My Houzz: Color, Hope and Light in a Redesigned D.C. Rental
A clean slate helps this designer redefine her life and 600-square-foot apartment with guts and gusto
Interior designer Kerra Michele Huerta’s Washington, D.C., apartment has gone through several redesigns that reflect where she has been at different moments in her life. The 600-square-foot rental in Dupont Circle is a bold statement of change with light and bright color as the main theme. After Huerta went through a divorce, she sold everything she owned in one week on Craigslist and started over with a blank slate. Over the course of about 16 months, she redesigned her life and home. “I took time to decide who I was as a single person, who I wanted to be, and how my space could reflect my new identity,” she says. “Now the space that used to hold sad memories is a happy place with memories of how I started a new life for myself.”
Huerta designed her entire apartment herself. “Since I was doing my entire house all at once — and I had just started a design firm and gotten divorced — my budget was pretty small. I used the money I made from selling my other furniture toward finding new things, and I did a lot of repurposing,” she says. For the living room, Huerta chose a few large pieces of furniture, rather than many small pieces of furniture, to make it feel more spacious. “It seems counterintuitive, but it really works,” she says.
Huerta found the painting above the fireplace at one of her favorite thrift shops, and took the palette for her home from it. Emerald and teal are used in every room.
Although she kept to a modest budget, Huerta splurged on the items she felt were important. For the living room, this meant spending a little extra on the fabric she used to reupholster the vintage furniture. Huerta bought a pair of bergère chairs from eBay and had them reupholstered in an ikat-dot fabric on the front, and white leather on the sides and back.
She lined the back of the white Ikea bookcases flanking the fireplace with faux bois wrapping paper.
Although she kept to a modest budget, Huerta splurged on the items she felt were important. For the living room, this meant spending a little extra on the fabric she used to reupholster the vintage furniture. Huerta bought a pair of bergère chairs from eBay and had them reupholstered in an ikat-dot fabric on the front, and white leather on the sides and back.
She lined the back of the white Ikea bookcases flanking the fireplace with faux bois wrapping paper.
“When I decided I wanted a green velvet sofa, it was nearly impossible to find that fabric. I went to literally every fabric store in the entire D.C. Design Center with no luck, and everyone who worked there told me I was crazy. ‘No one uses that color,’ they said to me. I responded, ‘Well, soon everyone will!’ And now green velvet sofas are stocked in many well-known furniture stores. So maybe I wasn’t so crazy after all,” Huerta says with a laugh. The sleeper sofa she re-covered is from CB2.
Huerta tried to be smart about which design pieces she invested in. “All these things have a wow factor that elevates the less-expensive items in the space and makes my tiny home feel a little more special,” she says.
“I would say half of the furniture in every room is vintage, and some things I made look more expensive with a few tricks,” Huerta says. For example, the elephant table under the TV is a thrift store warehouse piece that she snatched up on its way out to the dumpster. “I painted it gloss black, then got a remnant of marble to make a tabletop for it,” she says.
The gallery wall in the stairway is emblematic of the eclectic yet organized feel of her home. Huerta describes her style as “eclectic, fresh, comfortable, somewhat feminine, and definitely has a West Coast boho vibe.” “The frames showcase personal photos, mostly shots I’ve taken on trips around the world. I also have some artwork and prints I’ve collected over the years, and even a few old maps,” she says.
“I stash a couple of teal ceramic garden stools under an acrylic console table, which I had custom-made to the small size I needed, which I pull up to the table for meals,” Huerta says. “Though admittedly I don’t eat at home often, because I’m always eating out.”
“I stash a couple of teal ceramic garden stools under an acrylic console table, which I had custom-made to the small size I needed, which I pull up to the table for meals,” Huerta says. “Though admittedly I don’t eat at home often, because I’m always eating out.”
On the door under the stairs hangs a framed favorite poem by Robert M. Drake, which captures Huerta’s new approach to life.
At the foot of the stairs is a midcentury tallboy dresser. Here Huerta stores purses, gloves, hats and other things she needs handy when she’s walking out the door. The top of the dresser is used as a bar for mixing cocktails.
The custom neon sign holds special significance for Huerta. “When I was a little girl, I remember my father wearing a T-shirt on the weekends that said, ‘No guts, no glory.’ I used to contemplate what that meant, and it always stuck with me. It’s kind of my life motto,” she says.
