Betty Kim and her husband, Daniel, wanted to design their house’s interior with their cat in your mind, but they did not need that to remove from their contemporary style. So they cleverly integrated cat-friendly repairs through easy furniture, built-in perches and black kitty scratchers.

Utilizing a variety of grays to tie the space together, Kim played with colour and texture to design clearly distinct spaces on each of the home’s four floors. Meaningful accessories along with a mix of natural and contemporary materials add heat to this 1970s Philadelphia house.

in a Glance
Who lives here: Betty Kim, husband Daniel and cat McQueen
Location: Washington Square West, Philadelphia
Size: 1,700 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms
That’s intriguing: The couple incorporated solar panels, water collection, a worm composter and CFL/LED lighting into their design.

Betty’s Room, LLC

The kitchen wanted aid. Upper and lower cheap laminate white cupboards and a massive refrigerator took up too much space. Kim took down the top cabinets and place storage beneath and in a separate pantry. Black chalkboard walls along with a custom concrete countertop tone down the column’s showy mirrored tiles. Kim recently took down half of the wall looking into the living space to create this pub area, using a raw wood slab bartop.

Bar stools: Philly, CB2; countertop; Paco Originals; mirrored tiles: CoolTiles; light fixture: Ikea

Betty’s Room, LLC

“Gray is a much more contemporary impartial than conventional browns and beiges,” Kim says. She incorporated some favorite bolder colors throughout the home.

From the downstairs living area, an integrated nook creates a comfy reading space, and habit built-in closets cut down on furniture. RSVPs in the couple’s wedding hang over the fireplace — they asked guests to draw a heart on the front of the answers.

Paint: Washed Clay(dark gray), Summertown (light gray), both by Mythic Paint

Betty’s Room, LLC

Vibrant turquoise raised background adds subtle texture in addition to bold colour. Following a hole was accidentally banged through the wall, the contractor designed the bigger built-in shelf. Kim made the chandelier by filling a birdcage with white string Christmas lights.

Sofa: Mona Sofa, Mitchell Gold Bob Williams; coffee table: Dane Decor; cowhide: Email; background: Wallpaper Direct

Betty’s Room, LLC

McQueen uses a stump facet table to look out among the downstairs windows. The stump is from Daniel’s grandma’s Pittsburgh backyard.

Betty’s Room, LLC

Simple Christmas ornaments dangled on the exposed bottom of the house’s front steps add sparkle to the reading nook. Christmas lights strung on the ceiling add a celebratory glow.

Wall color: Jolt of Spring, Mythic Paint

Betty’s Room, LLC

Although the couple started out with a great deal of hand-me-downs and existing furniture, they’ve been slowly paring down and substituting items. “I am a huge fan of reusing furniture,” says Kim,”but some things you just need to go.” The house’s simple and contemporary design is much better suited to minimalist bits and built-ins.

The café hint in the living space, located on the street, came from a patisserie at which Kim’s husband adored to buy petits fours.

Sofa: Dane Decor; rug: flokati, eBay; wall paint: Washed Clay and Summertown, equally by Mythic Paint; ceiling paint: Strawberry Hills, Mythic Paint

Betty’s Room, LLC

The floor with the master bedroom had little natural light, so Kim made the entire area in white. The recently completed renovation has a calm, oasis-like ambience. “I love that it has so much texture and dimension, despite being white,” Kim says. “It seems like a different, magical world here.”

Wall colour: Paparazzi, Valspar; light fixture: Cellula, Design Within Reach

Betty’s Room, LLC

Here, McQueen awakens in an egg-shape chair — the only punch of colour in the room. A nonpigment resin coatings the area’s white flooring. Kim had her builders install 3/4-inch plywood on top of the space’s subfloor. A resin specialist installed the resin in addition to “It stinks , but after it is set, it is incredibly durable and beautiful,” she states.

Betty’s Room, LLC

Kim constructed the wall treatment in this master bedroom completely independently. After stacking a variety of sizes of chair and crown molding, she installed, sealed and painted them into one sculptural unit. The excess window perch is perfect for McQueen, who formerly had trouble getting up to look out the window.

Betty’s Room, LLC

While the vertical nature of the house suits the cat well, they wanted to avoid nasty scratching posts and other unsightly cat must-haves. Lots of built-in perches allow McQueen to look out each and every window. Here, rope wrapped round the wardrobe pole suits McQueen’s purposes in fashion.

Betty’s Room, LLC

The same mirrored tiles in the kitchen make up the backsplash in the master bath. Kim had the team from Paco Originals (who constructed the kitchen countertop) custom mould her fantasy bathroom sink. Extra crystals add flair to simple paper lanterns from Ikea. “I wanted lighting to fill out the space the ideal manner but also feel light, since the concrete is really heavy and the wall is indeed in-your-face,” states Kim.

Paint: Jamila (wall), Westie White (ceiling), both by Mythic Paint; sink: Paco Originals; tiles: CoolTiles

Betty’s Room, LLC

Here is Kim in front of her home’s subtle but contemporary outside. The home is part of a 13-home association encircling a square courtyard. All the buildings were constructed by well-known Philadelphia architect Louis Sauer.

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