A colourful 1930s apartment in Brooklyn's Fort Greene

Lawrence and Mei met in Seattle and have lived together for five years. They moved into this 1930s apartment in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, after a high-rise one-bedroom that felt cookie-cutter. The high ceilings won them over.

Their tastes started far apart. Lawrence liked minimal, modern design, while Mei leaned maximalist and loved mid-century modern. The apartment shows how they met in the middle: clean counters and closed storage, with plenty of colour on top.

Much of the furniture came from Facebook Marketplace. A red 1970s Steelcase chair moved from the office to the dining table. Above it hangs a red pendant shaped like a flower pot. A vintage IKEA Svalnäs shelving unit, bought for $170, covers a whole bedroom wall. It holds a Hong Kong taxi lamp from the city where Lawrence grew up. A kendama recalls the one Mei's Japanese grandmother played with.

Mei is a knitwear designer and teaches knitting at a yarn shop. She made the reversible cowboy tapestry in the living room and the punch-needle pieces over the bed. Her knitting machine sits in a corner of the bedroom. Lawrence spent about six years roasting coffee in Seattle, and their beans double as kitchen decor.

One bedroom window is also a door. It opens onto steep stairs down to the backyard.