an influential apartment and some blog love

Dear readers, as you know, Apartment Therapy features some amazing homes on their site. I adore seeing how people design their personal spaces. But sometimes, a home speaks to me in such a way that I feel compelled to write about it. This one not only spoke to me, it haunted me. I could not stop thinking about it. This is one of those homes that makes me want to throw everything away and start over. I've mentioned many times that I miss the minimalism of my youth. I am still highly enamored with minimalism, but I also love beautiful things. I'm not sure I'd call this a minimalist apartment, but it certainly flirts with minimalism. The curator of this home has showed a sense of restraint. But make no mistake, restraint is not easy. The look is simple, but it's not easy to achieve. It takes a soft and purposeful hand.

This is Mike's home. He's a student living in a studio apartment. A home should speak of its owner, and this one clearly does. It says, "I am confident in my choices and I know who I am." Such a marvelous thing in someone so young. He's definitely one to watch. He's going to have a successful career. I adore functional pieces as art. Witness the clothes rack which he made of pipes. It works because Mike's wardrobe color palate is carefully limited (for more on clothes racks, see my previous post here). Like I said, he knows who he is, he lives his art.

I love his sofa. It looks very much like my Danish sofa. I love the low scale.

The blue on the walls and stripes of the wood floors are art. He's correct not to make these beautiful elements compete with clutter.

He designed a perfect work space. The window is a nice touch.

This picture shows a simple, organic still life Mike created after purchasing a cup from ceramicist Teresa Chang. Love that tea pot, which I assume Teresa also made. Form and function, my favorite. In this case, creating simple Zen-like elegance. I'm also a lover of asymmetry.

This apartment makes me miss my studio apartment. It was small and humble, but it seems to be just the perfect amount of space. I'm beginning to look at alternatives to conventional living, and simple living in particular. How much space and stuff do we humans need? Of course we need a few pretty things, but we shouldn't get tied down to them. I think this is what the Buddhists meant by detachment. It doesn't mean you don't like things, or people. It just means that you value your freedom above all, and that you should always travel light.

Great job Mike! Thanks for the inspiration. I look forward to following your career. Mike's house tour on Apartment Therapy is here. Also check out Mike's fab blog, Other Blog. I will be adding Mike's blog to my link list. As always, thanks for reading! xxoo