I’ve lived in this apartment for three years along with my husband Ryan, and our two sweet pets, Robbie the American Cocker Spaniel, and Sadie our Devon Rex—both rescues, both crazy. I’m from New Zealand and moved to the States in 2013 and met my husband Ryan shortly thereafter. When we first saw our apartment, we fell in love with the original finger-block parquet flooring and bay windows overlooking Meridian Hill Park. The space felt like a mansion after living in a 350-square-foot studio (and the five closets didn’t hurt either.)

During World War II, numerous prominent residents lived here, including Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, a dozen members of Congress, and crooner Eddie Fisher, who was then in military service. The most notable resident was a 24-year-old naval ensign, John F. Kennedy, who occupied an apartment two floors up.

More about us, we are heavy hosters—it’s a special kind of sickness. We literally can’t stop inviting people over. We love company. Our home is deeply personal to us because we have worked so hard to make it our own. Inviting friends into our space makes us the most comfortable and closer to them. It’s our hope that everyone who walks through our door feels that.

I work in public relations and diplomacy so after a long day of yacking I’m most at home hiding in my own space. Ryan comes from an illustrious culture of hosting, and being Iranian-American means it’s in his blood. He is always ready to feed others, whether it’s a delicious Persian dish or a French-inspired stew. Our tiny kitchen is the heart of our home (you’ll often find Ryan stirring something throughout the night for a dinner party the following evening.) Whatever its origin, our love of hosting is prolific (I’m dramatic) and is often to the detriment of our waistlines.

All in all our lives are firmly centered around hospitality. Please put your feet up, relaxing is compulsory, help yourself. We are glad you’re here.

My Style: Our style is a definite blend of saturated, modern, and quirky. We’re maximalists. We designed our space with comfort and hibernation in mind, for both people and our pets. We like to relax hard and our couch is representative of that—there’s truly no polite way to sit on it. Our friends often arrive for dinner parties or movie nights with their pajamas—even if they’re not staying.

Favorite Element: Our favorite element is easily our rainforest foliage dining room walls. This extraordinary color totally brought our space to life. The color contains bold hues to airy pastels and saturated deep tones depending on the time of day and how the light hits it. Best of all, the depth of color evokes nostalgic memories of being a kid when I would spend hours running oil pastels down into a thick paste and drawing pictures of dogs with my fingers—don’t ask me why.

Biggest Challenge: Our biggest challenge is probably the limitations of the building itself—the property has had little modifications carried out since opening its doors in 1941. Reluctant to be restricted to items that fit into the tiny internal elevators and common area doorways, we’ve been known to get creative with how we have incorporated our often oversized and exaggerated furnishings. This includes disassembling furniture on the sidewalk and carrying our original 1950s credenza up three different sets of stairs (nine flights) until we were able to finally get it through a stairwell, which was strangely one inch wider than the others—a true test for any marriage. Humans and their furnishings must have just been smaller back then.

Proudest DIY: Neither of us is particularly handy, but when it came to making our tiny nine-square-foot kitchen work, we knew we needed to balance and maximize functional space. From renting a hammer drill and nearly taking out chunks of the ceiling installing pot racks, to converting an entire wall to a chalkboard for recipes and grocery lists, our little workhorse of a kitchen has produced some awesome meals and amazing memories including an ambitious vegan birthday party menu for 50, and countless school night dinner parties.

Biggest Indulgence: Hands down our floral sculptural luminaire by Hawkes Bay New Zealand designer, David Trubridge. We felt connected to David’s ethos of sourcing sustainable materials and the raw sophistication it adds to our space. Being a New Zealander away from home, it also provides a bit of cultural nourishment if I’m ever feeling homesick. The runner up is easily our collection of 88-ish cookbooks; we’re part-pig so the collection continues to grow despite our best efforts.

Best Advice: Our lives are defined by color and your space should unapologetically reflect who you are. We spent so much of our time worrying about a theme and if items we truly love fit within that (cue memories of tantrums over violet throw cushions). Today we’d be more inclined to say pick a palette that makes your heart sing and run with it—screw the rules, life is short, buy the shoes.

PAINT & COLORS:
Benjamin Moore — 595 Deep Jungle

LIVING ROOM
Couch — Lounge II 93″ Sofa in Steel, Crate & Barrel
Chair — Lounge II Chair and a Half in Steel, Crate & Barrel
Coffee Table — Slim Outdoor Coffee Table, Room & Board
Credenza — Peg Leg Vintage, College Park, Maryland
Cuban Cigar Lady Portrait — BoConcept
ÖRSTED Multicolor Wool Rug — IKEA
Bookshelf — IKEA
Michael Angelo Bust — Revival Consignment Exchange, Frederick, MD

DINING ROOM
Table and Benches — West Elm
Chairs — West Elm
Floral Luminaire — David Trubridge
Bookshelf — IKEA
Bar Cart — Thrift
Potted Plant and Chevron Stand — West Elm
Geometric Persian Carpet — Lorestan Province, Iran

OFFICE
Desk — CB2
Office Chair — CB2
Marigold Filing Cabinet — CB2
New Zealand Māori Artwork — Thrift

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