Name: Kyle Freeman of Cloud 9 Organize & Redesign and blogger for Apartment Therapy Boston
Location: Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
Years lived in: Owned for 7 years
>>Enter Kyle's Gallery
As part of the audition process to become an Apartment Therapy Boston blogger a year ago, the finalists were asked to submit a house tour. Nervously, I submitted my own — Kyle’s Jamaica Plain Gem. A few fun and surprising experiences emerged from that gamble, including a regular gig on Apartment Therapy and the tour being spotted by Better Homes & Garden's Decorating magazine — my apartment has been professionally photographed and will be featured in an upcoming issue (date TBD). In anticipation of the magazine photo shoot, I went into overdrive, shifting from my ordinary role of "serial re-arranger" to full-blown "re-styler", making significant changes to my space...
The one thing that hasn't changed in the past year is my addiction to saturated color. In these photos, the baseline color palette is amped up by the addition of fresh flowers. One of the perks of having your home photographed by a magazine — they fill it with fresh flowers! However, in the past year I've made small attempts to temper the abundant color with injections of grounding neutrals. I changed the daybed covers from white to "clay"; sewed a new kitchen "skirt" and window seat cushion, shifting both of them from multi-colored fabrics to matching browns. Those are just a couple of the myriad changes I've made over the past year!
Since I already answered the Apartment Therapy House Tour Survey in the original tour, I'll focus here on highlighting some of the specific changes I made to my space this year. Even for me, this was a highly unusual degree of re-arranging/re-decorating — learning that your home is going to be photographed by a national magazine inspires you to do lots of things you've been meaning to do...like hang light fixtures!
Here are just some of the changes and additions:
• Other than the living room, every room has been dramatically rearranged (and truth be told, the arrangements have already changed since these pictures were taken!)
• In general, I've added more decorative layers (lamps, end tables, artwork, treasures) to my space in the past year, which in the photos might feel like "too much" but for me feels playful, nuanced, and enriching. Most of the objects, furniture, and decorations I acquired in this time were secondhand — from Boomerangs in Jamaica Plain, the Cambridge Antique Market, The Massachusetts Antiques Co-op in Waltham, Craigslist, the Canal Street Antique Mall in Lawrence, and Downstairs at Felton Antiques in Waltham. Don't be intimidated by the word "antiques" — most of my "antiques" are under $50, often much less.
• Added ceiling fixtures! My favorite is the red vintage one in my office which I got for $40 at Birch Street House and Garden in Roslindale. You should definitely check this place out!
• Despite people's disbelief at the number of pillows they saw in the original house tour, my mom made a few more! These were placed at the window seat in the kitchen; plus we added a more playful graphic pillow to the arrangement in the living room to break up the silky, formality of the other pillows.
• Took doors off hanging kitchen cabinet to see the colorful dishes inside.
• Reupholstered the living room ottoman (which was originally a $20 treasure from Boomerangs!). This was my first time having something professionally reupholstered (I usually try to do things myself) and it really is a fun treat to have someone else do it so well! I highly recommend Melo and Sons in Somerville.
• Added plants!
• Used old dining table as my new desk and created a new dining table from a vintage top, vintage chairs, and a CB2 base.
• Further indulged my embarrassing chair fetish, by placing more occasional chairs around the space. I have people over quite a bit so the chairs do come in handy!
• Added curtains in doorways between dining room and kitchen to break up the straight-shot view from one end of the apartment to the other.
• Added a couple more photo walls which make me really happy.
Until next year...
(Images: Kyle Freeman)
Which Wall Color Gives the Best Sleep?
Ana Creates a Community at Home
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Z2 iPod Dock and Wi...
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
Recipe: Spring Fruit and Nut Tabouli
I love your light fixture in the dining room.
Full of light, colorful and a lot of fun! My favorites are the kitchen and your bedroom. Lots of happiness. :)
Depth, layers, textures, colors - it's like a visual splurge to look at. Only got better with time...
Kyle, thank you for using "I"...not the royal 'we'.
Your home is fresh, funky, inspiring, inviting, and personal, and it was good to read a post that felt equally so.
