Table, White Oak). I particularly love the dresser, because Anthony and I have an extreme addiction to clothing—so we need all the storage we can get. And that [dresser] is just perfect. The wood’s texture is so smooth and soft. Not soft in the way that it could be damaged, soft in a way that it’s nice to the touch. Then the top of it leaves so much room to style. You can bring in your flowers or your different little trinkets to make it beautiful. I think to bring a room together, you need those coffee table books, flowers, little dishes, and tchotchkes. I particularly love the counter space, for lack of a better word, of that dresser. I also love my West Coast rug because it’s a very good, sturdy, neutral rug. I have dogs so it’s very important for us to have a rug that can take a beating.”
Are you shoes on or off in the house kind of person?
“Shoes off. I mean, I run an Asian household, so I am shoes off, and slippers on.”
What is your best rule for hosting people at your house?
“I always think it’s important to have a variety of drinks, like spritz, or wine, or cocktails. But also non-alcoholic drinks, because you never know what people are going to be feeling in the moment. I like to have mocktails. And I think it’s important to put those out with the charcuterie before people come.”
Dinner party or a sleepover?
“Dinner party. I’m not sleeping over. I also have dogs. I have to go home to be with my dogs!”
Do you have a go-to housewarming gift that you recommend people bring, or what do you bring as a housewarming gift?
“I bring flowers, and sometimes I’ll bring a little crystal, just for the vibes. I have to say, a lot of my friends are much better housewarming gift-givers than I am—but I love to do a little bouquet. I love to make them and everyone loves flowers so that’s usually what I bring. Or just a nice bottle of wine.”
What advice do you have for anyone who’s starting to decorate their own home, or is trying to figure out their own personal interior design style?
“I think my advice would be to do your research and look at as many options as possible. If you hit the jackpot and you find a company like Sundays that has awesome pieces you can order, that’s amazing and you should absolutely do it. I will say that if it’s within your budget—especially for your first home or your first family home—having a designer will make the experience so much better.
Also, the last thing I’ll say is when you’re putting together a room—for example, with my guest room all of that is from Sundays. But then I have all these pieces from different stores and antique shops to style the room, so it feels like it’s not all from one place. I think it’s really important to bring in pieces that you might not think work together, but they do.”