Name: Hakarl and Jili
Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Size: 800 sq. ft., 1 bedroom condo
Years Lived In: 2.5 years
When it comes to design, and life, Hakarl says he avoids anything "too predictable." Examples that come to mind? He hand-painted a white garden fence on the dining room wall. He and his partner are raising their twin girls together with a lesbian couple who live in an apartment a few floors up.
Loyal Apartment Therapy readers may remember Hakarl's incredible hand-drawn wall murals and his excellent design style from house tours past, Apartment Therapy's second book, or the 2006 Small Cool Contest.
Since I last saw Hakarl, he and his partner have spent years negotiating the challenges and anticipating the perks of what it would be like to raise a child with Hakarl's old friend and her partner. It was important that all four could become friends and work together as a family. When everyone was comfortable with the arrangement, they took the plunge and ended up with twins! During the planning years, Williamsburg had transformed into a child-friendly neighborhood. Both couples were able to stay in the neighborhood they loved, but decided to stop renting and buy units in the same building.
The transition to parenthood was significant for all involved, but Hakarl had one additional task at hand — creating a new home in a bland, white-box condo. Hakarl refers to it as "condo shame." He would have loved a place that came with history and character, but has found a way to create these from scratch. In the bedroom, Hakarl added picture frame molding painted white against a steel gray wall. In the dining room, he painted a wall mural that evokes an outdoor garden, and in the office corner, the family story is told through trompe l'oeil picture frames with photographs affixed to each.
The girls spend their days at Hakarl and Jili's, and then sleep upstairs with their moms, who own a 2-bedroom apartment. Creating a child-friendly home isn't too different from a child-free one for Hakarl. He and Jili are committed to living in NYC, so they are past the 'disposable furniture' phase. If Hakarl owns something he likes, he is going to want to look at it. The only thing in storage at this point is the china. Hakarl and Jili have "made peace with [our] stuff" and understand that it is going to get dirty. Part of the girls' education is "to learn to respect things," Hakarl says.
This is the first apartment Hakarl has owned, and he loves that he can take (even more) liberties with its redesign. It's hard to gaze in any direction and not see a gorgeous vignette, a design innovation, or an impressive DIY project. His use of color is fantastic. White-box no more, this home is both sophisticated and a whimsical wonderland for adult and child alike.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
Style: Fun, vibrant, comfortable and personal.
Inspiration: My mind is always "on". A few weeks ago I caught a glimpse of an amazing interior set on TV — 3 days later I had sat through the entire first season of 70's TV show McMillan & Wife to get every camera angle of their house. It was well worth it: now i have enough home improvement projects in my head to keep me going for a couple of months…
Favorite Element: The pops of colors throughout the space.
Biggest Challenge: We had outgrown our party pad, and I knew that our new space would have to work for a whole new set of family activities. Fast-forward 2 years: instead of a bar cart, you'll now find stacks of coloring books, yoga mats, and a mobile crafts station. Our friends still love to drop by, but nowadays it's more about family dinner and games.
What Friends Say: You drew these by hand? Do I have to take off my shoes?
Biggest Embarrassment: The bathroom — it hasn't changed since we moved in.
Proudest DIY: Our wall of hand drawn picture frames. It's the perfect backdrop for everything from our parents' wedding pictures to the girls' first ultrasounds.
Biggest Indulgence: The couch from Room &Board — hands down the most comfortable piece of furniture we've ever owned.
Best Advice: Let some time pass by before you commit to big-ticket items. When we weren't sure about a bed I found online, I outlined the headboard with masking tape on the wall and kept it up for a couple of weeks before being convinced it was the right size. Wish I would have taken measurements of the elevator, too…
Dream Source/Resources: I'm in love with ASH Home, an impeccably curated furniture/art/accessory store and recent addition to our hood (147 Metropolitan Ave). Every time I visit I see something new, and I rarely leave empty handed.