Love to see a layout of your home.
I am confused about how many rooms you have!
Colourful, inviting and full of joy. Thanks for sharing!
I love your use of color. As a renter, painting the walls is not an option for me, but your use of color in other places has given me a dose of creative inspiration. Thanks for sharing your beautiful home!
talk about EYE CANDY!!! absolutely gorgeous !!
I think your place is my favorite of all time on AT. It totally inspires me to do all the things I want to do with my apt.! Thank you for sharing your home!
I love the bold use of color and pattern here. Somehow it looks cheery and cozy and slightly exotic rather than kitschy or visually cluttered.
Huge place, though. I counted at least six couches.
That's a lot of overlapping squares, my friend.
Kyle your place is breath taking.... You have inspired me! Thank you for sharing your beautiful home. I think you have by far the most beautiful home that I have seen on AT.
Cheers,
Dani B
Oh how I miss visiting the all the lovely thrift, antique and secondhand stores you mentioned! New York has got nothing on Boston in that respect. Very cool home.
I am in love! And it doesn't happen that often! it's fresh, cheerful, without trying too hard. It's got a soul and very individual taste... It is definitely a place I would love to come back to from work! Great job :)
Probably my favorite home and my favorite blogger on AT. So personal, fun, and fresh. It's unpretentious and inspirational. Thank you!
This is so fun and colourful and beautiful, but I have to admit I really liked the original look. I believe I even bookmarked it in my favourites. But if I hadn't seen the original setup, I would still like what you've done with it now.
Wow, this is way busy. I would cut down on the stuff a bit, personally. I do like it, as I liked the original self-promotional house tour you posted. Great job!
This is perfect, Love it.
So cheerful and fresh. And you're not afraid of STUFF. I love STUFF, pictures, photos, stuff on the walls. You have it all, but the place doesn't look cluttered. Merely lived in.
Do I get attacked if I say that I like the original a bit better? I dunno, I liked the colors more -- the strong red and green with pops of orange of last year's spoke to me.
Wow. What a great place. I like both versions and love to see someone have fun decorating (and re-decorating) their place. It is truly inspirational and you show a sophisticated eye for blending old and new, fancy and not-so-fancy.
I second the person who praised you for saying *I* instead of *we*.
I love the furniture & accesories in this place, but it's way too crowded & cluttered for me. i.e. bed/counch in the kitchen...it's just too much.
Love the yucca (?) plant in the dining room. I'm curious, did you get it at Ikea?
Great colors, but a bit too much stuff for me. The place does look huge though, I can't believe it's only 1000 sf!
thanks to your coloring, textural and layering efforts.. as well as your fellow chair-fetish, boston is officially.. not boring and i.. am finally free of any lingering chair-fetish insecurity w/in myself. loves it.
and finally... i get to learn where the rectangular dining table ended up. hard to believe it's the same one. *nods head yes* to victorian style gold-patterned chair in dining room; adds needed anchor, butt space, and fabulous visual interest. plant, good. green chair against french door, hurts me good.
NOW ms. k, will you *please* tell me:
- what color/who mixed the lower wall color, dining room AND
- where curtain fabric discovered?...
*pretty* please?.. before i settle on asparagus?
AND (sorry, you rock, what can i say..).. what colors:
- office gold/yellow?
- guest room/studio colors blueygreen & yellergreen?
congrats, btw!!
ohmygoshiloveit. i feel so sad though, for the 2 itsy bitsy teensy weensy square inches of floor which never see the sunlight. oh wait, that wasn't your place. *goofy grin* *sigh* *so purdy*
wow, I love this place, very stylish and put together plus I love all the colors and estetics.
This was a fun house tour. I really liked seeing the "before" and the "recent". I am amazed at how many things you have crammed in there without it feeling *too* stuffed!
The only thing that really drives me nuts is that fan above the bed!
You have changed my impression of JP that it's a refuse for cluttery hippies. Very nice!
I want to steel your green Allsteel (?) desk.
The 3 sofa's together are wonderful, bright and cheery.
