I think we’re all in clearing-out mode: Clearing out holiday, clearing out the fridge, clearing out the clutter—on the to-do list if not quite yet in reality. So it’s in the spirit of shaking things up for the New Year that I have been pouring through REMIX: Decorating with Culture, Objects and Soul by Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason, the husband-wife team behind the fabulous Aphrochic blog and online shop.

Remix is “a comprehensive guide to bringing a sense of cultural identity into the home while still honoring a modern design aesthetic,” writes Danielle Colding, host of HGTV’s “Shop This Room” and the network’s 2012 “Design Star” winner, in the book’s foreward.
My favorite part? Hays prominently features the Navy Yard loft of her sister, Angela Belt, the visual merchandising director at Room & Board on 14th Street, and her husband Leon, a videographer and graphic designer.
Angela and Leon “crafted a space that is equal parts workshop, gallery, and home—built around art, music, and memories, all of the things they are most passionate about,” Hays and Mason write in the book. “At every turn, this unconventional Washington, DC, loft is a tribute to the works they have created, to the pieces they have collected from fellow artisans and friends, and to fond reminders from their international travels.”


I chatted with Angela just before the holidays, and she told me more about how she and her husband put it all together, using their own art, that of friends and also local DC artists. “I really like to make sure [a space] is really personal, filled with things that keep us inspired,” she said. To that end, she’s created display areas where art is easily changed out. “I have a whole closet full of artwork that I love to move around.”




In addition to the art, Angela and Leon cleverly blend color and pattern into their furniture and accessories to crate an airy and vibrant feel that befits their loft.




Angela and Leon have added to their family since these photos were shot for the book, which was published in October. Now, little Brooklyn occupies the space behind this kitchen, displacing her parents to another room. Lonny Magazine published the nursery photos on its blog, and here are a few of them. Naturally, it’s a totally Remixed, Aphrochic nursery!

Hays helped her sister decorate the space. I love the stenciled painting on the walls, and the bold graphic print on the rug.
According to the Lonny post: “One of Belt’s baby shower gifts was a set of etsy prints by artist Tabitha Brown. ‘They depict the type of young lady I would like my daughter to grow up to be,’ says Belt.”
And now, instead of white pottery and glass along this ledge, baby books held together with adorable bookends:
Brooklyn is one lucky little girl.
There’s something about all these photos that gives me enthusiasm for the New Year, which will be my fifth year of blogging! The Belts’ loft is fun, fresh, and full of possibility, just the way each turning of the calendar should be. Have a happy one!
[…] in charge of the visual merchandising for Room & Board on 14th Street. I wrote a post on her own apartment last year, and in this post, Angela profiles an incredible kitchen transformation by designer […]