Rustic Cafe-like Charm

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Come and take a tour of our unique apartment where modern meets vintage, and enjoy the coziness of a café-like atmosphere. Hi, I'm Lyla, currently residing in Richmond, Virginia. I spent three years working as a marketer and freelance editor in NYC before getting married. Now we are settling down in a small town for a more stable and relaxed lifestyle.

Of course, we can't forget our dogs, Ato and Puki, who have been with us for over five years since my husband and I met in New York. Ato is a black min pin, while Pooky is a chocolate-tan dachshund.

Our house used to be an old factory that was converted into an apartment building. This makes the interior design unique compared to a typical apartment, and each unit has its own distinct layout. The first floor is basically just an entrance with stairway that leads up to actual living quarters on the second floor

Right next to the bottom of the stairs leading up to the second floor, there’s a small nook where we placed a shoe box. Since we have two dogs, we installed a gate at the top of the stairs to prevent accidents.

We fell in love with the buildings rustic and industrial style, which includes the exposed ceiling slabs, bricks, and pipes. We chose this house because of several factors, such as the living room having full-length glass windows on one side that allow sunlight in from morning to early evening, the high ceilings which make the compact floor area look more spacious, and the entryway and living room being separated into different floor levels.

As my husband and I enjoy spending time in coffee bars, we aimed to create a café-like vibe in our apartment. To achieve this, we combined modern and vintage elements in our decoration.

Honestly, I don't typically stick to a single style when decorating a house, which makes it difficult to define our house with just one theme. Instead, I combine my daily tastes and choices to create the overall atmosphere and color of the house. My goal is to fill the house with accessories and furniture that catch my eye and sparkle in every moment.

I was drawn to the rustic look of the exposed white brick wall, so I hung the TV on this wall and added lights on both sides to enhance the rustic texture of the bricks. In the evening, I turn on both lights to create a cozy ambiance. For me, lighting is a crucial factor that impacts the overall mood of a house, depending on the brightness and saturation of the light.

To optimize the compact space, I placed the sofa in the middle of the living room instead of against the wall to create a more open feel. Behind the sofa, I divided the area into a workspace on the right and a dining space on the left.

As exposed pipes are visible throughout the house, I hung LED string lights around the large window frames to add some warmth and coziness to the space.

While matching furniture sets can create a cohesive look, it can also appear boring. That's why I prefer to select different products and arrange them in harmony. To prevent the space from appearing dull or chaotic, it's important to match the overall tone and ambiance of the furniture and accessories, even if they are not part of the same set.

I enjoy writing in the sunlight, which is why I positioned my desk at an angle by the window. I also placed a full-length mirror behind it to create an illusion of spaciousness without feeling cramped.

This is the dining room located beside the kitchen island table. My husband and I spend a lot of time here, not just for meals, but also for working reading, chatting over coffee, and spending time with friends.

The surfboard took up too much space, so I hung it on the white wall to add a colorful accent to the space.

We placed a mini fridge right next to the dining table so we can easily reach out for drinks.

I simply love spending time at this dining table.

All of our main kitchen appliances are located within close reach of each other, and the kitchen comes equipped with a wide, spacious worktop, which makes it much more convenient for me to cook.

Here's a photo I took while unpacking.

Despite the floor area not being very spacious, there's ample storage space in every nook and cranny, which is another thing I love about this home.

I believe music plays a significant role in setting the mood of any space. I especially enjoy listening to the analog sound of a vintage turntable.

We poured our hearts into creating a warm and comfortable space in our bedroom, using streamlined wood and gold accents.

A unique feature of the bedroom is the open section in the partition wall behind the bed. In the morning, sunlight pours through this opening and illuminates the entire room. This kind of compensates for the absence of windows in the bedroom.

I was thinking about adding some point to the exposed pipes in the bedroom, and I decided to hang strings from the pipe and connected a shelf to the strings.

Before going to sleep, I enjoy spending my downtime watching movies on the projector from the bed.

If I had to choose one favorite item in our house, it would be these two paintings, a gift from my mother, who is a painter. One is a painting of a tiger, symbolizing happiness and health, and the other depicts our dogs Ato and Puki.

One of the major selling points of this apartment was the shared facilities, including a clubhouse, gym, swimming pool, and BBQ area, which are all well-maintained.

The space where I spend the most time, my home. The taste of each day is fully reflected, and it's where the days with my beloved family are created. I hope that every day we share in the future will shine like today!

I hope you enjoyed taking a tour of our unique apartment where modern meets vintage, and you could feel the coziness of a café-like atmosphere. We fell in love with the building's rustic and industrial style. Lighting played a crucial role in creating the overall mood of the house, and we maximized the compact space by dividing it into different functional areas. Thank you for taking the time to read about our apartment, and we hope it has inspired you to create a home that reflects your personality and daily preferences.