My Houzz: Minimalist Style and Original Art for a Seattle Home
http://www.decor-ideas.org 03/28/2015 03:14 Decor Ideas
“We think of our home as a gallery and a gathering space. Each space offers an opportunity for objects to interact in a beautiful way,” says Rachel Ravitch, a jewelry designer and an intern at Castanes Architects. She and Jon Parker, a hardware engineer, made the 1903 two-story farmhouse a reflection of their love for the Seattle art scene.
They made it a point to fill the walls with only original artwork, and the house is frequently full of guests for dinner parties and hosts events that celebrate creativity. “It’s wonderful to see every room in the house fully utilized and occupied,” Ravitch says.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Jon Parker, Rachel Ravitch and their cat, Brigette
Location: Central District of Seattle
Size: 1,300 square feet (121 square meters); 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
Year built: 1903
The sunny piano room, which sits off the main entryway, is where Parker spends the most time. “The large windows makes it feel like a huge window seat,” Ravitch says.
The couple plans to build a large bench and bookshelf combination for the tiny room, then top it with large cushions to play up the coziness of the space.
Here Ravitch and Parker enjoy the light that fills the room on a lazy Sunday.
One of the couple’s hand-picked pieces of original art is the perfect match for the bright and airy space.
Sheepskin: MacPherson Leather; painting: Graham Downing
“I really love the way the light pours into the living room on a sunny day,” Ravitch says. “It’s so beautiful that it’s difficult to want to go outside.”
Wave Jute Rug: West Elm
The couple loves the playfulness of incorporating natural elements into their home. A couple of years ago, Ravitch was given a few sparse branches from a friend’s magnolia tree. They have been hanging on the wall ever since.
The midcentury couch in the living room is a prized vintage find; it gives the space a splash of color that complements the couple’s many houseplants.
Artwork: Izzie Klingels and Christian Petersen
Ravitch credits Parker with having a green thumb and keeping their houseplants healthy. “Jon cares for all of our lovely houseplants. We usually choose them together based on where we feel we need another plant,” she says. Before bringing a new plant home, Ravitch says they discuss “if it will hang, how much light the space has or what scale would be best for the location in the house.”
Dresser: Homestead Seattle
A large mirror on one wall of the living room boosts light and interest.
Mirror: Perkins Glass
The midcentury table in the dining room was found in the basement of Parker’s parents’ home, unused for decades. “It looked small, but we found out that it had two leaves and comfortably seats 12,” Ravitch says.
The dining room doubles as Ravitch’s design studio and headquarters for her jewelry line. Ravitch says, “I immediately knew that I would use the dining room also as my studio.”
Above her sewing machine is a large piece by artist Joe Rudko that suits the openness and studio use of the space.
“Our interior walls are all painted bright white to capture as much light as possible,” says Ravitch. The kitchen, which doesn’t receive as much natural light as the other rooms in the house, benefits from this choice.
On the weekends Ravitch and Parker rent out their two guest rooms on Airbnb to save for home renovations and repairs in the future. The two also enjoy the opportunity to host guests from all over the world in their home.
Even the guest bedrooms upstairs are used to showcase the couple’s art collection. “We tend to be attracted to more abstract works but of varying styles. Some are very geometric, while others are very organic,” Ravitch says.
Large sheepskins from MacPherson Leather in Seattle warm up the wood floors.
Drawing: Jesse Lortz; painting: Graham Downing
“Our bedroom faces south and is really simply decorated with an evergreen-color wrought iron bed, small side tables, a coral-orange wood dresser and a leafy palm tree,” Ravitch says. They wanted to give their master bedroom the feel of an exotic destination. “It’s a very relaxing space that we enjoy retiring to each night,” she says.
Brigette the cat jumps in for a portrait with Ravitch and Parker in their living room. “This home was exactly what we had been looking for in our preferred location,” says Ravitch. As the two have continued to settle in, their home has proven to be the sort of versatile space that they had set out to find.
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
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