Meanwhile, other than the kitchen, their home remained largely the same as when they first purchased it back in 2016—same trim size (900 square feet), same quirky storage nooks (the former owner was an enthusiastic DIYer). Amanda and Alain loved their little house but wanted it to grow with them, so they hired Hollie Velten-Lattrell, their friend and a rising interior designer who specializes in giving suburban homes a Brooklyn bohemian viewpoint. Adding square footage wasn’t a possibility, as the lot itself was tiny as well, but reimagining storage and updating the kids’ rooms held potential for a true transformation.
“There was so much wasted space, no storage, a chaotic feeling in the kids rooms,” says Amanda, who considered redesigning them and the bathroom herself before deciding to enlist Hollie. “I admire Hollie’s eye and talent—she comes up with so many unexpected ideas.” Plus, Hollie, who shared studio space with Amanda for a few years before opening her own storefront, already knew the kids well. “Because I already had a relationship with Adela and Henry, who both happen to be aesthetically astute and to live around the corner, they would make pit stops to the studio and work in there with us,” says Hollie.
Here’s what the family collaboration with Hollie yielded. (And be sure to scroll to the bottom for “before” photos.)
Above: Even though Amanda likes the look of open shelving, she opted for real cabinets in her kitchen. “In such a small space, I think the clutter of open shelving would make me crazy,” she wrote in her Rehab Diary.Above: The first floor is made up of the living room, dining room, and kitchen (to the right of the dining room). The walls here were all painted white to keep things light and airy. The tablecloth was hand-dyed by Amanda.Above: The living room fireplace also received a coat of white paint. The painting on the mantel is by Alain’s friend Sophia Casas.Above: Upstairs, the side-by-side kids’ rooms are so small, you can pretty much glimpse their entirety from the two doorways. Henry and Adela chose their color schemes with help from Hollie.Above: Amanda was adamant that they incorporate a full-sized bed in Adela’s room so that it can one day be used as a full-fledged guest room. Adela’s wish? That her room have a “mermaid cottage” vibe. Hollie was able to honor both requests. The shell pillow is by Tamar Mogendorff; the bedding is from Parachute; and the rug and the kantha quilt are both vintage.Above: Hollie designed the sleep nook to have a cottage-y feel as well as ample storage. The paint colors here are Farrow & Ball’s Brassica and Wevet.Above: A console, sourced on Facebook Marketplace and painted in the same shade as the sleep nook, was a better option than a desk for the small bedroom. The sunny Flowerpot Lamp is from Finnish Design Shop.
Above: When it came to Henry’s room, “I really needed Hollie’s team, I had no idea how to organize the space with his bed and the fixed ladder that took up so much of the room,” says Amanda. Hollie’s solution was to add unfussy built-in plywood storage and swap the fixed ladder for a rolling library ladder. At right, Henry carries his Main Squeeze Pillow up to the loft.Above: A hidden desk nook behind a plywood panel in Henry’s room. The beaded chair, sourced on Etsy, matches the wall, painted Benjamin Moore Caramel Latte.Above: For the main bedroom, Amanda chose to keep things serene and light.Above: Hollie was also charged with overhauling the family bathroom. (The only other bathroom in the house is a half bath in the basement.) She kept the layout the same but tore everything in the space down to the studs. The Fern Bread & Butter tiles are from Tempest Tileworks in Portland, OR.
Above: Hollie designed two niche shelving units in the small bathroom.Above: Both in the front and back yards, Amanda grows flowers for dying fabrics. See 5 Flowers to Grow for a Starter Natural Dyes Garden for her favorites.
Before
Above: Dated and lacking storage.Above: Unpolished and lacking storage.
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N.B.: This post was first published on Remodelista on June 19, 2023.