The more I look, the more I like, I love the main living space with the 3 couches, the pillows are amazing and the treasures all over the place, mixing old with new, totally my style, very hip, great job!
the white and gray really lighten the space.
You have a great eye. Too much stuff for my own taste, but really impressive how you've made it look unified and tasteful instead of cluttered. Amazing job.
Super happy and it's gorgeous! But there is a bit too much chairs and little tables for me (and my toes).
AWESOME! I live in Roslindale in a triple-decker, so this was so helpful for new configurations of furniture to fit those cozy Victorian proportions. I want to come over and have tea in your dining room. Can we be friends?? :) (Oops, I guess that's kind of scary to post on a blog. Just couldn't help myself.)
Thanks for the shout-out to Birch Street House & Garden, too. They are an amazing mainstay in our neighborhood and we would all love to see Elizabeth, the owner, keep it up in this tough economy.
Anyway, thanks again for the great tour and info. I look forward to following your blog from now on!
Your adorable white puppy is the best part of the whole tour!
Wow. This is more or less everything I love about AT style, and none of the annoying parts...
I adore the bright colors, and the whole place looks styled and pretty while still looking like I could actually be comfortable there.
I like the original better too - though this is also quite nice.
I liked both but I find I think the second version a little lighter feeling overall, even w/ the addition of a touch of gray to bridge the deep colors of the floors (living room carpeting, which I love BTW) and the draperies.
I liked how you moved your office into the studio/guest room where you can have a nice sized desk to do work.
Love all those colors and neither place feels cluttered as is but could probably stand a little paring down as well but either way it looks lived in and loved.
This house tour makes me happy.
You have great style and I love your colors. But there is just too much stuff stuffed in there. Maybe it would help if you rotated your things.
there's a lot to love about this place: the colors are beautiful, and the individual pieces are really interesting
i wonder about the placement of some of the furniture - like the kitchen table and the high stool and side table
also, can those leggy dining chairs move on the shag rug?
i guess i'm just a function geek
I agree with brighteyes, "Your home is fresh, funky, inspiring, inviting, and personal, and it was good to read a post that felt equally so."
GREAT home. Love the color.
edit, edit, edit
maybe it's just me, but I would take about half the furniture out. I think it'd look much more open. Esp, in the kitchen/eat-in area. I like the feel of the room with the gray sofa and the foyer the most because they seem to be edited down a bit.
the colors are awesome! esp the orange/red furniture and the white accents all over. very inspiring!
Love it! I am addicted to red/orange and yellow/green too. Those colors look great with the gray and a background. I tend to want dark brown as a background in my own house, but I am really liking the gray. You gave me a new idea!
Kylie-What is the green paint that is in the studio/guest room.
Absolutely wowee!
Love your apartment. My mother had the exact rocking chair that she inherited from her grandmother and it looks amazing in your house. My neice has the chair now and it has a red and white toile fabric on it, but after I show her your pictures she just may change it!
I've had your original white and orange sofas on my mind for the past few days wondering how I could recreate it so I'm really pleased to see the updates. Your home is simply beautiful. I love your use of colour - it's really blown me away. And your dog is adorable.
I love all the colors and layers! Please share, where did you get the kitchen light fixture? I really love it and would like to do something similar in my kitchen.
Brilliant! My favorite home on AT. Seriously beautiful.
Questions:
1) You seem to have raised the height of the table you moved from the dining room (last slide show) to the kitchen (this slide show). How? (And I wouldn't mind knowing where you sourced those stools, either. I've not seen ones with upholstery.)
2) Please, please, divulge info on the sofas in the dining room and your office. I'm keeping my fingers crossed they're not vintage finds. (Seriously... it's taking me 4ever to type this with crossed digits!)
3) I love the your use of curtains in doorways. How are they hung? (i.e. with what hardware? attached how? to sides or top of doorway?) (In some instances they look as if they're on tension rods, in others, they aren't.)
Kudos. Please do tell us all when the magazine issue is out.
If you ever have a garage sale, I'll fly out from CA to attend!!! I love your use of color over everything, especially the orange chair with orange upholstery!
Kyle-
Love the wire light fixture in the kitchen...can I find it somewhere?
