Downsizing: a word that can often strike worry into the hearts of homeowners and renters alike. Even as a self-proclaimed “purge” professional, the thought of downsizing leaves me feeling awfully sentimental about the deepest corners of my junk drawer. This is not the case for Salima Boufelfel and Roberto Cowan, co-owners of Desert Vintage.
Two years ago, Salima and Roberto stopped by an estate sale in Central Tucson, AZ. They were on the hunt for vintage clothing to fill their shop, but in a strange twist ended up buying the entire home and all the mid-century modern furniture that filled its 2,000 square feet. “The previous owner had great taste,” Salima attests, though her and Roberto’s homeownership was short-lived. After one year, the couple decided to box up their seemingly palatial, four-bedroom home and move into the smallest place they had ever lived with one thing in mind: “What are 10 things we absolutely love?” With this as their mission statement, Roberto and Salima filled their adobe brick home in historic Barrio Viejo with an eclectic yet refined collection of modern furniture, contemporary art and a few necessities.
Barrio Viejo is one of Tucson’s oldest neighborhoods. The streets are narrow, front doors belly-up to the road, and facades sparse of windows lend an air of mystery to the blocks of colorful mud brick homes. Roberto and Salima live right in the center of a bright blue block, in a one-bedroom Row House built in the 1890s. Originally, the house was built as a temporary stay for Southern Pacific Railroad workers and consisted of a single room with a cast iron stove that served as a heater and cooking range. The stove still warms the house through the winter months, but more rooms, a kitchen, master bedroom and indoor bathroom were added as time necessitated — and in that order.
Square footage does not make a house a home, and perhaps you, too, love the corners of your junk drawer. But you’ll see how the timeless form and functionality of adobe brick, a swamp cooler, and Roberto and Salima’s favorite belongings make 600 square feet the perfect fit. —Brittany
“Think of all the people who have lived here,” suggests Roberto. An idea made apparent by the floors the couple had buffed down to concrete. You can still make out the colors from all the past tenants, giving the space a painterly quality. “Perfectly imperfect,” the duo calls it.
Craftsmanship is of utmost importance to Roberto and Salima, and it shows. The living room serves as a gallery, displaying artwork by friend and LA-based artist, Ishi Glinsky. The pieces are a remarkable fit for the space, as earth tones counteract the sleek Mies Van Der Rohe furniture and provide a warmth of color against stark white walls.
When I met up with Roberto and Salima, the couple had just returned home from two months spent crisscrossing the country, buying and selling clothes at vintage markets in New York and Los Angeles. The two were welcomed back by 105 degrees of dry heat, but under the low rolling hum of the swamp cooler, they had no complaints.
The pair have an eye for mixing eras of design, and Salima says her approach to decorating is all about balance. The glam 70s Milo Baughman couch, reupholstered in shearling by the previous owner, lives in a “controlled environment” with two 1950s George Nelson Bubble Lamps and a painting by Ishi Glinsky.
An old farmhouse table from the 1600s folds to accommodate the space or a crowd. They found the piece at an antique market in Tucson. Though the table was marked as sold, upon further inquiry Roberto learned the seller was just waiting to find the piece the right home.
Peace of mind and the desert heat play a big factor in Salima and Roberto’s lifestyle. “Being from a region where it is 111 degrees, the only thing you really can do is be pared down,” says Salima. After a long day of sorting through piles of vintage clothing, “coming home I want a clear view of things.”
You may think that scouring markets and estate sales would overwhelm, but these two are undaunted. It is their job to be edited and so Salima says, “It is very easy for us to hone in on what we like.”
The mid-century credenza is one of the “10” pieces that made the transition from their first home. Flowers fall into the category of necessity. Salima loves having flowers in the home, whether it be for a pop of color or fragrance.
The master bedroom is sparse, just as Roberto likes it. Growing up he always kept a clean room with little in it. Furniture served its sole purpose, “what was over-the-top was my closet and the things I wore, but everything else was minimal.”
insanely wonderful! So calming and grounding and spare.
Is it just me who is striken by the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera’s air enveloping the homeowners? Although neither physically resembles Diego or Frida…there’s something about their energy in the photo…check it http://www.biography.com/news/frida-kahlo-diego-rivera-america-travels
I thought the same thing!
Inspiring space!
My dream! Tucson is such a beautiful city, and what a beautiful home! Desert Vintage is a fabulous store too! I wish it was there when I was in school there.
Bravo Brit Will post!!
Bravo Brit from one writer decorator artist to another!! muah!!
gosh…. wow….. many exclamation points in my head and mind!
I thought exactly what SWATI expressed: What a strangely beautiful and serene but full-of-interesting-life place this is….
And then I saw the pic with the two and I thought: Frida & Diego… and PD mentionned it already too! How strange, again, and how beautiful.
The one thing I couldn’t live with (apart from it being much, much too hot!) is that floor, it would drive me crazy – but everything else touches me as really ‘good’. Thanks for this extraordinary post.
Love your home…thanks for sharing it!
Beautiful! I like that rug, lovely patterns!
Feeling of calm pervades the photos. What a sweet young couple. Downsizing is one of my favourite words.
Love it Brittany! Once again, knocking it out of the park!
This interior is just right. The most interesting collage of weird-ness, simplicity, functionality, and art that I’ve seen in a long time.
Amazing, inspiring interior design, love this home and everything in it!
Does anyone know where the bedroom lamps are from?!
What a strange sort of beautiful <3
insanely wonderful! So calming and grounding and spare.
Is it just me who is striken by the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera’s air enveloping the homeowners? Although neither physically resembles Diego or Frida…there’s something about their energy in the photo…check it http://www.biography.com/news/frida-kahlo-diego-rivera-america-travels
I thought the same thing!
Inspiring space!
My dream! Tucson is such a beautiful city, and what a beautiful home! Desert Vintage is a fabulous store too! I wish it was there when I was in school there.
Bravo Brit Will post!!
Bravo Brit from one writer decorator artist to another!! muah!!
gosh…. wow….. many exclamation points in my head and mind!
I thought exactly what SWATI expressed: What a strangely beautiful and serene but full-of-interesting-life place this is….
And then I saw the pic with the two and I thought: Frida & Diego… and PD mentionned it already too! How strange, again, and how beautiful.
The one thing I couldn’t live with (apart from it being much, much too hot!) is that floor, it would drive me crazy – but everything else touches me as really ‘good’. Thanks for this extraordinary post.
Love your home…thanks for sharing it!
Beautiful! I like that rug, lovely patterns!
Feeling of calm pervades the photos. What a sweet young couple. Downsizing is one of my favourite words.
Love it Brittany! Once again, knocking it out of the park!
This interior is just right. The most interesting collage of weird-ness, simplicity, functionality, and art that I’ve seen in a long time.
Amazing, inspiring interior design, love this home and everything in it!
Does anyone know where the bedroom lamps are from?!