Two Shopkeepers At Home In Brooklyn
When interior designer Asumi Tomita and her husband Kuni decided to open a shop in 2013, they wanted it to be a reflection of their collective styles and a place to showcase their favorite artists and objects. Named Kanorado Shop, the online store features a tightly curated assortment of beautiful home goods, gardening supplies, and clothes—some designed by the couple, some vintage. With an emphasis on simplicity and minimalism, the objects held by Kanorado have a quiet beauty about them. In many ways, the shop is an extension of Asumi and Kuni’s Brooklyn home, a place that the couple has shared for six years. Drawn to the space originally because of its killer features (hello, exposed brick!) and nearby parks and shops, the apartment has become a place for the couple’s style to evolve and coalesce. With the same minimal aesthetic as Kanorado Shop, the home provides breathing room for individual objects and ideas to shine. —Max
Image above: The bedroom. An antique marine signal flag hangs above the bed. Bed linens from Area Home. Side cabinet from IKEA with hardware from Anthropologie.
Image above: An alternate bedroom view. Table lamp a vintage find from an Upstate flea market.
See more of this minimal home after the jump!
Image above: An assortment of flowers and succulents on the bedside cabinet. “We love to fill the corner of the room with lots of plants,” Asumi says. “The cake stand in the back is from our wedding. Now we use it to put a plant on it and we love it.”
Image above: A wooden clothing rack designed by Tomoko Azumi stands along the bedroom wall. “The antique wooden Champagne Bollinger box underneath the rack was a gift from our best friend Yuko Watatani,” Asumi says. “She filled this box with messages from all the guests who came to our wedding and wine corks from that day and shipped to us a month after our wedding as a surprise gift. It was the most beautiful gift ever.”
Image above: Vintage hotel hangers are used to hold shirts on the clothes rack.
Image above: Unlike the bedroom, which has a more subdued feeling, the couple opted to bring more color into their main living space. The walls were painted a dark blue to contrast with the yellow chaise lounge.
Image above: The wood on the chaise used to be painted, but the couple opted to strip and stain it brown for a more natural look. The colorful pillow was designed for their shop. The antique trunk next to the chaise was a gift from a friend and is now used for extra storage.
Image above: In order to create the artwork seen above, Asumi and Kuni glued down vintage postage stamps, one by one. “It took us quite a long time to complete but it was fun and we love how it came out all together!” Asumi says.
Image above: The kitchen.
Image above: The kitchen corner, a favorite spot for food prep and enjoying morning coffee. The wire shelf was purchased at Brooklyn’s Moon River Chattel.
Image above: One of Kuni’s hobbies is making ceramics—the two bowls above center were crafted by him. A limited-edition embroidered wreath from Coral & Tusk hangs above the shelves.
Image above: Vintage brackets from the Brimfield antiques fair hold up the white shelf in the kitchen.
Image above: The backyard is the couple’s favorite spot at their home. During the summer, it makes a perfect place for entertaining guests.
A home with tons of personality. I like!
Beautifully photographed. Calming apartment for this crazy world. Thank you for sharing.
Would love to know what you put on the bricks as they seem to be protected by some varnish yet they’re not too shiny (trying to achieve this at home). :-)
Thank you for a lovely home!
Love the plants! Not sure why we need 8 pictures of the bedroom, though….
Thanks for the comments! Stephanie, I know exactly what you mean, because I also like the brick walls that are not too shiny. I wish I can answer to your question but it was already like this when we decided to move in so I am not so sure what finish was applied to them.
Charming and peaceful! I really love their wall. Thank you for sharing!!
Sarah
PS. I’m just curious about the wreath in the last picture.
Love this house. Love places that are unique and don’t look like others
I am very pleased to see the way you organize various floral decoration in all the rooms. Simple but very interesting. The use of decoration materials is also not expensive, I think. However, you are able to show in the form of a very beautiful and exotic. I want to try it. Thank you.
Beautiful! I love the mix of vintage, wood and gorgeous plants! x
Stephanie – I have a similar brick wall in my house that I restored, and I used Lithofin MN Slate Seal (bought on UK Amazon) to seal it at the end. It says that it leaves a high-gloss finish, but on rough brick the finished effect is similar to the pictures above. It’s a really good product. Hope that helps!
Always a pleasure to see a home with both old and new, dark and light rooms. Those vintage clothing hangers are awesome!
Such good light in the kitchen!
And I love the hassock in the living room. I’m a bit hassock obsessed… I wrote a hassock reupholstery DIY last year if you’re interested!
http://fluffyland.com/blog/index.php/2013/hassock-re-upholstery-complete/
It is lovely and idealistic like.
Thank you, Asumi and Christine! :-)
Thank you again for all the comments! Sarah, the wreath is by Floral Designer Eiko Fujii.
All the different textures make the place feel so warm and inviting. Love the variations in each room.
This is gorgeous. I love the light, color and texture in this beautiful home!
I <3 this – light, natural and plant-full!
Love it. I would love to see more of the exterior. Loved the artwork made with vintage stamps!
So beautiful…. what a lovely personal space
What a beautiful home — it feels so loved. I also enjoy plants in the home.
Lovely home, seems to cozy and practical. I love all the plants, gives a feeling that the backyard garden extends into the home. The artwork from vintage stamps is extrodarnary!