Name: "Istvan and Conchita"
Location: Arlington, MA
Size: 900 sq/ft
Years lived in: Owned 8 years
We love live/work spaces — the challenge of accommodating two totally different functions into a single space always churns up creativity. Our friends’ ground level apartment in a two-family home in Arlington is a lovely example. The soft, cohesive color palette of the living spaces keeps the office environment light and refreshing while the organizational attitude of the work space keeps the home environment neat and tidy. Throw in great art and a few design classics and you’ve got a home that packs quite a punch...
More about this lovely space from the owners:
The apartment is a common layout for the Boston area, built around 1915. It got a basic renovation before we purchased it and we've made incremental improvements. We use one of the two bedrooms as a home office for the two of us, so organization is really important. The closets are jam-packed, but organized with DIY shelving and lots of labeled bins. Soft white, gray, and charcoal black are used throughout; then each room has a different wall color. This means that each one feels different, but we can move furniture and accessories around and they work just about anywhere. We don't get a lot of direct light, so we try to keep things bright with white, aluminum, and glass accessories. We also try to group the necessary clutter so that we can have areas that are clean and open.
AT Survey
Our style: bright, friendly
Inspiration: Charles and Ray Eames, family and friends, Dwell, Martha, NYTimes, online browsing
Favorite Element: multiple spots for reading (i.e. napping)
Biggest Challenge: too many doors, not enough walls, little direct sunlight, hardly any closet space (the usual!)
What Friends Say: It's so clean — should I take my shoes off? Can I borrow some books? (the answer to both is "yes" and you can borrow some slippers, too!)
Biggest Embarrassment: generic kitchen and bathroom cabinetry
Proudest DIY: installing crown molding and a low-energy bathroom ceiling fan/light (plus our garden, which is in hibernation now)
Biggest Indulgence: a ridiculous white couch — but it keeps the room bright
Best advice: pick things that you love and they'll work together
Dream source: Moss, Moroso, Cappellini, Moooi
Resources
Appliances: GE (already installed when we moved in)
Hardware: original, Monroe Salt Works, Anthropologie, Home Depot
Furniture: Modernica, Circle Furniture, Ikea, Blu Dot
Accessories: Nomad, second-hand, Black Ink, Koo de Kir, Etsy, home made
Lighting: Wolfer's, MoMA, Nomad
Rugs and Carpets: Crate & Barrel, Angela Adams, Chilewich
Tiles and Stone: already installed when we moved in
Window Treatments: Smith & Noble, home sewn
Bed: DWR, Marimekko, Garnet Hill
Artwork: paintings, photography, and sculpture by family and friends, Mbantua Gallery, gig posters
Paint: Benjamin Moore
Apartment Therapy's Sofa Shopping Guide
Nikki’s Sweet and Cheery Print Studio
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Sprout Side Table
5 Things Paris Taught Me About Travel
Recipe: Ham, Cheddar & Chive Egg Bakes
s&s as in the deli? jk, lovely home
Okay, I am going to officially stop dissing taupe. Your living room is lovely.
Hi! Gorgeous home! How are the posters hung? It looks so simple and I love it.
What paint color did you use on the wall behind your sofa? I love it!
I'd love to know the living room color as well. And the details of how you hung the posters. Lovely space.
I'm interested in how those posters are hung, too. I thought it was binder clips, but there's too much silver for that to be true...
Genius:The older family photos framed and decoratively matted. It's so creative and you never see that with those kinds of pictures. I'm also loving the calendar in the kitchen. The little peninsula/island thing is also nice for storage and eating in a kitchen that size.
Everywhere you turn, there's something interesting to look at. I'd love to visit and just look at all the walls.
Love the posters. Where can I find similar clips for hanging?
wonderful. But I don't think it's fair to call it a live-work space. Turning a spare bedroom into an office would make maybe half the homes in the US a live-work space.
I checked the sites that were listed for 'furniture,' but did not see the dining room bookcase...could you disclose its source?
Lovely home, thanks!
I really like the office area. What type of table is that and where did you get that ledge above the table that you use for pencils etc.
They are Stainless Steel Display clips that are available online at The Museum of useful Things...
http://themut.com./zoomprod/product11/
or at Black Ink
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/boston/beacon-hill/black-ink-unexpected-necessities-067008
Very nice. thanks for sharing
Wow, this is pretty. I love every corner of it. Could you tell me what Benjamin Color that light blue color is? My house doesn't get a lot of light either but I'm thinking light blue these days. Thanks!
The living room paint looks really similar to Benjamin Moore "Costal Fog" (i know only because i just painted my room that color). It's a great neutral -- it looks more tan and warm in the day, cool and grey at night. It makes trim look really clean and crisp, as you can see above.
