by Furnishly | Aug 20, 2021 | Design Inspiration, Style
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Name: Shea Keating, husband Rich Lamiroult, and two girls: Billie Ever and Seeda Honey, along with Charlie the rescue pup and Georgie a rescue cat
Location: Sag Harbor, New York
Size: Just under 2000 square feet
Type of Home: It’s a weird modern ranch — I’ve dubbed it the funky Ranch
Years lived in: 4 years, owned
We were lucky enough to be able to build our house on a subdivided lot and right next to my family’s house. My dad, who is no longer with us, used to say we would have a compound — his dream is now a reality. For budget sake (and timing — I was pregnant with our first child during the process) we chose a modular option. The timing really wasn’t that expedited unfortunately; we moved in when our first daughter Billie was almost a year and a half!
One of the main requirements for us was an open floor plan and a kitchen/dining area that would house my grandmother’s 11-foot dairy farm table from the 1950s. It’s an heirloom for our whole extended family and we all feel very lucky to keep making memories around it while remembering all the old ones. The modular option let us do just that: we opened a wall between the living room and kitchen area and the table fits perfectly.
Sag Harbor is where I grew up from the age of 12 and it’s just a really beautiful spot. We do a lot of dancing in our house — my husband is a musician and our two girls love to sing and groove; we have a weekly Friday night dance party. And we even installed a working disco ball and lights to make it shine in the corridor — because why not?! The house is just fun, open and colorful — but it’s also warm and homey. All the things in it either have meaning for us and our history, or are just really cool design wise — it’s very eclectic and I’m constantly adding or tweaking the decor.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My Style: Eclectic, Colorful, Fun, Mismatched
Inspiration: I find inspiration in a lot of places, but a lot of it just comes from things I’ve always liked from childhood on — those things haven’t really changed: Color, pattern, lips, glitter, hearts, art, the “Wizard of Oz” (you know Dorothy was a redhead right?)
Favorite Element: So hard to say; I really love something about almost every room, but the living area/kitchen is the place we spend the most time — and its just so conducive for living and cheerful.
The other spot is the girls room, all anchored around a vintage Pendleton blanket I bought on our honeymoon. The room started as cutouts of pictures on my house plans — and then got brought to life when we finally moved in — and it just evolved from there. The glitter wall is beyond magic and it really can’t be captured in photos no matter how hard I try! It’s such a special space and I hope my girls remember it as a sanctuary and the place they could be anything as they get older.
Biggest Challenge: BUDGET. I have expensive taste and was eyeing so many big ticket items to fill this house I couldn’t wait for. I was very particular and did not compromise for certain things such as the Anthropologie chesterfield couch, but the ABC Home overdyed rug… well that I probably will never be able to have, and that’s okay — I’ve worked around it. Some stuff is vintage, some stuff is hand-me-downs, but for me it’s all how it comes together and the pairing.
Proudest DIY: Hmmm, well up until recently I would have said my custom “too shea” lip wallpaper that I purchased and installed from Spoonflower. But recently I was inspired by a wallpaper that I’d been loving but the scale was just off for the space I was thinking (our cathedral ceiling living room wall that houses a “Let’s Stay Home” Sign, which funny enough I purchased PRE PANDEMIC less than three months before!) So instead of settling for the wrong scale, I took to the wall with paint and did a hand painted mural in the same color way and feel (it’s all brushstrokes). I’m really pleased with how it came out and it all came together very quickly — probably a total of three and a half hours for all layers.
Biggest Indulgence: Probably the couch. It’s the chesterfield sofa from Anthropologie in an beautiful orange-y red. I HAD TO HAVE IT. It paired with the console unit behind it were probably the two items I was set on as they separated the foyer from the living area. 100% worth every penny — I love that thing every time I see it. Other than that, the three chandeliers that hang over my heirloom farm table were a splurge but again so worth it. Lighting is important — if I had my way the [recessed lighting] would never go on!
Is there something unique about your home or the way you use it? Hmm, well the lit spinning disco ball and “dance floor” is probably a bit unique, although disco balls are popping up in home decor all the time now and man that just makes me so happy. Our newest addition is the Preway vintage fireplace. I’ve always known the space in that corner would have a gas stove but it took us this long to get it in place, so the main living room has always had swivel chairs opposite the couch with the design that the space could be used for viewing the TV, checking out the backyard through the 8-foot sliding doors, socializing with people in the kitchen, or swiveling to see the crackling fire in the cozy corner.
