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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
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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.
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.”
WALLPAPER Chiavi Segrete $2.20/sample, cole-and-son.com STOOL Magino by Karim Rashid $200 umbra.com
A pair of Katrin Bremermann works hang above a bureau in the nursery.
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