photo credit leela sid.
Tina Tuason She and her husband Jeffrey have always had a playful sense of style. “We love graphic art and toys,” she says. Three years ago, they purchased Jeffrey’s childhood home in Lakewood, California from his parents and began working on designing the colorful home of their dreams. Here Tina guides us…
living room
sofa: hay. Cushion: Ver loop, resemble. Lug: ikea. coffee table: ikea. Lounge chair: Valyou. Blankets on chairs: Slowdown Studio; resemble. Rocker: Downtown Modernism; resemble. Side table: Heller. Red stool: MoMA Design Store. Table lamp: MoMA Design Store.
On a colorful sofa: this sofa There are several color combinations available. I thought it would be easier to play with a neutral sofa, so I was thinking of buying a beige sofa, but it was sold out. My husband and I suggested blue and green and said, “Don’t you think that’s too much?” But when I brought it home, I fell in love.
TV stand: pedestal. Floor shelf: IKEA; resemble. Lamp: MoMa Design Store.
Casual and formal living room: Actually, we have two living rooms in our house, and this is the living room that we use when we have friends and family over. It’s the first room you see when you enter the house, so I wanted it to have a relaxing atmosphere.
For movable TVs: Our rotating TV stand is an innovative product. When your nephews come over, you can create a special place for them to watch TV. If you want it out of the way, just roll it into the garage.
mirror: ikea (“I painted it blue”). console table: ikea. lamp: ikea. candle holder: ikea. Candle: Hey. resemble. Calendar: Karst goods, resemble.
About hiding shoes: The entrance of our house was the most troublesome place. I needed a place to store my shoes, but I wanted this space to be more than just storage. I finally found this console table at IKEA. I didn’t actually intend to use it as a shoe box, but it worked fine.
office
Desk chair: IKEA, resemble. printing: Tate Modern Art Museum. wall organizer: ace craft. lamp: buddy.
About division of labor: My husband and I renovated our home together, with me doing all the design work and my husband doing the work. He’s handy, and I’m a neat freak. So while he worked, I ended up cleaning in the middle and didn’t have to deal with a pile of trash at the end. We are a good combination!
bench: Heller. Cushion: Ver loop, resemble. Golf set: Amazon. stool: ace craft. Framed print: Tate Modern Art Museum.
About work and play: It’s a golf game. Jeffrey works from home two days a week and is a golfer, so he likes to stand up and putt during his breaks. At first I thought it looked too messy, but then I thought, guess what? Leave it alone!
Bookshelf: ikea. Wall sconce: poplite. smiley vase: ikea. cabinet: ikea. green vase: ace craft.
About using old houses to create new ones: This is Jeffrey’s first home as a child. They moved when he was seven years old. His parents then loaned it to us until we bought it in 2022. They’re old-school thinkers, and when we first started working on this piece, they asked a lot of questions. Why change this? Why do you do that? But after it was all over, they came in and said, “Oh, wow, this is cool.”
kitchen
Bar stool: vintage, resemble. Fruit plate: Gustav Westman. Pink clamp: Oblique method. Yellow lamp: Areo. countertop shelf: MoMA Design Store. Mug set: Heller.
On balance: I think the key to decorating with color is to start with a neutral background. If you want to decorate, say: colorful mugsthen it turns out that the shelf they sit on must be neutral. I chose a white and beige palette throughout the kitchen to make it easier to add some bright interior touches.
About loving IKEA: We wanted our kitchen to have a simple look – plain flat cabinets with no handles. But that style was hard to find and everything I did find was too expensive. All we could think of was IKEA. And it turned out to be perfect. Yes, it took a lot of effort to assemble, but it was worth it.
Green onion plugin light: soft surprise.
About the toy: People may look at our house and think our children live here, we get it! When I invited my relatives over for the first time, I was worried about what my grandmother and aunties would think of this place. Will they like it? Or will people think it’s just a silly toy house? But did you know? they liked it.
dining room
Hanging light fixtures: ikea. table: castle. Chair: Castlereagh; resemble. Miller: Urban Outfitters. vase: &clevering.
About strategic mirrors: I thought that placing a large mirror in the dining area would make the room feel larger. But I also wanted a mirror that wasn’t like that. look Something like a mirror — something a little different, you know? I actually found this while browsing urban outfitters. It was a lot smaller than I had planned, but it worked out fine. Gives the entire room a sunset feel.
den
sofa: ikea. coffee table: ikea. stool: target. Console: O’Malley, resemble.
About spaces to flop: This “downstairs” room is a hangout spot. When it’s just the two of us, we spend most of our time here. The sofa is large and comfy, perfect for curling up while watching a movie or watching a football game.
calendar: Tate Modern Art Museum. Purple cat: donkey. stool: arnold circus. Pepper plugin light: soft surprise.
About fun hobbies: We have a drawer dedicated to card games and often play chess together. When friends come over, we play Monopoly Deals and Bananagrams. Rumikubu —That’s really fun.
For bright rooms: I love small portable lamps. We never use overhead lights outside of the kitchen. In the other rooms, turn on all the small lamps.
Green stool: world market. Table lamp: hay. printing: Rakuma.
On a daunting wall: It took us forever to get the art on display. This wall was particularly large and overwhelming. Finally, I realized that large walls require large prints. I found it This one I went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and loved it. Once I had that part in place, I could build other things around it.
bedroom
bed: ikea. linen: bed thread.
To lower the volume: Our bedroom is different from the rest of the house. That was a deliberate choice. A room is a place to rest, so I wanted it to be a calming space. The calm colors make it easy to relax.
backyard
sofa: Heller. chair: Heller. Flight: Heller.
About the fun features: I love Heller furniture and have some at home. Outdoor sets help create a nice flow from indoors to outdoors. Plus, it’s easy. I didn’t have to cover or reassemble it every time I used it. It’s like a big Lego set.
When you find your true colors: I’m a makeup artist, so I’m always working with color and thinking about color theory. My playful side was always there, but moving here, to our own place, really blossomed within me.
Thank you very much, Tina!
PS Other home tours are included, including a Minneapolis home with the cutest dog and a farmhouse built for the joy of black people.
(Photo provided by: leela sid. )
Source: Cup of Jo – cupofjo.com
