hvh interiors: inspiring spaces

Sarah and Scott, friends from my lovely hometown (Montreal), are selling their apartment. When they gave me permission to use some photos featuring their space, I knew I had to share them here immediately. When they moved in, this dynamic duo took on some major renovations and turned the space into a real gem. I'm so proud of their great work and great taste. They created a really unique home, full of character with a distinctive personality. It's not an easy task to make a house a home - one that reflects you and inspires you. So I decided to ask them a few questions about their space. But first, let's delight our eyes, shall we?

1. Your apartment has a very unique style and feel. how would you best describe it?

Scott - Timeless Modern. It's a blend of classic, timeless design with modern touches. We tried to use as much of the original design of the building, which was built in the 20s, in our own design. So you tend to see touches of Art Deco creep up on you here and there.

Sarah - I would describe it as very Sarah and Scott. Those who know us would understand. Timeless and classic with a bit of a modern edge. I'm classic, Scott's modern. We blend the two styles very well.

2. I understand you took on some major renovations in the space. What was your biggest challenge?

Scott - At first, you're kind of overwhelmed with it all – well especially me since I had no real construction/renovation experience and was about to do half the work myself. The design part we were fine with; shopping, researching, planning. Once you start getting your hands dirty though you realize it isn't all that hard. Sure, I wasn't as fast as a professional contractor, but the actual work isn't extremely difficult. The real challenge though, is the unexpected. What you expect to see when you open up a wall or floor is not always what shows itself once the demolition is done. It's knowing what to do with those unexpected "hazards" that differentiate the pros from the joes. We had a few hiccups with the original design of the bathroom when the floors were opened up; like a couple of steel beams… Luckily we had a great contractor for that part of the renovations!

Sarah - My biggest challenge was convincing Scott that we needed to keep the 1920 soul of the apartment. Scott would love to live in a big open modern space but I am much more of a cozy person. I’m old fashioned when it comes to the home and the family, so I wanted to showcase the roots of the apartment. I wasn’t about to tear down all the walls. Once we were on the same page, it was smooth sailing. We love the task of finding the best deal and the challenge of putting things together in a way that we both love. It was a lot more hands on work for Scott; I’m a great project manager but not so great with the hammer.

3. What are you most proud of, or cherish most about your space?

Scott - I guess the kitchen, since that's the room I actually renovated myself. You have a real sense of accomplishment when you actually do the work and it turns out nice. Other than that I guess just the overall feel of the entire flat – I think we were able to create a cool looking space design-wise, but not compromise on the livability of it. A lot of these minimalist modern lofts look great in a magazine, but try living there! They just aren't practical. As for the cherishing part, I love all my art (especially my fake "art gallery" room!).

Sarah - I love the bathroom. It was so ugly before and I think we brought it back to its original glam. The kitchen is where we spend most of our time and knowing that Scott built it for me makes it extra special. I love to cook and Scott loves to eat, we will often spend a whole afternoon listening to radio shows and cooking for friends.

4. Tell us about your design process. Did you start with a source of inspiration? Did the project have a clear direction or did it just evolve into what it is now?

Scott - Given the age of the building, the art deco details that were still present, we knew from the beginning we wanted to blend old with new. We both are huge fans of design from the 30s-50s, so it all kind of fit. It was a constant (but friendly) battle between Sarah and I on a few things, but when we saw something that was perfect, we both knew and agreed. It was really always like that… we go back and forth over a tile for the backsplash, she liked one thing, I another… then bam! We find the perfect ones, and we both know instantly (that's what you see in the kitchen today, a soft grey marble with hints of gold).

Sarah - We wanted a unified look throughout the apartment; because it’s not open, we struggled with having so many rooms. We still wanted the place to flow and feel open and airy so using a unified design style was important. My inspiration comes from my mother, Martha Stewart and Audrey Hepburn. My mum helped me to see that there is such thing as too much wood and painting the fireplace was an option. From there, both Scott and I could appreciate the deco subtleties and we went with it. I always dreamed of having a claw-foot tub and it definitely was a major inspiration piece for the design of the bathroom. I don’t like color, I see everything in black & white and shades of grey. I believe that color should come in to your home through the art you hang on your walls. It’s a great way to change things up, our biggest challenge now is our art collection is too big for our walls. It will be a much bigger factor when we start our new project this spring.

5. If a famous (dead) person were to live in your place, who would suit it best?

Scott - Sarah will say Audrey Hepburn I'm sure… For me I guess I'd say Steve McQueen, mainly because he was just such a timelessly stylish guy, but really didn't seem to put much effort into being overly stylish. That's kind of how I see our place: timeless, stylish but not trying to be something it's not.

Sarah - Ha! Scott knows me too well. Yes, I would love for it to suit Audrey Hepburn best however it isn’t quite feminine enough for her. Perhaps one of her characters, not Holly Golightly but maybe Stockton from Funny Face along with Dick Avery played by Fred Astaire. He is after all a photographer just like Scott.

* * * * *

After reading their responses, everything I felt about the place was reassured. A perfect mix of styles and the harmony is really there. A true reflection of the people who inhabit it. That's great interior design.

For those of you drooling over the amazing amount of natural light, the glorious floors, the majestic windows, the mouldings, the exposed brick, the awesome kitchen, the charming bathroom - and thinking to yourselves, gosh, I could so live there ... well, your dreams could come true. If you're planning to move to Montreal, that is. I mentioned it's for sale, so follow this link to the listing.

Thanks to Sarah and Scott for taking the time to answering a few questions for us. Good luck with your new place guys, although I have a feeling you won't need too much of that. But do have fun and feel free to send some pictures over this way when it's done ;)

Well friends, have a lovely day. It's sunny here in Frankfurt and there's a smile on my face.

Xx. Holly.

ps. Scott is an inspiring photographer / artist. Overall a fun, creative guy. Learn more about him and his work here. You'll love it.

*** images via.

via Flickr

There's something about Berlin that I love. I think many people feel it. Others do not. Not at all. But when I am here (which I am right now), I feel good. Relaxed. Life feels easy. Even though it is quite a big city. There's lots of contradiction. Lots of contrast. There's always something to do, something to see, something to learn, to remember or to experience. You can do some of it, you can do it all. But you don't have to do any of it. No one will judge you. Live and let live. Work. Create. Lounge. Enjoy. Explore. Learn. Progress. Regress. I feel there is time and room for all of it. I love Berlin.

So, I thought I'd invite you to peak into three Berlin apartments which seem to sum up the vibe I feel here - although they are all very different.

This apartment belongs to Alex. Images via Freunde von Freunden.