Sunday Escape – Betsey Johnson's Pink Paradise

"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles" Audrey Hepburn once said.

But if it was Betsey Johnson, the same sentence would have sounded quite as right.

With her bizarre mix of punk, dancewear and Warhol-esque aesthetics, the designer helped to forge Edie Sedgwick's iconic look, along with that of the other personalities revolving around the Factory and that of the Velvet Underground (at the time she was married to John Cale), she has dressed stars like Madonna and Katy Perry, and, above all, she has turned pink into her trademark.

Not just a colour, but a hymn to optimism, to a cheerful and playful femininity that permeates her whole life, her creations, her stores, and even her house.

Betsey's apartment in New York's Greenwich Village is an overdose of cotton candy shades.

In 1600 square feet infused with pure 70s' style, everything is pink: the walls, the furniture, the shaggy carpets, the flowers, the vases, the lamps, the mirrors, the fabrics.

Pink's soft touch is even more predominant in the bedroom. Here, just a small number of items – carefully watched by a large portrait of the designer herself – escape this monochromatism, which in the other rooms, on the contrary, is sometimes broken by hints of black, white, yellow and gold. The ebony floors run through every space, from the bedroom to the living room. If in the kitchen the industrial style coexists with stainless steel and candy details, in the dining room the attention is focused on the mustard Knoll's Platner Lounge Chairs, on the 70s Sputnik Starburst chandelier and on the black and white floral carpet.

Kitsch, feminine, fun, unconventional. Betsey Johnson's style mixes modern and vintage pieces but has all the qualities of a luxury home: lace, velvet, gold tassels, frou-frou furniture and Hollywood glam.

Her tips for home decor? "Make it personal. I like houses that totally reflect their owners. Take some chances. Try those colours you’ve always loved but were afraid to use. What’s the worst that can happen? You have to start over again? So what? Decorating is fun. And maybe you’ll learn something about yourself in the process."