What are your favorite products you have bought for your home and why? I am a rug fanatic — I mean I would just keep buying and layering them. I got a beautiful runner from Etsy for my kitchen that tied the blue walls and magenta chairs together perfectly. But rugs don’t have to be expensive (I say to remind myself I can live without that ABC home overdyed beauty from 2016). I have found some of my favorites on websites like Overstock or Wayfair. Rugs are a great way to add color that can be changed. I have seasonal rugs — like one that comes out for winter and the other for spring in the space between the kitchen and living room where my kids Lucite table and chairs are set up — they can help divide a space and change the feel in an instant.
Please describe any helpful, inspiring, brilliant, or just plain useful small space maximizing and/or organizing tips you have: Everything does have its place. My best piece of advice would be for kids toys — invest in clear containers and a cabinet that can hide them! We also have the clear containers for our pantry, although that takes daily clean up to keep it tidy with tiny hands in and out all day.
Finally, what’s your absolute best home secret or decorating advice? FIND STUFF YOU LOVE AND SURROUND YOURSELF WITH IT — your home should be the most uplifting, relaxing space — it’s where you can be authentically you 100% of the time. To do that I think we all need to let ourselves show more.
This house tour’s responses were edited for length and clarity.
by Furnishly | Jul 24, 2021 | Design Inspiration, Style
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Name: Claire Swindale
Location: Blackheath — Southeast London
Size: 1,500 square feet
Years lived in: 18 years, owned
Wallpaper and fabric pattern designer and artist Claire Swindale first shared her wildly wonderful and wallpapered home in her Apartment Therapy house tour a few years ago. The pink Vivienne Westwood patterned wallpaper that covered her living room walls in her first tour is still there today, but many of the other rooms in the home have been updated, this time with her own wallpaper designs.
A fun room transformation that’s happened over the last few years is in the main bedroom, which actually features walls WITHOUT wallpaper.
Favorite Element: Discovering the walls, which were under the old wallpaper. Then realizing that the headboard I’d found and intended to upcycle, was just perfect the way it was, with MY walls.
Biggest Indulgence: I spent the most money on my bed linen. A new duvet, in two clip-able layers, and Egyptian Cotton Sheets, definitely worth the treat. We spend far too much time in bed, so it should be a welcoming place and a reward for a hard day’s work/fun.
What most people get wrong about using color in their home: By not following their OWN taste, copying from Instagram and Pinterest too literally. Love a style, use your OWN objects and your own take on it. It’s YOUR home.
What are the biggest tricks/secrets to using color in decor? I think having a link between them all, something(s) to ground them all.
What’s your absolute best home secret or decorating advice? Be confident — even adventurous. Go for it, aim higher than your vision, treat yourself. It’s your haven, statement, and your story.
Room updates weren’t the only thing Claire got up to during quarantine… she is also self-publishing her first book, “Not Afraid of Colour” that features drawings, patterns, doodles and more that she completed during lockdown.
This submission’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
Adrienne Breaux
House Tour Editor
Adrienne loves architecture, design, cats, science fiction and watching Star Trek. In the past 10 years she’s called home: a van, a former downtown store in small town Texas and a studio apartment rumored to have once been owned by Willie Nelson.
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by Furnishly | Jul 19, 2021 | Design Inspiration, Style
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Name: Tiffany Miller-Baker, husband, son, three dogs, and a cat (moved to NY recently)
Location: Upper West Side — New York, New York
Type of home: Brownstone apartment
Size: 1,000 square feet
Years lived in: 1 year, renting
Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: The pre-war brownstone apartment sits in the heart of the Upper West Side. Being a small rental, I found ways to create a vibrant and functional space without disrupting the existing materials we aren’t able to change. I love to play with pattern mixing and bold colors.
I’m originally from Kansas, but prefer to be considered a New Yorker! Two years ago I picked up the family, three dogs, and cat and followed my dream to be a New York interior designer. It has a nice ring to it! My son is getting ready for his senior year in high school. My husband is a real estate agent by day and stand up comedian by night. It’s always a fun time in our household!