Resources:
DINING ROOM
- • Lamp: Future Perfect
• Table: Horseman Antiques
• Red Stokke Chairs: Craigslist
• White cabinets: Ikea
OFFICE CORNER
- • Blue Dot Desk: Future Perfect
• Chair: Two Jakes
• Lamp: The Junk Shop
LIVING ROOM
- • Shelving unit: Housing Works
• Rug: overstock.com
• Couch: Room & Board
• Pink Log Table: Future Perfect
• Kids Chairs: Ikea
• Red Crafts Cart: Housing Works
ENTRYWAY
- • Bronze coat hooks: Urban Outfitters
• Mirror: Ugly Luggage
• Console Table: The Junk Shop
• Zebra Ottoman: Tepper Auction House
• Lampshade: DIY
• Wallpaper: found on the street (!)
BEDROOM
- • Chair, Rug, Bronze Bedside Table, Lamp: Jonathan Adler
• Bed: overstock.com
• Covers: Michael Kors
• Easel: found on the street
• Lamps: Housing Works
• Curtains: fabricguru.com
For more details on Hakarl's kitchen, check out Hakarl and Jili's Room for Family on thekitchn.com
Thanks Hakarl!
(Images: Jill Slater)
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I love the hand drawn frames! I'm always having trouble finding the right size frames for things. What kind of marker/paint did you use to make sure it doesn't smudge??
I like this: "Hakarl and Jili have "made peace with [our] stuff" and understand that it is going to get dirty. Part of the girls' education is "to learn to respect things," Hakarl says."
LOVE the office area with the red desk and drawn frames. Such a cool idea that I want to use ASAP! So I'm guessing since the girls sleep upstairs with the Moms, this apartment doesn't have a room for them? Bummer there are no cute nursery pictures... Have Hakarl and Jili contributed to the decor in the Mom's apartment as well? It would be interesting to compare the two apartments. This is indeed a unique family living situation.
Love this space and the fact that it's so different! And the family arrangement sounds fun and fulfilling! What's the piece of furniture in the living room with the black and white chevrons? I can't make out whether it's storage or not? It kind of reminds me of a bar cabinet I recently refurbished:
http://bunniesandstripes.blogspot.fr/2012/04/stripes-and-sort-of-chevrons.html
Love the condo, especially the gallery frame wall. So neat! The little family unit they created also sounds great - assuming things go as well as they sound, it must be really neat for those girls!
I loved everything about this space, but the orange console table was a gorgeous find! I want it! And the idea of using picture frames to add molding was genius.
This is such an inspiring house tour because of the transformation from boring cookie cutter to something unique and special. The frame wall is amazing and my favorite. I do wonder how you attached the pictures. Some sort of modge podge or wallpaper glue?
Also, kudo's to your non conventional family. Double the mommy and daddy for those girls, lucky ducks. :)
@SHERRIEAKIN, great question. Additionally, even though the girls don't sleep here, do they have "space" within this condo that they can call their own?
Where can I find the white curtains shown in the living room? Have been looking for something like this for a while but couldn't find it....
That chevron console table/vent cover/sideboard/whatever is stunning. But really, what is that? It's great.
@sherrieakin and @duane hill - read the post
gorgeous space. love all the before & after photos...and there were a lot of great diy ideas (hand-drawn photo frame wall, hello??) that i will definitely be trying out.
That chevron thing looks like an air conditioning unit to me.
I'm pretty sure they have wallpaper with the frames on it that you could use to imitate this.
@JBNYC, I did read the post and there is no comment on a dedicated space for the kids. @JBNYC, please also see my comment way upthread. I think it is a valid question.
How delightful to finally see a non-heterosexual family on this site. Sad however that we don't see the girls, the moms, and even both dads. That's very sad - how many times have I had to view house tours with mothers and fathers and kids going crazy in every shot? More of this family please!
Anyone know where I can find the fur throw at the edge of the bed?
Yes, I too want to know the source for the throw on the bed.
wow -- thank you guys for all the great feedback. guess i did a pretty bad job with my source list, so here it goes:
EBRON -- the throw is a sheepskin and i ordered it on ebay. they come in different sizes, ours is a quarto.
PI -- that chevron thing is a rather chunky heater/AC unit. i used ductape to create the pattern.
GISELA -- these are string curtains. you can find them at (www.shopwildthings.com/stcuwi18stpe.html)
ZOSH -- we use double-sided tape for the pictures on the gallery wall.
