REMIX-ing it Up in 2014 | Jennifer Sergent

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.

Reprinted from REMIX. Copyright © 2013 by Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason. Photographs copyright © 2013 by Patrick Cline. Published by Potter Style, a division of Random House LLC.

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.”

homeoffice — Angela and Leon share a home work space that extends from the living room. It combines the Industrial Chic feel of the loft with Angela’s penchant for Danish modern design. Leon painted the two pictures above the wheeled shelving from GoodWood on U Street.

The desk is vintage Paul McCobb, found online. The adorable 5-2-9 pots stand for the date when Leon proposed.

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.”

The floating shelves above the sideboard next to their dining table are home to an ever-changing gallery of art. — The floating shelves above the sideboard next to their dining table boast an ever-changing gallery of art.

Angela created this work using Scrabble tiles. "State of Emergency" illustrates a political message, such as protests against the Iraq war, that's been slowly scrubbed away through time. — Angela created this work using Scrabble tiles. “State of Emergency” illustrates a political message, such as protests against the Iraq war, that’s been slowly scrubbed away through time.

Leon's friend at the Rhode Island School of Design made this sculptural chair. — Leon’s friend at the Rhode Island School of Design made this sculptural chair.

Angela took a city street plan and made some of the structures three dimensional, so that from a distance, the take the shape of a war plane. "It was dealing with this idea of Big Brother," she says. — Angela took a street plan and made some of the structures three dimensional, so that from a distance, the take the shape of a war plane. “It was dealing with this idea of Big Brother,” she says.

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 started with a patterned Aphrochic pillow, and dressed the rest of the bed with fabulous linens from West Elm.

This is a great illustration of the concept that displaying many like objects together, as Angela and Leon do here with white and clear pottery and glass, is much more powerful than putting out one or two. — Displaying many like objects together, as Angela and Leon do here with white and clear pottery and glass, is much more powerful than putting out jut one or two.

The Anthropologie rug is a beautiful companion to the Room & Board Murray sectional, especially with the exposed-brick wall.

The vintage table from Miss Pixie's on 14th Street gets a wake-up call with bright chairs from Ikea. — The vintage table from Miss Pixie’s on 14th Street gets a wake-up call with bright chairs from Ikea.

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!

Leon Belt provided all nursery photos to Lonny, which are reprinted here with permission from Angela.

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!

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Guest Post: Angela Belt Styles a Kitchen by Sheryl Scruggs of Bronze Interiors | DC by Design Blog says:

February 16, 2015 at 11:13 pm

[…] 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 […]

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