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photographs by MIA BAXTER text by CATHERINE HONG interior design by MAYA NAIRN
The luxurious lines of a navy tufted John Derian sofa provide a striking juxtaposition to a pair of minimalist works by Katrin Bremermann.
“Having experimented with prints and patterns, I’ve learned that living in neutrals is best for me,” says Nairn, seated here in her bedroom. BENCH velvet, vintage, mercurydesignstudio.com
Everybody does some degree of tidying up before guests arrive. After Maya Nairn had her first child a few years ago, she realized that she always stashed away certain things first: namely, the infant gear. It wasn’t simply a matter of clutter. The saccharine colors and juvenile prints of the burp cloths and nursing pillow felt out of place in her modern, pared-down Austin home. “I’d think to myself, ‘Why can’t all this baby stuff be better looking?’” she says. Nairn’s search for chic baby gear was the impetus for de Buci Baby, a collection of understated infant textiles and accessories (sleep sacks in blue-and-white cotton toile, nursing pillows in flax linen), which she launched one year ago. Today, Nairn’s house is proof that having children doesn’t mean turning your thoughtfully decorated home into a giant romper room. “Your space can be safe and functional for children and still be beautiful,” says Nairn, who gave birth to her third child, Ambrose, last fall.
Keeping the space between the sofas open means fewer accidents for the kids. “The absence of a coffee table just means one less thing for the kids to bump into,” Nairn says. The abstract photograph above the mantel is by her mother, artist Shirine Gill.
SOFA 265-267 MEX cassina.com ART “Untitled, Feathers,” Nos. 1 and 4, shirinegill.com ART “Cowboy Chrome,” annakrachey.com
The first floor is a large, light-filled space, where Nairn’s five-year-old, Delphine, and two-year-old, Dashiell, dance around the sleek dining table (made by furniture maker John Houshmand from a black cherry tree felled on Nairn’s father’s property) and scoot their toy cars over the concrete floor. Bins of smaller toys are stashed out of sight in consoles behind the two sofas in the living area. Meanwhile, the stark white walls and ceiling, punctuated by black-and-white artworks, create the feeling of an art gallery. “I’ve always been attracted to a minimalist aesthetic,” says Nairn. “There’s something about clean lines and neutral colors that never gets old.”
A plaster bust finds modern footing on a Milo Baughman bronze pedestal.
SIDE TABLE Drum by Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin $2,100 dwr.com
“I wanted the guest room to feel like a hotel suite,” says Nairn.
BEDDING white vintage linen, matteohome.com BLANKET Napoli by Libeco $273 abchome.com WALL LIGHT Boston Functional Library $349 circalighting.com TABLE LAMP Peggy $675 flairhomecollection.com BLANKET Polanco cream by Mexchic $135 theline.com
WALLPAPER Chiavi Segrete $2.20/sample, cole-and-son.com STOOL Magino by Karim Rashid $200 umbra.com
A floral wallpaper by Richard Holton in Nairn’s dressing room is the most exuberantly feminine detail of the house.
WALLPAPER chinoiserie, holtonarts.com
A pair of Katrin Bremermann works hang above a bureau in the nursery.
A sunny corner of the nursery makes a cozy spot for reading.
TEDDY BEAR jumbo brown $79.99 melissaanddoug.com RUG sheepskin from $278 wildflowerorganics.com MOBILE abstract brass $240 etsy.com TEDDY BEAR toile cotton $50 debucibaby.com
Nairn stretched a favorite Pierre Frey fabric on a canvas frame and hung it over the beds in the kids’ room. “It has the feeling of a contemporary artwork, but not the price point,” she says. She found the beds on Amazon.
FABRIC Arty, stretched on canvas, pierrefrey.com BEDS Modena toddler by DaVinci $109 amazon.com BLANKET cream linen $130 debucibaby.com TEDDY BEAR pink linen $50 debucibaby.com TEDDY BEAR organic cotton $50 debucibaby.com