My identity is reflected in my home by using fun colors and a bit of a mid-century vibe. We love art, so I often switch out pieces for fun. I have a rather large art stash hidden! Moving to New York I found my style changed a bit to mix the architecture of the buildings with my interior choices. I LOVE it.
What is your favorite room and why? My favorite room is our living room. It’s such a grand space for how tiny the apartment is. The ceilings are very high, and the fireplace is a gorgeous focal point for the fam to gather and chat about our day, or listen to my hubby practice his latest stand up routine. It’s the heart of our home. The animals, aka our zoo, would agree too!
What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? I love Joybird! I chose my sofa and lounge chairs from here. I’m obsessed with removable wallcovering, which is perfect for a rental. All of our wallcovering comes from Chasing Paper.
Any advice for creating a home you love? Start your home by taking inspiration from your favorite things. It’s always great to surround yourself with pieces that make you happy and inspire you to create the life you want to live. Always strive to elevate your life and your space.
This submission’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
by Furnishly | Jul 17, 2021 | Design Inspiration, Style
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Name: Jill Porter and Steve Larson (plus two kids)
Location: Carroll Gardens — Brooklyn, NYC
Size: 1,440 square feet
Years Lived In: 16 years, owned
When we purchased our apartment 16 years ago, we never thought we’d live here more than five years or so. The space was incredibly rational and neutral, lacking the pre-war detailing found in neighboring brownstones, or the quirks and idiosyncrasies found in older homes. Over the years, however, we’ve created a home that we adore, and it’s hard to imagine living anywhere else in Brooklyn! What the apartment lacks in original details, we made up for in our finishes and furnishings, as our furniture, art, and objects all feel deeply personal. They’ve not only been the backdrop to countless family get-togethers, birthday celebrations, and work-from-home Zoom calls, but spark memories of trips, adventures, and moments in time.
Unlike most new NYC apartments, our eat-in-kitchen is separate from the rest of the living spaces, so it doesn’t bleed into the rest of the apartment. I love having this separation, as being in the kitchen feels like a getaway from the rest of our space. When we recently renovated the kitchen, we kept the separation and opted to make the kitchen even smaller. By altering the layout, we traded free space for more efficient cabinetry. The end result is a kitchen that punches above its weight. It feels like a well-designed jewel box! Furthermore, the separate kitchen makes entertaining is a breeze. We host countless holiday and birthday celebrations and never feel overwhelmed by people, kids, or dogs. See more of Jill’s style on the Jill Porter Architect website.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My Style: Crisp, modern, joyful.
Inspiration: I’ve spent a lot of time in the painting studio, so I’m always inspired by art.
Favorite Element: Light! With so many south- and west-facing windows, our apartment is awash in sunlight all year round.
Biggest Challenge: Family living, with all its stray Legos, scraps of paper, and charging cables, can overwhelm a space, so we opted to add color and pattern to camouflage the way our family lives. Slick interiors are lovely, but incredibly unforgiving. Layering patterns and color enables us to truly live in our space without feeling like one out of place book or coffee cup will ruin the interior composition.
Biggest Indulgence: Art! Buying art always feels like an indulgence, yet every piece brings me so much joy.
Best Advice: When it comes to space and stuff, value quality over quantity. And if you think your stuff has reached a tipping point, give it a sense of order; repetition of anything can turn the ordinary into a design statement.
What’s your best home secret? Our home is small, but well organized, so we know where to drop backpacks, shoes, and homework. There is a place for everything! With every project, I try to understand how clients move through their space and day—from when they enter the front door, to when they put their head on the pillow. If I create an interior that supports that script, there should be no misplaced keys, glasses, or dirty socks.
This house tour’s responses were edited for length and clarity.
by Furnishly | Jun 25, 2021 | Design Inspiration, Style
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Name: Logan West (@mrloganwest on TikTok)
Location: Columbus Circle — New York, New York
Size: 500 square feet
Type of Home: 1bd/1ba Apartment
Time lived in: 6 months, renting
Logan West, who’s Manager of Digital Marketing and Strategy for The School of The New York Times and Sotheby’s Institute of Art, had been living in a studio on the tenth floor of this building for a year and a half before the pandemic. During COVID, Logan says he was able to negotiate a deal to upgrade to a larger unit, and moved into this 500-square-foot one-bedroom apartment six months ago. “I love the natural light and the layout is perfect for post-COVID cocktail parties,” he shares. “I am really looking forward to entertaining in a place that truly feels like an extension of me. The natural light is amazing in this unit and is paired with a stunning view of the cityscape. This apartment is a dream that I never thought I could secure before I was thirty.”