The custom neon sign holds special significance for Huerta. “When I was a little girl, I remember my father wearing a T-shirt on the weekends that said, ‘No guts, no glory.’ I used to contemplate what that meant, and it always stuck with me. It’s kind of my life motto,” she says.
The front door, seen on the right here painted a light blue, opens into the dining room. “The space was originally empty and completely wasted, so I switched out the cheap flush-mount light for a dramatic bohemian chandelier, and used a round table to create the feeling of a foyer,” Huerta says.
In the dining room, her splurge items are the chandelier and the custom artwork by Juniper Briggs, a favorite local artist.
In the dining room, her splurge items are the chandelier and the custom artwork by Juniper Briggs, a favorite local artist.
Huerta had to be creative in personalizing her kitchen, since she’s in a rental and can’t make permanent changes. She used removable wallpaper from Tempaper to cover her appliances. She also painted the back wall with chalkboard paint with permission from the landlord.
Additionally, Huerta took the cabinet doors off some of her upper cabinets to add a bit of depth to the small galley kitchen. She added patterned removable wallpaper from Tempaper to create a graphic backsplash.
Above the open kitchen cabinets are woven baskets for extra storage.
“Although I was on a tight budget, I do believe in spending a little more on at least one special piece in every room. It makes a room feel more expensive than it is, especially when you are working with vintage and used pieces,” Huerta says. In the bedroom, her splurge is this handmade Indonesian bed.
On either side of the bed hang some of Huerta’s colorful necklaces next to wall sconces.
“My bedroom has seen the most dramatic change of all, because it received two makeovers. My bedroom was the first room in the house I redesigned, and as soon as I emptied it out, I painted the walls black; I created a bit of a cocoon for myself,” Huerta says.
“Once I had finished with all the other rooms in the house, I took a trip to India. Something changed for me there, and it was very healing for me personally. I fell in love with Kerala, a region in the south, and have vivid memories of falling asleep on the beach in a hammock between two palm trees. When I came back, I painted all the walls white, the ceiling a pale blue, and splurged on a rattan canopy bed.”
“Once I had finished with all the other rooms in the house, I took a trip to India. Something changed for me there, and it was very healing for me personally. I fell in love with Kerala, a region in the south, and have vivid memories of falling asleep on the beach in a hammock between two palm trees. When I came back, I painted all the walls white, the ceiling a pale blue, and splurged on a rattan canopy bed.”
Here an ivory-colored elephant is used to display some potted bright orchids. The elephant motif, also found in her living room, is reminiscent of Huerta’s trip to India.
The top of the buffet in Huerta’s bedroom is used as a vanity. Jewelry, perfume, makeup brushes and other knickknacks find a home here.
Huerta spent about $15,000 overall to furnish every room in her rental, including the home office, seen here. “That’s quite the feat though, considering I usually spend that much on a client living room alone,” the designer says.
Huerta’s latest creative endeavor is Bureau, a members-only, coworking studio space in the Adams Morgan neighborhood. Starting this business has been part of the new life Huerta has invented for herself.
Here Huerta stands in her colorful home office. Under the desk sits a bed for Lunchbox, her new Pomeranian puppy.
Here Huerta stands in her colorful home office. Under the desk sits a bed for Lunchbox, her new Pomeranian puppy.
“I really love using color in surprising ways, and that definitely shows in every room — from the emerald green sofa to the bright blue doorway to the bathroom, to the abstract painted walls and pale pink ceiling in the tiny office,” Huerta says.
“I had never lived alone until I got separated from my ex-husband. I always had roommates, then lived with my spouse. Finding myself living alone for the first time really allowed me to explore my personal style, and I definitely created a more overall feminine space than I ever had before,” Huerta says, pictured here outside her apartment with Lunchbox. “I mean, I’m sure I won’t be alone forever, so why not have fun with it now?”
Huerta continues, “My apartment reflects who I am now and where I’ve ended up, and nothing makes me happier than to wake up every morning in this home I’ve created.”
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Huerta continues, “My apartment reflects who I am now and where I’ve ended up, and nothing makes me happier than to wake up every morning in this home I’ve created.”
See more photos of this home
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: Interior designer Kerra Michele Huerta and her Pomeranian, Lunchbox
Location: Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Size: 600 square feet (55.7 square meters); one bedroom, one bathroom
Year built: 1967