DUANE -- we have a corner where we keep all the girl's books/games/crafts supplies. they usually take over the entire apartment, so instead of dividing the space, we've all learned to share and play the "clean up" game with them at the end of the day.
kepierso24 -- i used a regular black sharpie. the ink got absorbed right away, so there were no smutges.
hope that helps! cheers, hakarl
Don't paint your bathroom yellow! Our bathrooms are yellow and I can never get my make-up right in them because the colour is reflected, nastily, on my pale skin. Don't do it! :) (Your place is, otherwise, awesomely cool!)
I remember the previous tours! How great to see your new home. Love it. Oh and yes, why are there no pictures of the girls? ;)
I love your home. I want to have a wall paper with the photo flames. Why don't you plan and produce?
nice & quite different from the old ones, its impressive type of furniture i like it :)
Wow. That is just insanely stylish and cool. I love how so many of the ideas aren't high-cost, just high creativity. What a wonderful home.
It's great because it doesn't say "Don't touch because we spent a bazillion bucks" or overrun with "Our kids are creative" crap. It's also not filled with every example of "classic furniture"; save the desk and chair.
Really like the framed picture of the windows or doorways & the 'tie' pillow.
I looked at this again today, and I really love the frames wall. I'd love to do that. Graham & Brown does a similar wallpaper, though not with as much diversity in the type of frames you see: http://www.grahambrown.com/us/product/52050/Frames+%3A+Black+%26+White+Wallpaper
Renters who can't put up wallpaper could glue this on a sheet of wood.
I used to own those three mustard-colored vases until one day the shelf decided to fall off the wall. Can I have yours? :(
Love everything. Especially the fact that the owner shops at Housing Works. I pop in to at least 1 location on a weekly basis.
What a fabulous home tour! The space is terrific and inspiring -- it doesn't look completely out of our reach, like some do. And the photos give both wide-angle views of the rooms and close-ups of the vignettes -- and cutlines to boot. Way to go, AT! One quibble with the last photo, of the closet ... The cutline says, "Hakarl painted the inside of the closet gray to match the walls and it has a tremendous impact!" The interior top of the closet, on my monitor, looks bright yellow; the rest appears to be a brown wood tone. Has the closet since been painted gray, maybe? Guys, thanks for sharing such a marvelous space!!
Incredibly creative guy! I loved the bold area rug in the living room. I always admire someone who dares to be unconventional and succeeds.
Hi, where did you get the rug that's in between the kitchen and dining room? I love it, it's just fabulous.
Those lucky little girls to have 2 daddy's and 2 mommy's and to live in such a beautiful apartment. I too would love to see their sleeping rooms and the mom's apartment. I love the frame wall and the area designated for the girls so they have their own space albeit small. I love the string curtains and the bedroom is very elegant.
This is one of my favorite tours. I have started to recognize the same pieces of furniture and similar arrangements in tour after tour so it is lovely to see originality, creativity and fun. I especially appreciate the attention to texture.
Ah....awesome - I loved it the first time I saw. It's fab. Can you share that where I can find all the home decoration accessories like curtains etc. used by you in your home?
Its gorgeous home decoration idea.
Love it!!
Thanks for all your comments -- this has been a great experience!
DAISY -- the curtains in the living room are called string curtains (www.shopwildthings.com/stcuwi18stpe.html), the dark grey upper curtains are bedsheets. i was amazed to find that them in the right color and length for our ceiling height!
shasha8 -- the rug is from jonathan adler.
meowlady -- good catch! i painted the inside of the closet in a bright yellow, not grey. i was surprised how big of an impact it makes in an otherwise grey room.
I love this tour! It shows so much that you can do with a box unit. My favorites are the wall system, the hand painted frames in the 'office section', and the detailing they added to the AC monstronsity and the bedroom. Great job you guys!
Absolutely love Hakarl and Jili's home. Apartmenttherapy, you do an amazing job finding such unique and special spaces to share with your readers!
Thank you!
www.craikcreative.com
I have been looking around for wallpaper for a little bit now and stumbled upon a similar or maybe identical print to the office area wallpaper featured here, available from "Graham & Brown". Since it was super creative and from the comments most people loved it, thought I'd share! :)
http://www.grahambrown.com/us/product/52050/Frames+%3A+Black+%26+White+Wallpaper