apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

AT Survey:

My/Our style: We like to think the basis of our style is the motto “never live a beige life” – our home is a marriage of contemporary art, 1950s architecture, & comfort with a healthy dose of eclecticism.

Inspiration: Our art work has really inspired our choices and design – we have bought pieces of art that we’ve loved and then crafted the home around. We bought the worst house in a good neighborhood and have slowly transformed it into a little piece of art itself. In the bones of the 1950s architecture, we saw a way to honor the home’s origins while bringing it into the 21st Century. The bold colors of the southwest, its sunsets, sunrises, and native cultures have also provided inspiration. We also loved the idea of improving on this older home, and not copping out and moving to the suburbs to find something bigger and better – in that sense we feel that we have done something truly “green”. Our home is really a reflection of our personalities.

Favorite Element: It’s hard to chose – every change we’ve made has been our favorite for a while. Right now we love the new outdoor design and the bold color choices we’ve made. Every day we are struck with how much we love the juxtaposition of the sky and the pool and the new structure. From a practical standpoint we love that we’ve created a space where it’s easy to throw a party and invite 100 people – entertain everyone comfortably and with ease, and clean up quickly when it’s over. Also – we love that as we look around we see this wonderful mix of things – some high end purchases, alongside things picked up at at a yard sale.

Biggest Challenge: Figuring out how to get rid of poor design – low ceilings and long dark hallways, while honoring what is good about the original 50s intent. There were some really poor choices made as additions to the home in the 60s and the 70s so our job has been to identify and eliminate those where possible.

What Friends Say: The first time someone visits the house there is almost always surprise. It is comfortable and a great place for entertaining and once people come over to visit, we usually have a hard time getting them to leave!

Biggest Embarrassment: We have no door on the laundry room, a weird pocket door on a bedroom, a bedroom you enter from the kitchen, and a closet/storage area that I hide behind a large hutch because it needs a cool door and I haven’t quite figured that out yet. The jury is still out on the 1950s pink tile in the kids’ bathroom. Some days I love it, some days I think it’s ridiculous.

Proudest DIY: The entire family room, master bedroom and master bath were entirely our design, and with few exception, our own work product. Also, Lezlee designed the couch herself, and we love how it turned out.

Biggest Indulgence: Some of the art work was a little pricey – the Jaime Valero Perandones was a little crazy of us. But we really love it.

Best advice: Buy only what you love

Dream source: We’re absolutely addicted to Craigslist and found treasures. If it’s a one-of-a-kind handmade piece then we’re much more drawn to it then if it were from a fancy store. Doesn’t matter if it’s free or way too expensive for us.

Resources:

Hardware: Restoration Hardware

Appliances: LG, Hotpoint ( I have to put in a plug that our fridge has a fabulous ice maker and water dispenser).

Furniture: Ikea, Craig’s List, Antique Stores, Yard Sales, Pruitt’s, Ethan Allen, Passport Imports, & Cost Plus

Accessories: Cornelia Park (Biltmore), La Grande Orange, Cucumberz, & Target

Lighting: Ikea, Home Depot

Window Treatments: Cost Plus

Beds: Ikea, antiques

Artwork:

• Art from Art One Gallery, Inc. (Scottsdale, AZ)
  
• Meyer Gallery (Park City, UT)
  
• Terzian Gallery (Park City, UT)
  
• Klaudia Marr Gallery (Santa Fe, NM)
  
• Bonner David Gallery (Scottsdale, AZ)
  
• G2 gallery (Scottsdale, AZ)
  
• Van Gogh’s Ear (Prescott, AZ)
  
• Ambient (Phoenix, AZ)

Additional artists: Kirk Hays, Brian Boner, Justin Taylor, Norm MacDonald, , Jason Wolfe, Aaron Dunham, Christina Ramirez, Brian Kershisnik, Daniel Shepherd, David Adix and Melanie Corradi, John Tuomisto-Bell, Monika Van Heal, Jon Babbitt, Richard Shrewsbury, Matt Dickson, Craig Cully, Jason Stillman, Anthony Zeh, & Erik Lyon.e.

Paint: Dunn Edwards almost exclusively

Flooring: Ikea

Rugs and Carpets: Ikea

Tiles and Stone: Tile Imports

Other: Upholstery by Dale Chesier of Faith Upholstery, all metal work by Aaron Dunham, outdoor landscape design by Matt Gonshorowski

(Thanks, Lezlee & Kirk!)

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