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Fabric paneling to match the dining room chairs.

When fashion, accessory and interior designer Meichi Peng first saw her client’s penthouse at 360 Newbury Street, the duplex was a drywall box. The long, narrow entrance opened into the living room with 18-foot ceilings. The master bedroom, located on a mezzanine level overlooking the sunny living room, was plain and lacked privacy.

Her client wanted the space to reflect hip sophistication and the timeless elegance of the swank building. Peng, who was an associate principal at ADD Inc. before founding Meichi Peng Design Studio, often incorporates architectural elements into her projects before decorating with furniture and accessories. She marries her own clean and contemporary style with her clients' personalities. "Being a good interior designer is not so much about picking out the furniture as it is tapping into architectural elements," says Peng. "When you see the space, you want to see the potential, what a place can be."

In the living room, Peng constructed a limestone accent wall with built-in "floating" glass shelves to accentuate the grand ceiling and create a dramatic backdrop to the sofa. A dark stained oak wall unit provides a chic nook for a new TV and electronics. She created a built-in unit of white shelves and drawers in the foyer for storage. Adjacent to the bedroom was a spare room she converted into a den, adding a sleeper sofa, built-in shelves and a sliding glass door. In the bedroom she hung sheer curtains for elegance and blackout drapery for privacy. Fabric panels in the dining room and in the den add texture; carefully chosen area rugs help define the different rooms.

For a dose of tranquility in the city condo, Peng designed an indoor Zen water garden, complete with trickling water overflowing into a steel trough on a landing near the mezzanine. Orange stools in the foyer, an orange Fritz Hansen Egg chair and orange pillows on the sofa in the living room add a zip of color to the soothing neutral tones. For lighting she suspended a handblown Murano glassbubble chandelier above the dining table and added backlighting to consoles and sconces to the bedroom. "It isn't about just the right light in a space," Peng says. "It's more creating a sense of drama"—and still maintaining the peacefulness of this urban oasis.