Where does Travel + Leisure magazine’s editor-in-chief Nathan Lump live when he’s not combing the world to find fabulous far-flung locales? In an airy, comfy Park Slope apartment he recently renovated with his husband Charles Runnette, a fellow killer content creator who works at the Mustache Agency (and a traveler, too).

They’ve each traveled to over 60 countries, and Nathan lived in France for a bit, and Charles in Germany and the UK. Assume their home is full of one-of-a-kind travel finds? It totally is. But not in an over-the-top way like you might expect. As Charles explained, life on the road (or on the rails, or in the skies) is an adventure while you’re young and mobile, but an on-the-go lifestyle eventually wears you down. This lovely apartment is a product of the couple’s appreciation of world travel and the need to recharge.

While the apartment before they purchased it was perfectly acceptable, it wasn’t their style. So they tore out the bathroom and kitchen. They changed the wood burning fireplace and mantel. Ripped out closets and updated the staircase to the roof deck. As Charles wrote, “It’s not a gut renovation, but close.” The construction company Downtown Complete did all the physical work on the inside, while their beautiful roof deck was designed and installed by a company called Elevations Urban Landscape Design.

Our Style: A Northern European aesthetic—clean, light, open, limpid, serene—with an eclecticism that comes from all the things we’ve collected in places we lived and traveled over the years. As a travel editor (Nathan) and a part-time travel writer (Charles) couple we’ve each traveled to over 60 countries and lived abroad in France (Nathan), Germany and UK (Charles).

Inspiration: We referenced the various places that we love and know aesthetically—Scandinavia, Germany, the UK, as well as South America, California, and Canada, especially—while overall keeping it light and drawing on nature and organic elements as much as possible.

Favorite Element: Charles: In terms of lifestyle, our roof deck; décor-wise, the little nook above the fireplace we made in the renovation that holds upright birch logs. Nathan: Functionally, the kitchen; I’m a serious a cook and it’s a dream after years of making do with weird or substandard spaces in rental apartments to have full-size appliances and a logical environment in which I have the space to work. Aesthetically, I especially love the wallpapered nook above our bar in the dining room—I’ve always had some kind of bar wherever I’ve lived, and this one is the most stylish.

Biggest Challenge: Doing a renovation in a small walk-up building where access was an issue—imagine getting a big refrigerator up four flights of stairs and then through a narrow doorway!—and not losing all good will with our neighbors.

What Friends Say: Feels like us. “Done” but not too “done.”

Biggest Embarrassment: Ordering a custom-made sofa that had to be returned when we couldn’t get it through the front door. We measured carefully and still it didn’t work. (Incidentally, when you have a tight space a sectional is in fact a beautiful solution; it comes in pieces which of course makes getting it in easier, something we never thought of until we knew we had a problem.)

Proudest DIY: Hanging this gorgeous Bocci light fixture that we both love above the staircase in the apartment—it required rigging up a crazy ladder on the stairs, dangling above the open space of the stairwell, and defying death, really, in order to mount it. We did it before going into the office one day and Charles really deserves all the credit for making it work. Super stressful, but we managed to do it ourselves.

Biggest Indulgence: Our roofdeck, really—there was a very basic structure on the roof when we bought the apartment but it wasn’t very nice. We decided to build on what was there and make something new that was much more beautiful and usable. It’s one of those things that wasn’t strictly necessary at all but that has totally transformed how we enjoy our apartment.

Best Advice: Every interior designer knows this, of course, but if you’re working on a budget Ikea kitchens are absolutely the way to go—incredible value for the money—and their installers do a very good job. Leaves money to spend elsewhere, and we found it’s much harder to save on a bathroom and achieve a good effect. We recommend finding a way to go to Ikea towards the end of a weekday to work with the folks there on your plan and order; you’ll save yourself the tremendous wait of the typical weekend day, and everyone will absolutely be in a better mood to help you.

