Houzz Tour: A Young Couple's Minimalistic, Memorabilia-Filled Home
An open plan, comfortable furniture and fun accessories highlight the design of this Philadelphia abode
Aditi Sharma Maheshwari
6 July 2017
Blogger, dog mom
In a residential building in Philadelphia, interior designer and stylist Shivani Ajmera found the perfect apartment for her husband and herself. “This project was close to my heart from the word go. It provided me with a great canvas to display my creativity and design aesthetic. I wanted to keep the style simple, minimalistic, contemporary and non-fussy but at the same time warm, lived-in, personal and cosy,” Shivani says.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Shivani Ajmera and her husband
Location: Philadelphia, USA
Year built: 2016
Size: 111 square metres (1200 square feet); 2 bedrooms; 2 bathrooms
Interior designers: Shivani Ajmera and Disha Bhavsar, co-founders of Quirk Studio
Photos courtesy Quirk Studio
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Shivani Ajmera and her husband
Location: Philadelphia, USA
Year built: 2016
Size: 111 square metres (1200 square feet); 2 bedrooms; 2 bathrooms
Interior designers: Shivani Ajmera and Disha Bhavsar, co-founders of Quirk Studio
Photos courtesy Quirk Studio
The apartment opens to a small approach passage, seen on the right of the image. The passage wall is lined with built-in storage on the right and on the left is the open kitchen. The kitchen connects to the dining area and the open living room. The guest bedroom is accessed from the dining area and the master bedroom entrance is in the living room.
“The idea was to plan the layout keeping in mind functionality first, and then layering it with design and styling elements. I’ve kept the basic shell and finishes of the spaces neutral and brought colour into the space through quirky furnishings and accessories. My husband and I chose all the furniture, furnishings and accessories from Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, West Elm, Ikea and online stores, such as allmodern.com.”
“The idea was to plan the layout keeping in mind functionality first, and then layering it with design and styling elements. I’ve kept the basic shell and finishes of the spaces neutral and brought colour into the space through quirky furnishings and accessories. My husband and I chose all the furniture, furnishings and accessories from Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, West Elm, Ikea and online stores, such as allmodern.com.”
The open kitchen has a sleek design and built-in appliances. One counter of the kitchen is used as a small eating area, furnished with two chairs.
“This plan of the open kitchen, dining and living room makes the small apartment look large, spacious and inclusive. It’s a delight to entertain people here,” Ajmera says.
Learn how to make open kitchens work in Indian homes
“This plan of the open kitchen, dining and living room makes the small apartment look large, spacious and inclusive. It’s a delight to entertain people here,” Ajmera says.
Learn how to make open kitchens work in Indian homes
The kitchen connects to the dining room, which features a dark-grey, almost black, dining table and pale-grey chairs with eclectic wall decor as a backdrop. “The idea of an accent wall as a backdrop to the dining area was deliberate, as it’s the first wall you see when you enter the open-plan living space. We decided to steer clear from the conventional wallpaper and the bright coloured/textured wall routine and decided to make this wall a personal canvas and a ‘work in progress’. We framed our favourite prints, quotes and postcards collected over the years from our travels here. We found the powder-blue rustic framed mirrors in a local store. The aim was to keep adding to it over time,” Ajmera says.
Looking for creative alternatives to wall paint?
Looking for creative alternatives to wall paint?
In front of the dining space is the living room. The entire home, with engineered wooden flooring and plain white walls, contributes to the neutral canvas of the home. “The best part about this space is that it reflects our style to the fullest. It’s small yet open and full of light, contemporary yet warm and charming,” Ajmera says.
For the living room, the couple wanted the aesthetic to be clean and non-fussy yet lived-in and cosy, much like the rest of the apartment. “We set out with making sure our furniture was contemporary and straight-lined and added all the warmth and texture through cushions and throws in subtle patterns, contrasted with a large geometric grey rug,” Ambreja says.
Opposite the seating area are the bookshelf and the TV unit. “The bookshelf was purchased to accommodate our library of tomes. We remember receiving it in one large box and assembling the whole unit ourselves,” Ambreja says.
Bookshelf: allmodern
Browse through some images of stunning bookshelves
Bookshelf: allmodern
Browse through some images of stunning bookshelves
Situated next to the living room is the master bedroom. “This room is my favourite part of the apartment. I absolutely love the monochromatic colour palette that we’ve used across it, along with patterned sand textures on the rug to create a tone-on-tone story,” Shivani says.
Behind the dining room is the guest bedroom – a neutral space dotted with art and minimal furniture. “This room was designed to be a welcoming and a calming space. The furniture was intentionally chosen to be light and easy-to-maintain,” Shivani says.
Read more:
Houzz Tour: This Mumbai Home is Geared to Give Guests a Good Time
Tell us:
What did you like the most about this home? Tell us in Comments below.
Read more:
Houzz Tour: This Mumbai Home is Geared to Give Guests a Good Time
Tell us:
What did you like the most about this home? Tell us in Comments below.
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