I like how the round mirrors on the walls on either side of the bed create an endless hall of art.

Where can I find one of those bookshelves like in the first photo? I love it!

Modern clean yet it looks like someone lives in this space. Love everything about it.

oh my god, those floors!!! swoon!

Lovely place, but the slide show only shows the hall and bedroom. :(

More pictures please!

Mardigrasqueen - I have had the same problem, but if you click on "all thumbnails" you will see everything and can then click on a thumbnail to enlarge it (you have to scroll down the page to see it however).

Why don't you swag the lamp to center it over the table?

I've seen shelfs like those several places...for a very reasonable price you can find them at World Market (http://www.worldmarket.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3958865)

Love, love, love this place!

I have a question slightly irrelevant to the post, but the bed in their room looks like mine and I'm thinking of putting a rug under it.

I just picked up a 5x7 rug on a whim, and it's the same size as the bed. Can I flip it so it lays under the bed horizontally and the tassels would run parallel to the bed or would that look terrible?

Hi Everyone — I just fixed a bug in the gallery so that the gallery should progress easily through every image.

Incredible. Love the floors, the open space, that kitchen! I want to live here.

what a lovely lovely home! I am a huge fan of the colour scheme and the mix of modern furniture and thrift store/retro pieces.

It reminds me a bit of my own home http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/boston/house-tours/dave-pieters-thrift-store-chic-house-call-114347

Love the floors!

Your bedroom is lovely, particularly the headboard wall. Perfect. And your cats are adorable.

Where is the hallway rug from?

I'm looking for some colours to replace the boring beige my entire home is painted. I would really like to know what colour of blue that is in the very first photo on this page.

What is that antiquey looking console in the livingroom, and where did you get it?
Also, I've been noticing a lot of those black roll-up signs everywhere. What are they, and where do you source them?

Alan G: to answer your paint question the blue in the hallway is ---Benjamin Moore Aura 51-50 Tranquil Blues

I'm having real estate envy...
...those floors, the bathroom and cabinetry are lust-worthy.

I just wish the hanging lamp were swagged over the table and the hall rug wasn't so busy.

love this flat

Hi Everyone! Thanks for the comments. I'm about to swoon that we received a positive comment from bepsf! I really enjoy your comments bepsf and Ken would agree that the hallway rug is too busy but I like it! About swagging the light - it is not really possible as the ceilings are concrete and we are not supposed to drill into them. I have been thinking of raising the fixture snug to the ceiling - what do you all think?
In response to the questions - the vertical bookcase is from CB2, not sure if they still carry them but they seem to be everywhere; the hall rug in from Anthropologie, the floors are 1/2 engineered pecan hardwood, this is what is recommended to lay over concrete. They are glued down over felt acoustical underlayment and can be refinished although the floor installer said this is a really good product and should last 20 years or so; the console is a walnut built-in we designed along with the rest of the cabinetry by Wright Cabinets in Garden Grove.

Oh and the bus scroll, bought it from a guy at the Long Beach Flea Market but i haven't seen him again. They scrolls were used on buses to show the next destination, ours is from the UK. AT did a post about these and there was quite a spirited debate:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/artwork/are-vintage-transit-scrolls-the-new-keep-calm-116037

gorgeous! the bedroom is just the style i was going for in our home, but my husband was apprehensive and i couldn't show him an example. dark grey walls, minimal/clean line furniture...collage of art behind the bed.

brilliant!

The floors are just gorgeous!

You may have heard by now that the beloved Visual Vamp needs our help.
I am hosting an online auction this Friday to benefit Valorie and could use a bit of help spreading the word.
Please stop by my blog for more details.

Be blessed,
Laura

Really like the space! I do feel the bedroom isn't as peaceful as I would prefer, but it is definitely high on the cool scale.

Kudos to the condo and the kitties!

...Oh and yes, THOSE FLOORS!!!

Could I ask what building this is in?! I'm looking at Los Angeles for a move, and everyone keeps suggesting Long Beach! Love what you've done with the place, modern but cozy and no trinkets!

Envy means "to bear a grudge toward someone due to coveting what that person has or enjoys." In a milder sense, it means "the longing for something someone else has without any ill will intended toward that person." Envy can be a noun or verb.

I choose the 2nd version.

BTW: LOVE that rug.

Dear Kara & Ken: The place looks amazing!!!! I really love what you done and how it all turned out, but most of all I would like to thank you for choosing our products for your floors it looks great. I like to know if you would be interested in letting us send a photographer to take professional pictures of your fabulous place for us to feature it on our website and catalogue. Please let me know, just contact me thru our site at www.br111.com
Ricardo Moraes
BR111 Exotic Hardwood Floors

It's so rare that someone can achieve such a perfect mix of modern, warm, and fun. WELL DONE!

NICE!

The bedroom would be perfect if the artwork above the side-tables was just moved to over the bed, making that section more vertical. I love the color in the hallway and that cool paisley rug in the hall too, and all the little vignettes. I'd love to see more color in the dining area. :)

Oh my God what a floor?
Where can I get that - I wan't it ;-)

The floors are absolutely stunning. I'm in love.

And while I'm relieved to see someone else has the same issue with the dining room fixture (we can't drill holes to swag or move our fixture either), I'm also disappointed it wasn't a deliberate, contrarian design choice. Now I can't use that as an excuse for why my light isn't above the table. :)

..is it alrite that the whole time i was staring at the cats. they are so fluffy / too cute.

..is it alrite that all i did was stare at the cats. they are so fluffy / too cute. =-)

I don't know where to start. This place has a very noble soul. I don't even know you and yet I was staring at all of your photos and thinking about all those wonderful stories they tell.