“Each room feels like an extension of the next with a unique visual cadence. I was drawn to both texture and color and loved how the dynamic wallpapers felt connected with a hand-drawn element. I worked with neutral tones layered with pops of yellow to make the space feel lighter. The goal for my home was to strike a balance between playful and dramatic while staying sophisticated.”
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My Style: I’d like to think I’m a maximalist who values minimalism. I am drawn to carefully curated spaces that make you look twice and spark conversation. I’m a sucker for art of all sizes and love pieces with character. Sourcing unique pieces is key, whether they have been passed down from family, selected from a thrift store, or purchased brand new. Every piece feels like an extension of me and when you pour your soul into a space, people respond to that energy.
Inspiration: I don’t have any specific accounts that I am inspired by, but I would offer the following: bold lines, unique sight lines, intentional color, and natural elements.
Favorite Element: I love my view and natural light but if I had to choose one object it would be the $20 sconces in my living room that my twin brother and his partner thrifted for me in Denver, Colorado. They feel as if they could be original with the apartment.
Also, I have three huge closets in this apartment. One unique element of this space is when the building changed the layouts of these apartments, they kept parts of the old architecture footprint. The old front door of this apartment is located in my storage closet and could act as a second front door if needed.
Biggest Challenge: Finding mid-century modern-inspired dining chairs without paying over $600 for them. I knew I wanted unique dining chairs that would catch your eye as you walked in the room. These yellow chairs were found on Amazon for half the price I was seeing on other websites. They are extremely comfortable and lead to yellow being a primary accent color in my main living space.
Proudest DIY: My wallpaper is my proudest DIY and it comes in three different forms. I have a mural in my front entrance that provides a surprising element when you immediately walk in the door. There is a traditional step-and-repeat pattern in the living room that makes the wall truly pop and provides depth. Then, in the bedroom, I divided the wall in half and used matte black wallpaper to bring a unique visual element to the room. We had to tape off the design, lay out the wallpaper, and then cut the design out by hand in one swift cut. Nerve-wracking! But so worth the outcome.
Oh! Did I mention it’s removable? When the day comes that I move out, it will all peel off like a giant sticker.
Biggest Indulgence: The wallpaper was expensive. I spent just over $500 on that alone for all the walls. It was important to me to invest in a major part of the space that was going to give it the most character.
Is there something unique about your home or the way you use it? The way I designed my entryway has naturally become an extension of my living space. So many of my friends and I end up in the hallway engaging in conversation and I didn’t expect the space to evolve like that. It just goes to show how no space in a home should be wasted.
What are your favorite products you have bought for your home and why? I love my dining table. It is sleek in design and also offers extra storage outside of my kitchen. It was a practical purchase that has evolved in every space I’ve had. In my studio, it would fold down when I wasn’t using it but, in this space, its sleek lines are on full display.
I also would be lying to myself if I didn’t say my Peloton. After COVID I was determined to build a home gym in my one-bedroom, and this has offered the perfect routine to start my day. If I’m not running in the park, I am on my Peloton.
Please describe any helpful, inspiring, brilliant, or just plain useful small space maximizing and/or organizing tips you have: When you are dealing with really small square footage you should ask yourself how each space can have multiple uses or adapt to new environments. This question allowed for me to be really intentional with my furniture purchases. My table completely folds down and could be moved out of the way if I needed it to. My bedframe can accommodate storage underneath it when I run out of closet space. I opted for a loveseat vs. a larger traditional couch to allow for it to fit in a variety of future spaces.
What’s your absolute best home secret or decorating advice? We have all held that item and said, “I love this, but what would I do with it?” My advice is buy that item. It will absolutely find a place in your home because you were attracted to it and as you work to build your space it should reflect all of the things you love and nothing else.
This house tour’s responses were edited for length and clarity.
Chinasa Cooper
Contributor
Chinasa is a photographer from New York City who loves to capture those details that make your event, your product, your home true to you.
