sneak peek: jamie gray

the weather has definitely changed here in nyc, there’s a certain crispness in the air that makes you want to sharpen your pencils and get new school clothes! so it’s fitting that this sneak peek is a look into the home of a professor. jamie, a graphic design professor at kansas city art institute, and her husband rob, an associate creative director at an interactive agency, live in the river market neighborhood of kansas city, missouri in a former taxicab garage that has been converted into loft space. their home is all about juxtaposition and creativity – pairing high polished concrete floors with a huge tumbleweed hanging from the ceiling! now that’s the kind of professor i’d like to have had! {thanks jamie and rob!} -amy

[The turned aspen vase sitting atop the hutch is by my dad, artist Robert Gray. My husband and I met in design school and this Armin Hofmann poster pays homage to the Swiss influences in our education. I made the pillow from a thrifted Marimekko shirt.]

We have a sizable collection of mid-century Polish posters that we rotate in these frames. I typically curate them by subject, illustration style or color. The robot is from Bennett Robot Works from a past trip to NYC.

The street facing wall is white cinderblock so we added plywood paneling and echoed the same treatment on the loft balcony. This was a fairly simple and economic way to add warmth to the space. The Tendo Mokko rocker and teak nesting tables are a few of our many ebay finds.

CLICK HERE for the rest of jamie’s peek (including all the images on one page) after the jump!

The 20-foot high walls provide ample space to display art. I painted the three paintings, which were inspired by quantum physics. Our beloved Danish credenza by Arne Vodder is the centerpiece of the living area.

The Laminex chair by Jens Nielson was our gateway into collecting MCM. The quilted pillows made from vintage neckties are by designer Katherine McCoy.


The tumbleweed was found along I-70 and we were inspired to dangle it from the ceiling like a chandelier after we saw something similar at the Eames case study house in LA. The skeleton collection along the stairs has grown out of various trips to Mexico.

This awesome steel truss supports the curved gray metal roof and was part of the original taxicab garage structure. The smiling continental US screen print by Aesthetic Apparatus is from a recent trip to Minneapolis.

We put a high gloss wax on the raw concrete floor to make it shine. The cantilever chairs are a Mies van der Rohe design and the dining table is Eames by Herman Miller.


We found the slate chalkboard at an architectural salvage and use it as a headboard and place for random doodles. The ceramic wall tiles are by Heather Knight on etsy and the beside tables are by Kerf Design in Seattle.

We found the vintage teal Aluminum Group chairs at Retro Inferno, a favorite Kansas City mid-century mecca. A skylight above the desks provides great natural light for working.