Playful design

Dream home Architect-in-training Ellie “customized” her dollhouse with markers and crayons.

SIZING IT UP
WHERE: Park Slope, Brooklyn
WHAT: 2 bedrooms, ground floor
SIZE: 1,200 sq ft
TYPE: Home/company headquarters
VISIT: iglooplay.com

Where does your family spend most of their time?
Albin Our living room. It has big French doors that open up to the common space, which doubles as my office and a playroom for the kids. The office could have been a third bedroom, but we chose to put the girls together in one room and use it as public space instead.

We go together The girls in the room they share; the family uses what might have been the third bedroom as common space.

Wow—a lot goes on in there. Was it hard to choose furnishings that worked for you and your kids?
Albin We use a lot of the pieces I’ve created—the good thing is they’re multigenerational. Our tea pods [organically inspired foam furniture components in assorted sizes; shown above] are durable enough for the kids to climb all over, but also work well on an aesthetic level. Or you can add a tray topper and use it to serve drinks and snacks after the kids go to bed.

Good looking Iglooplay’s Mod Rocker for kids seamlessly fits in with the apartment’s design.

City living means space challenges. What problems do you face?
Albin It’s hard to organize everything that comes into the house. Anya and Ellie generate so much paper with all their artwork. Kauffman I think they’ve made cards for every birthday and holiday from now until 2019

How do you organize it all?
Albin The girls have their own mesh stacking letter trays on their desk, like the ones we have in our office. Who would’ve thought they’d need in-boxes? But there’s school stuff, after-school stuff, drawings. This is where I do my mini-commercial for the Container Store. I use its clear plastic boxes and store the kids’ things on open shelves. That way, they can see what’s inside them.

Two-in-one French doors open up to the combined office and playroom.

How does living in Park Slope compare with where you grew up?
Kauffman I grew up in the Village. When I was around six, I lived on Bank and Bleecker Streets in a studio apartment with six other people. So I’m used to small spaces. Albin I grew up in suburban Baltimore. The fact that we’re on the first floor and can look out and see trees is familiar, but in every other way, it’s very different. I never walked anywhere when I was a kid.

Rest time Anya relaxes between two colorful tea pods.

Have you ever thought about packing it up and leaving the city?
Albin I don’t foresee that happening. Yes, as the children get older, it would be really appealing to have more space. I used to worry about the fact that Anya and Ellie’s bedroom is small, but they love it. They’regood friends—and I can hear them talking at night before they go to sleep.

Albin’s design pick “Ebaying vintage chairs for kids is my favorite. I bought a bent plywood children’s Thonet chair for only $20.”

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