Dana Schweiger, a furniture dealer who lives part-time in Germany, wanted to fill her rooms with electric colors, vintage furniture and, most important, quirky art. “To me, a blank wall is like having an empty soul,” she says. She found the perfect person to help her in designer Christine Horbach, a fellow art lover she met through the local German expat community. “We both have a rebellious nature, and you see that in the design,” says Christine. The women scoured flea markets and sites like Chairish for furniture and decor, then spent hours creating gallery walls for nearly every room. “Art gives me comfort,” says Dana, whose four kids (Valentin, 28; Luna, 26; Lilli, 25; and Emma Tiger, 21) visit her often. “I could be in this house all by myself, and I’d never feel alone.”

Her home has a lot in common with other breezy beach houses in Malibu, California: white walls, vaulted ceilings, reclaimed wood floors. But that’s where the similarities end.

Christine showed Dana this vibrant silk Minasian rug along with two gray options. When Dana picked the colorful one, Christine said, “OK, girl, we’re going to freak out in this house!” And that’s just what Dana wanted.

To highlight the built-in nook, Christine painted it black and hung a diptych, then piled colorful pillows on the bench. The eye art above the nook is by Jonathan Adler.