Blended Home

At this midcentury Seattle home, the fireplace was powder-coated orange to complement the vintage furnishings. #fireplace #seattle #vintage

A Y chandelier by Douglas and Bec hangs above a vintage table and chairs.

San Francisco architect Christi Azevedo built her kitchen very affordably, thanks to a sanded acrylic sheet used as a countertop, flooring made of cheap HardiPanel exterior siding (just $1 per square foot), Ikea pendant lights, and a reconditioned vintage stove snagged on Craigslist for $15. Azevedo put her metalworking skills to good use creating the open shelving out of hot-rolled steel. A rolling ladder ensures access to the highest shelves. Tour the entire house here.

A few carefully chosen furnishings punctuate the light-filled living area that sits adjacent to the kitchen, like Buttercup Chairs by Blu Dot, a lightbox and screen print by artist John Vogt, and a kelly green vintage couch.

Vintage pendants cast a soft glow over the island, which contains a Bosch dishwasher.

A vintage suspended wall unit serves as a home office. Cathy demonstrates the "third bedroom"—a three-person hammock from Oaxaca.

"In the dining nook adjacent to the kitchen, there is a Bocci 21 light and a vintage table. I love thinking about how these things will travel with us for many years, like companions. Aileen and I have a strong relationship to objects: They are a tactile diary of our lives. The interesting thing about our home is not the structure itself, but the way it has become an intimate part of us. The most sustainable thing we can do as architects and designers is to make spaces and objects worthy of a lifetime commitment. Then [the objects] can have five, six, ten lives instead of half a life."

To accommodate a second story, the ground-level had to be completely reconfigured in favor of a more open floor plan. A vintage 1930s Belgian desk acts as a versatile table for the downstairs.

In the office, which is part of the addition, a collection of vintage posters hangs above a Cbox file cabinet and a table from Blu Dot used as a desk. The rug is a Photon.

Inside, white paint lightens up the middle of the building. A vintage Danish dining set and Cloud pendants by Frank Gehry for Vitra define the dining area.

A vintage sofa purchased from Open Air Modern mixes with Low Pad chairs, by Jasper Morrison for Vitra, in the living room, which features a window inspired by Marcel Breuer’s Whitney Museum of American Art.

“Hotels usually have to refurbish rooms every 10 years or so when they look dated. The vintage furniture we use here has lasted 60 years already, and will last another 60 years—the worn-in look is part of their charm,” says general manager Jeppe Muhlhausen.

Alexandra Young's Craftsman-style bungalow in Oakland testifies to the wisdom of patiently accumulating a collection over many years. Her house is a personal museum of curios, mostly handcrafted, made in America, or heirlooms.

The living room is furnished with vintage items, including a leather-and-chrome chair by Suekichi Uchida and a stacking stool by Florence Knoll.

Nederhof purchased the vintage teak dresser from an online secondhand store. On it stand fertility statues and a miniature sculpture by Antonino Sciortino. The steel-framed glass doors fold back into the wall, and the space is oriented so clients can enter the office without traipsing through the entire flat.

The dining room features 1970s leather-and-brass dining chairs and a table concocted from a brass-and-silver base and a custom lacquered top. The cheerful blue paint enlivening the doorway is from Emery & Cie.

The interior feels expansive as furnishings were kept to a minimum. #designmilk #bondibeach #tobiaspartners

The opening between the living room and dining area was enlarged and large custom upholstered acoustical panels were added to create a flexible bedroom.