The Super Small Founder’s West Village Apartment Is One Big Play House

Melissa Bradford

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For quite a few, decorating a family residence can be like dealing with the Instagram divide of expectation (This temper board encapsulates my inner soul and outer aesthete) versus real life (We have to have crayon-evidence paint). Or as Maria Dueñas Jacobs has asked herself: What happens when there’s slime on the sofa? For Jacobs, previous longtime components director at Elle journal, founder of kids’ jewellery line Tremendous Smalls, and seasoned mother of a few, the structure answer for her new condominium was to make it gorgeous but not cherished.

black striped banquette

There’s a lot of lady electric power in the Jacobs family, with three daughters, decor selections by feminine designers, and artwork of and by females. Picture Lights, Residence of Antique Hardware Custom Bookshelf and Banquette, The Cappiello Penny Eating Chairs, Thomas Hayes Studio Jointly Extending Table by Studioilse, De La Espada Custom Cushions in Askew Material,
Kelly Wearstler for Lee Jofa Pillows, Pottery Barn Vivien x 5 Artwork, Alex Katz.

Upon coming into the sunny residence in New York’s West Village—which Jacobs shares with her partner, Jordan, a plastic surgeon at Mt. Sinai Clinic, and daughters Luna and twins Isa and Silvi—the in general vibe is streamlined and intentional. A neutral coloration palette mixes with lavender and dusty blush hues, and a handful of, very well-decided on products floor the interior: an ash- and burl-wood credenza, a navy leather-based-front bureau, and a Theo Ruth shearling club chair. At a glance, the apartment does not browse as notably kid-centric. But appear a lot more carefully and there are shockingly family-friendly alternatives.

The loftlike flooring approach is open and airy, the place the kitchen area, living room, and eating area boundaries blur, building it quick for Jacobs to see her daughters anywhere they are enjoying. An expandable dining desk tucks into a crafted-in banquette, which is protected in a stain-averse striped outdoor cloth. And a customized ottoman has curved edges and scratch-resistant mohair, so it’s amenable to both the girls and their British Blue cat, Frankie. The final result is a room for entertaining, dwelling, and boosting a relatives, where older people can be adults and youngsters can be little ones.

When Jacobs and her partner uncovered the developing preconstruction a few yrs ago, they had a blank slate to physical exercise their creativeness and craft their ideal residence, with the enable of Leroy Road Studio architect Marc Turkel and designer Jerry Cappiello. The challenge was creating it perform for their daughters in the close to- and lengthy-time period. They made a flexible four-bedroom structure, the only just one of its variety in the creating. Like a repeating recreation of Lincoln Logs, they mapped out unique place iterations for toddlers, teenagers, and past: The key bed room could be shared by all of her youngsters for now the participate in location could operate as a independent bedroom for her oldest daughter afterwards the visitor suite could double as a momentary business (and did, for the 2019 start of Tremendous Smalls). With that flexible footprint in thoughts, Jacobs layered on smart—and normally whimsical—decor picks, from spill-hiding, vibrant patterned rugs to a tailor made daybed with developed-in storage.

mom and child hugging on sofa

In the Jacobs family, an adult aesthetic is translated into youngster-pleasant textures, fabrics, and silhouettes—a acquire for anyone.

“Strategic mess was aspect of the style and design strategy,” quips Jacobs. This rings true in the girls’ bedroom. It’s a dreamy 24-7 slumber party, replete with a teepee, cloud-painted partitions, and a candylike Murano glass gentle fixture. The close by playroom has a similar feeling of flexibility and joy. Everything is movable, from bookshelves and beanbag chairs to the arts-and-crafts table, as dance get-togethers and scooter rides are inspired with most floor room. Still, among all the toys and reverie, functional things are woven in. The bunk mattress has stairs (safer than a ladder), with the bottom actions doubling as hidden drawers, and the loft has overall flexibility to become a desk or game location.

“It’s undoubtedly a entertaining home, promoting play, creativity, and fantasy,” claims Jacobs. “I wanted the condominium to permit that.” This artistic sensibility extends to grownup spots, far too. The visitor place has a custom made pull-out trundle (due to the fact grown-ups also have sleepovers—namely for the in-rules). And in the living room, Jacobs had some fun of her personal, making a Moroccan rug mashup with two different purple and pink designs that “felt neat and a small strange.” She leaned into the concept and had them cut and merged. Then there’s her bedside tables topped in rose quartz—a materials as resilient as it is attractive and an extension of Jacobs’s appreciate for gems. “Stones truly feel magical and have therapeutic homes,” she notes. In the meantime, the living area bookshelf is a opportunity to include private and gathered finds: a Buddha statue, family members images, and ceramic vessels.

Cloud Walls and a Kid-Proof Breakfast Nook Make This Whole Apartment a Playhouse

Tulipan Mild Fixture by J.T. Kalmar, 1stDibs Covet Tall Box Tub Sconces by Kelly Wearstler for Visible Comfort, Lumens Blackened Paint, Farrow & Ball Royal Danby Marble Flooring and Countertop, MSI Personalized Olive Ash Drawer Program Compact Belles Rives Tray by Rita Konig, The Lacquer Enterprise Taps, Waterworks.

For all the levity in the residence, there are a great deal of expenditure things, as well. Accents substantial off the floor (and out of reach from little palms) were being an possibility to increase jewel-box details—including a sparkling Kalmar chandelier identified on 1stDibs and disc lights in alabaster and shiny brass by Equipment Studio. Significantly like the finishing touch of earrings or a necklace with an outfit, lighting fixtures total the appear. “I felt like they have been items of art,” Jacobs explains, noting how she invested in them in a way she would not have when dwelling in a rental.

two daughters in PJs jumping on bunk bed

“My girls have been my target team, my inspiration, my wear testers, my almost everything
for Super Smalls. As a mother or father, you want them to dress up, to have exciting, and to express on their own,” says Jacobs.
On Luna, Isa, and Silvi: Nico Pyjamas, Nights by Wilder Jewellery, Tremendous Smalls.

Then there is the real high-quality artwork, from a Warhol depicting a few women (a Mother’s Day present and nod to her daughters) to a Robert Motherwell print previously mentioned the main mattress. They reside harmoniously with other will work all over the home, this kind of as abstract paintings by Jacobs’s artist mom, Rosaria Pugliese, and her children’s drawings. And that’s the important. No make any difference the design choice—up large or down lower, wonderful or participate in, renowned or unknown—it’s all liked in the Jacobs household and set there for a rationale. That sort of innovative-meets-reasonable model comes from lived experience. “Someday we’ll have sharp edges yet again,” claims Jacobs. “But for now there’s dance events and toy horses and scooters.”

This story was initially released in our Tumble 2020 situation with the headline “Play Property.”

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