~*LOVE*~ this house!!! Beautiful beautiful beautiful! I've saved tons of the photos so I can copy the ideas in my house. Thanks for sharing - well done!
The living room is Benjamin Moore paint color 985; dining room is 2122-40.
I'm sorry I don't have info about the shelves. But an industrious DIY'er could make something similar.
This is my dream home.
love it! i love the original details of built-ins, moldings and hardwood floors.
are your dining chairs the real deal??? emeco or a reproduction... i'm dying to know!
thanks!
Very soothing---I would think your blood pressure probably goes down when you walk in the door. Thanks for sharing!
Fantastic place! You're so lucky to live there!
What a gorgeous home! I had no idea there were such gems in Arlington!
Emily
I love this home. Definitely loving the book collection!
i agree with scootergirl. I felt calmer with every picture.
terrific place. such good taste. my favorite thing is your jotto artwork.
Is there something in Arlington's water? I have the same colors, much of the same fabrics and furniture, and set up as you two. some of the same posters and many of the same accessories. To the point where a friend emailed me this slideshow asking if I re-did the kitchen (this is where there is a big difference), and why is was S&S and not J&P!
It's kinda freaky, but I dig it!
Your home is lovely! It's very calm and inviting. Where did you get the gig posters from? It ties the room together very nicely.
Beautiful, simple decor. Classic Arlington apartment - every apartment I've lived in or visited in Arlington has this set-up. You've made it stand out with your lovely choices.
Gorgeous home! I love the look of the posters using the steel clips. Thanks for sharing your lovely home.
Can you please tell me the source of the couch , lovely
Love your home...so nice and clean looking, but still looks like someone lives their and enjoys it. Love the built in by the laundry and the 2 doors coming out the kitchen. And the Kitchen shoe nook...very interesting. I'm still looking for a good solution for shoes when we come in the door. Oh - just love it.
Assuming the posters were chosen for the bands and not just the colours, these people are totally rad.
Love older homes with their built in china cabinets and storage areas...all new homes should be built this way...saves so much space and looks neat and orderly...lovely home you have...plain, muted colors that actually light up your living space..
Who did the painting/illustration on slides 7 & 8. Feel free to email me at kenglanton@gmail.com
Thanks,
Ken
This house is so calming and peaceful looking. I just love it!
Interesting and intelligent looking touches without looking pretentious.
My house feels inadequate now! LOL
Enjoy your living!
such a beautiful, cozy, bright home. thanks for sharing!!
What a beautiful home with cool details! Love the blue bird curtain tiebacks- please, please tell me where they're from?
Where did the extruded aluminum shelf above the desk in slide 27 come from? It would be perfect for expanding storage in my office nook.
Thanks!
WOW!!!!! This place is beautiful.
Love the range of muted colors n the walls, and the way the white trim looks so crisp against it. You've completely solved my problem of how to redo a house I'm hoping to buy. For a hundred reasons it would be such a great step (me needs a place of me own, for instance). but the dark wood 1940s trim was really daunting me. Love the lounge in the office, the use of glass, aluminum. Made my day.
I lived in one of those Arlington apartments, only the walls were covering with pale green fake wood paneling and dark olive wall to wall carpets! It did have wonderful bones, though, and I hope someone has bought it and fixed it up.
I'm still in the area and now in a Cape. I've been thinking about pale blues and greens, but I'm worried about how the would look at night and if it wouldn't feel cozy in the winter. How does it seem in this chilly weather?
You have an amazing apartment! I would like to know about your calendar on your fridge...who is it made by?
Absolutely beautiful! Can I ask about where you got the bedding with the small flowers?
Delightful.
Very beautiful. Great attention to details.
Every time I see this home the dining room makes me happy. It has a great feel to it, great natural light, a built in and the doorways. I like that the room is clearly used but lets the architectural elements do the shining.
Hi, I am really impressed that you did the mouldings yourself. I live in your area. Can you please let me know where you got these type of mouldings. Do they have a style name? I live in a condo with very plain mouldings and I would love to add some character to it with nice mouldings. You did a wonderful job on your home. Thanks.
So nice. You have a lovely home. I hope mine has a similar feel someday.
I'd love to hear more about the dedicated work space. I'm a local writer researching Boston-area live/work spaces and would love to chat. If you can, please email me: jblaisekramer@gmail.com. Thanks!
I really love your place. As all the other posters said, very calm and soothing! The dining room is my favorite -- I love how all the rooms go together. My one criticism is I'm not sure the yellow goes with the rest of the house ... but it looks good in the bedroom. But I LOVE LOVE LOVE the rest. Can I buy your house when you move? ;-)