PAINT & COLORS|
Farrow & Ball – Cornforth White (entry, living/dining room, & staircase walls)
Farrow & Ball – Lamp Room Gray (bedroom walls)
Farrow & Ball – Lichen (office walls)
Benjamin Moore – White Dove (trim, throughout)
Benjamin Moore – Simply White (ceilings, throughout)

ENTRY
Custom bookcase – Bench Build, Brooklyn, 646-637-5645
Mater Terho Pendant Light – 2Modern
Roadside Attraction runner – FLOR

Notable Artwork:
“Californian-LIKE” by Zoe Crosher

LIVING ROOM
Marble-topped console table – ABC Carpet & Home
Japanese dwarf juniper bonsai — <a href="http://www.bonsaiofbrooklyn.com/" http:="" www.bonsaiofbrooklyn.com="">Bonsai of Brooklyn
Callan chair – Room & Board
Josef Frank Cushion Grona Faglar pillow – Svensk Tenn
Hex Side Table – West Elm
Emma Fireplace Tool Set – Lekker Home
Berkeley Media Cabinet – Room & Board
Lamp – vintage
Hamilton sectional – West Elm
Nolita side table — CB2
Traffic pillow – Room & Board
Vintage wool pillow – Adaptations
Mexican woven pillow – Rosewood Mayakoba
Bumper Ottomans – Blu Dot
Bloom Side Table – Mth Woodworks
IC F Floor Lamp – FLOS

Notable Artwork:
“LA-LIKE: Transgressing the Pacific” by Zoe Crosher
“Wolf Clan” by Wayne Young from Aboriginal Art Gallery, Skwachàys Lodge
Haiku Series by Ryan McGinness
Untitled line drawing by Susie Reiss
“Ian Curtis” by Whitney Bedford

DINING ROOM
Northern Lighting- Acorn Pendant
Vintage dining table —antiques shop
Karl Johan-style antique Swedish dining chairs – Country Gallery
Shouchikubai wallpaper – Farrow & Ball
Custom shelves – Bench Build, Brooklyn, 646-637-5645

Notable Artwork:
“The LAX Hilton” From series: Out The Window (LAX) by Zoe Crosher
“The LAX Renaissance” From series: Out The Window (LAX) by Zoe Crosher

KITCHEN
Ringhult cabinets – Ikea
Quartz countertops – Ikea
Daltile Rittenhouse – Square 3 x 6 Arctic White Semi-Gloss Ceramic Tile
Range & Microwave — GE
Dishwasher — Bosch
Sink — Elkay
Faucet — Kohler

BATHROOM
Daltile Rittenhouse – Square 3 x 6 Desert Gray Matte Ceramic Tile
Bathtub and fixtures — Kohler
Toilet, Sink & Vanity — Duravit
Faucet — Grohe

BEDROOM
Tall Nailhead Upholstered Headboard – West Elm
Nightstands — antiques shop
Svend Hammershoi vintage Danish earthenware lamp – Freeforms
Parker Neutral Wool Rug — Crate & Barrel
Tom Dixon Offcut Bench – ABC Carpet & Home
Campaign chest — antiques shop
Chinese lamp — antiques shop
Pax wardrobe system – Ikea

BEDDING
Sferra Larino Fitted Sheet
Sferra Larino Pillowcases
Sferra Tesoro Duvet Covers
Sferra Grande Hotel Euro Shams
Brahms Mount Chunky Houndstooth Day Blanket

Notable Artwork:
“TK” by Adrianne De Loia
“Marcel Marcel” by Whitney Bedford
Porcelain lion & Napolean III medallion — Pentreath & Hall

OFFICE
Pax wardrobe system – Ikea
Mid-Century Bookshelf – West Elm
Table — Antiques shop
Desk — vintage
Concrete Table Lamp –JWDA
Pillow – Marimekko
Lynwood Single Task Lamp – Rejuvenation

Notable Artwork:
“Grumpy Napoleon” by Whitney Bedford

STAIRCASE
21.5 Chandelier – Bocci

Notable Artwork:
“12 Truisms (The End of the USA)” by Jenny Holzer
Josef Frank Vegetable Tree textile – Svenskt Tenn

ROOF DECK
Jardine Daybed – West Elm
Huron Lounge Chair – West Elm
Mosaic Tiled Coffee Table – West Elm
Falster Table, Chairs and Bench – Ikea

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