Great color choices with Raccoon Fur and Mink. And I hadn't seen that Fischer and Paykel range before, but it is on my wish list now. I could keep going, but I wouldn't stop talking about each and every element that I love here. So I'll just say that this is the kind of space a person thrives in. You and your cats look very happy together.

I love this place. I mean, its pretty much perfect. Amazing how they made it modern, but still warm and welcoming. The paint colors are just perfection.

My favorite thing is the antique buffet table with that weathered finish next to the powder blue wall with super modern art over it. The table just pops like a piece of sculpture. One of the freshest uses of an ornate vintage piece I can remember seeing.

I love the artwork in the bedroom forming a line with the frames' upper edges. The cat's litter box (I presume) is clever, but if the cat gets much fatter, could it be a problem? Pretty cat, BTW.
I'm sorry to say that I'm not a fan of the flooring. It's a little garish for my taste.
Otherwise, beautiful place - I could move right in!

OMG!!! those floors!!! I've never seen anything like it!!!!
And I'm actually looking for floors for my new home!!! Thank you for posting these pictures, they gave me the inspiration I needed.
www.BR111.com perfect choice for my new hardwood floors!!!

Does anyone know where the long piece of art listing place names and hung behind the sofa is from? Or is this a piece of Kara and Ken's own work? I'm sure it probably doesn't mean much to a lot of people but it's a list of locations in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, where I was an undergraduate. Is it available to buy anywhere? It brings back memories and I love it!

i have that same problem with the light fixture in my dining room! if i centered my table under it, the table would be halfway in the hall. it makes me completely insane.

what a gorgeous, comfortable home!

Those hardwood floors! *passes out*

Your whole color scheme is really wonderful. It looks so effortless... but I know it's because you waited for pieces that really spoke you you! Great place!

I absolutely love every element of this apartment! Why go out at all?

fantastic flat!

I love everything about this home!!

Someone else with my Thommy O' coverlet. Looks better in your BR though.

Great place... Best tour in a long time.

I love the idea of raising the light fixture snug to the ceiling. It would make the fact that it is not over the table much less noticeable. Awesome place!

would it be possible to have someone fashion a swing-type arm on the light fixture, so it could stay in the same spot on the ceiling, but would extend over the table? it seems there has to be some way to position it correctly over the table. very cool space!

Lovely apartment! My own two kitties would definitely dig their own little "bathroom" and they'd love that deck as well. Your photos are great and I like the art work as well.

I love those tall bookcases but, I have a Siamese that loves to climb to the highest place in my apartment and I'm worried that he might decide that springing to the top of one of those books would be the ideal place to perch! ;)

Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful new home with us!

Couldn't get by the first photo! I love the artwork above the console -- it's listed as "own work". Can you tell me more????

I really love the art work with the place names. these names are of places in the north east of England where I'm from. I would love to know where this art work is from as have just moved to london and this eould be a nice reminder of home.

Fantastic!!! I just used the Benjamin Moore Tranquil Blue in a closet! My husband and I just recently downsized into a small condo near Long Beach. Do you do this professionally? I could really use some help! Is there anywhere I can see more of your design?

Oh I found your article from a link BR-111 sent me! We are considering the same wood flooring.

For Carochan - the print you like above the chest was from Crate and Barrel but I purchased about 6 years ago.
For Centauriuk and others ... the artwork with the place names is a vintage bus scroll that I got from a guy at the Long Beach, CA flea market about a year 1/2 ago I lost his card and I haven't seen him again so I'm sorry I can't help. He gets them from someone in the UK.
For evablue and others you can contact me at cowboyandsapphire@gmail.com

For anyone that loved the vintage bus scroll, I found this

http://www.cafepress.co.uk/+bus-scroll+posters?page=1&sort=by_date_desc

Sadly none list Tyneside destinations :-(

Kara, your home is lovely. We, too, have recently downsized - seeing your choices is giving me a better idea of the direction we might go. The placement of the artwork in your bedroom is bold and seemingly contrary to conventional wisdom. Unlike other commentators, I found the carpet in your hall to be a nice punch of color against the cool blue walls and warm floors. As for your ceiling lamp dilemma, do you actually need one? Taking it out might improve the sight line in that wonderful open space. How about a floor lamp in the corner of the dining area and perhaps a small lamp placed somewhere on the secretary? That room is a natural for layers of light. In any event, I will be bookmarking and pilfering some of what I saw here. Imitation is the highest form of flattery.

Love every little thing about this place. I could live happily ever after here!

Your entire condo is wonderful. Great design! And thank you so much for choosing our Brio glass mosaic tile for your kitchen.

I love the table...and if I were a cook, that stove would be a dream...

Wow!! Love the colors in your living area and bedroom. Just beautiful!

Magnificent! Does anybody know what the floor lamp in front of the bus scroll is, please? I've been through the links listed (CB2, Room & Board West Elm, Y Lighting) but don't see it.

Great paint colors!! Are they all flat finishes or are some eggshell?

I'm from LA living in Newcastle and I absolutely ADORE that artwork, how exciting!

We live with books and guitars as well. Love your place.

The cat box door is genius! And, I want that balcony.

I would definitely like to know who fabricated the hall cabinetry

Hi Everybody! This is Kara of Kara and Ken from the post. Thanks for the nice new comments! All the Cabinetry was done by David Swart at Wright Cabinetry in the O.C. He is really great, has done a few friends kitchens as well. Phone number is 714-530-7757.

Also I am selling my bus scroll, featured in the home tour, we have moved from our condo into a great Cliff May Rancho and do not have the wall space for it.