Kids

The space below the stairs in this revamped Brooklyn brownstone was turned into a cheerful play area for the clients' two boys. "We built an egg shaped 'nook' underneath the staircase, and filled it with soft ‘pebble’ pillows," adds architect Frederick Tang.

The teepee is also handmade, and reflective of the earthy, bohemian, and yet kid-friendly style the Wheelers are all about.

Downstairs, bedrooms and a library offer private spaces. Wide-plank blond wood wraps the walls, floors, and ceilings, creating a cozy shiplike experience.

The Gizmo bed by Italian designer Daniele Lago celebrates the illusion of levitation. This suspended children’s bed is perfectly designed to nest into the corners of bedrooms to maximize space and room for children to play. It is upholstered with faux leather and filled padded with natural cotton.

The couple initially painted partition walls between the children's room and their own with black metallic paint creating both a writing surface for the children and a magnetic bulletin board for notes. However, "the black looked too oppressive," Astrakhan says. So they applied several coats of lively lime green paint to brighten up that section of the house.

Children's bedroom: playful fabric decals enliven a historic room

Plumstead describes the Clip Tree valet as sheet music where the bars are posts and the notes are the adjustable clips."I became focused on entry hall," he says of the concept. "I was trying to come up with a system with fairly simple parts for shipping and manufacturing, and for it to be configurable so people would have authorship over the object."

A bunny mobile by Flensted hangs over the crib, while the felt mural provides a soft and colorful backdrop. The Excel floor lamp in the living room is by Rich Brilliant Willing.