Where did the black rocking chair come from? i have one exactly like it that was handed down through my family which i know nothing about and would appreciate any info on it. thanks!
Colors are great. I love the round table change and the lighting project in the hutch- really makes that nice sofa look even cooler. The table placement in the kitchen has a weird feel than before- but maybe it makes sense in person- still would be fun to lounge while food is cooking!
A lovely space with vibrant colors. I love the way you add color into these rooms.
My favorite accent colors, orange and fresh green. Love the look of lounging sofas with lots of pillows, but tend to want a better backrest when I sit. How long does it take to clean around all those chairs and little tables? In the mirrored cabinet, you could use fishing wire instead of brown string to hang the open wicker globes, they'd appear to float more.
I love the colors; the wall colors in your bedroom are an especially nice combination and it's nice to see a warm green these days.
Kyle, if I could live in one home from apartment therapy it would be yours! It's stunning yet so inviting. What a wonderful home you have. I love everything about it!
This is totally my style! It is modern but not cold. It is colorful and whimsical without being garish. It gives me a lot of ideas!
Kyle - I LOVE your place! I'm a newbie so I don't know if I'm breaking any rules or if folks answer questions but what color paints did you use in the living room and that gorgeous green bedroom? I'm moving to a new place on my own (after forever) and I'm allowed to paint to I'm going to town on it. (I have a white dog so I know your colors would match him - just gotta be sure they'll match my stuff!)
Can you please tell me what paint brand/color you used in your bedroom (greenish/yellow).....I love it.
you added plants!
great!
while i like all of your redesign choices, if i had to choose a favorite element, guess what it would be: yup, plants :)
so much light to share with appreciative plants! they reward you by changing up, too!
nicely done.
it's already been a year with AT?
hard to believe it!
keep up the good work!
always enjoy your posts!
Kyle, I want to live here! As a re-arranger myself I love the endless possibilities of your space and ooo the light is great as well.
Most important to me is that I need to have those white couches :) Where did you get them??
I'm really impressed by the guest room, with one wall in muted lime and another in turquoise, and by the way you balanced the visual weight of the tall curtains in the living room... only the middle window has both sides curtained. Cool.
seriously fun, comfortable, happy-looking pad you've got there.
I am officially green with envy...and how many amazing couches can one apartment have???
This is the best house tour I've ever seen on AT. It's like a masterclass in themed eclecticism, and an inspirational example of a classy adult home that can use a lot of colour without it looking like a clown mansion or a teenage girl's bedroom.
My favourite parts:
- The geometry of the pillow and the clean lines of the grey couch in the office matching the map above it, with the simple red lampshade adding a perfect accent of colour. The whole office is amazing actually.
- The recurring Chinese theme that is not overdone.
- The use of various wooden textures.
- The use of orange and green to balance each other. Usually these are used in contrast, which can be a little garish, but here it's balanced in a way that is barely even noticeable.
Absolute perfection! Too many beautiful things to comment on--well done! LOVE your use of color in everything! You deserve to be in a decorating magazine (and a book!).
So much upholstery! Perhaps too much in the kitchen - where the cooker appears to make a somewhat surprise appearance amid all those cushions and curtains etc.
You have a dog and a long-haired cat, too. Isn't it tough keeping all that upholstery clean?
Where there is slightly less upholstery, I like your home more. The first desk shot, even the curtain/blind ensemble in the dining room bay window and the bedroom wall with fan - that's rather stunning in its simplicity.
fabulous, simply fabulous. I totally dig it. Super inspiring. Thanks for sharing. I think the bird cage is absolutely fantastic!
I like the chinese lanterns & houseplants,
the couches & pillows looks very warm & cozy.
from washington state.
Kyle - I really admire you eye for color. Would you share the wall paint colors in the studio please? They are lovely. I'm now looking at 10 different green patches in my daughters room and none is right, but the yellow-green one in your guest bedroom seems about right.
waaaay too many pillows...but I love it anyways
Can anyone forward the link to last year's 'before' photos? I was having trouble finding it?
I love your style, and especially the red/yellow/green.