Jessica & Matt’s Vivacious Home

Today’s tour is the newest in a collaborative series curated by Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason of Aphrochic for Apartment Therapy. They handpicked homes from around the world to share that capture the culture and style that they celebrate in their book, Remix: Decorating with Culture, Objects, and Soul.

Name: Matt Anderson, Teacher, and Jessica Cumberbatch Anderson, Editor of HuffPost Home
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Size: 960 square feet
Years lived in: 7 years; Owned

I could not wait to get a peek into the space of HuffPost Home‘s editor, Jessica. I was delighted to discover her love of color and pattern applied throughout the apartment: bold, fun, and blossoming everywhere! After living there for a few years on her own, then with her husband, Matt, and now with their darling daughter, she has truly created the perfect place in which her family can relax and grow.

Jessica and Matt love to entertain, and make great use of the long hallway space between their kitchen area and living room as a seating area with bonus storage space underneath. With family photos on the wall and bright pillows, the area feels open and warm while remaining very functional.

I love how the color stories of the palettes from the more public areas of the apartment transition to the more private areas at the back of the home. Bright tones mix with gold and brown neutrals in the living room and kitchen area, giving way to subdued pinks, purples, and teals in the nursery and bedroom. Consistent through everything is Jessica’s playful approach and adventurous pursuit of a home that is comfortable, practical, and filled with luminosity and liveliness.

My Style: Pattern-happy traditionalist.

Inspiration: Perhaps I’m biased, having spent much of my career so far working in publishing, but there’s nothing like a well-styled magazine spread to inspire a space. You can usually find everything you need to know about timeless design, with some clues about what’s “of-the-moment” thrown in. There were issues of Better Homes & Gardens lying around the Brooklyn brownstone where I grew up as early as I can remember. Now, I go to favorites like New York Mag’s Design Hunting to see what kinds of ideas I can steal from my neighbors. (Bravo, Wendy Goodman.) Also, my favorite part of traveling is getting to stay at some swanky hotel or another. I’ve definitely taken many cues from lobbies and hallways and bathrooms at restaurants and hotels I’ve visited.

Favorite Element: Say what you will about chevron, but for me it’s classic. Hence my favorite element: Our living room curtains.

Biggest Challenge: Besides keeping things neat?

What Friends Say: “Your apartment is so you;” “I didn’t expect this from outside.”

Biggest Embarrassment: Refinishing our floors has been at the top of our to-do list forever, but the thought of dust and moving everything means we’ve also been putting it off… forever.

Proudest DIY: There isn’t a ton of closet space in our apartment, so when I first moved here from my parents’ house where I’d returned after college, I brought with me an old dresser that I’d grown up with. My parents had bought it for my nursery as a baby. I painted it, covered the drawer fronts with wallpaper and switched out the knobs. I think my mom shed a tear when she saw it.

Biggest Indulgence: So far, it’s been having our bathroom redone, but I really want to drop a few coins on some amazing oversized artwork one of these days.

Best Advice: It’s tempting to move into a space and want it to feel like it belongs on the pages of a magazine right away. Get what you need to live comfortably, and then take your time to really curate the rest —even if it takes you years, like it has for me!

Dream Sources: Magnum Photos; Design Legacy; The New Traditionalists; Made Goods; Or, I’d love to just spend a day with a professional picking up odds and ends from the showrooms at the Design & Decorating building in NYC.

How Do You Bring Culture Home: It’s inherent in many ways. I love pattern and color — brought in through art and accents and textiles — and I’m a big fan of mixing it all up in a space and seeing what turns out.

Heirloom Pieces: I have some items from my grandparents, including asilverware set and champagne coupes. I also have some fantastic lanterns from my grandfather’s days as an NYC train conductor floating around. And this summer I picked up some vintage linens from an estate sale that I think may be the beginning of a collection of my own!

• Benjamin Moore: Antique Lace, Wynwood (Brown)

• Frames: IKEA, Z Gallerie

• Green Leather Poufs: Gifts from family friend’s trip to Turkey

• “American Hero” Prints by Paul Chung via Etsy

• Window Treatments: JCPenney

• Shower Curtain: West Elm

• Light Fixture: Warehouse Wall Sconce from Barn Light Electric Co.

• Pop Art Canvas (in hallway): Z Gallerie

• “Untitled” by Youth in Focus (Break Dancer Print)

Thanks, Jessica & Matt!

• HOUSE TOUR ARCHIVE: Check out past house tours here.
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