When Aiko Morton and Momoko “Momo” Morton Wong ended up rising up in Colorado, each and every few months their mom would push them from Pueblo—the small town they identified as home—to Denver. They’d make a day of it (go shopping and have lunch someplace enjoyment), but the most memorable moments for the two of them almost never had everything to do with good food items or new clothes. “She’d get us to these truly good spots of Denver and generate so sluggish, and we’d stare at all the properties,” Aiko remembers. “We’d be like, ‘I like that one, due to the fact of this I really don’t like that one, mainly because of that,’ and folks would be honking behind us.”
This residence adoration ongoing into adulthood for the two sisters. In the early 2000s, they’d both equally moved to Japan and expended numerous hours strolling by neighborhoods to appear at properties and perusing structure stores collectively. “We lived in layout merchants above the weekend,” Aiko states. Later on, when Aiko moved to Singapore, she retained the family members tradition alive there way too. Momoko, on the other hand, labored at several interior structure companies prior to opening her individual, Momo Wong Styles, in the exact same metropolis that birthed their collective love of the craft. So when Aiko moved again to the United States just after 20 many years overseas, it was only all-natural that she would have her sister style and design her desire household.
“There was no question that we’d do this jointly,” Momoko claims of the transform that the 1950s-era California home Aiko ordered in 2017 expected. Even though the footprint of the dwelling was there, most of it experienced to be reimagined. The property is mostly divided into two sides, but considering that it was created in the middle of the past century, the format did not truly feel suitable for a up to date life style. In advance of, the home experienced a tiny kitchen and eating home on a single side—which Aiko did not like (she’s a self-proclaimed foodie). Bedrooms and offices took up a great deal of the larger facet of the assets.
The sisters commenced addressing these problems at a 10,000-foot degree. They designed bubble diagrams to outline a new movement and format of the residence, which the architect and contractor swiftly put into strategy after brought on board. The outcome was, basically, a flip-flopped version of how the task experienced started out out. Now, the shared spaces—like the household room, dining room, and kitchen—take up the larger side of the home, and the non-public places are on the scaled-down stop. “But it saved a good deal of schematic style and design time to by now have that figured out,” Momoko claims.
For the interiors, Momoko desired to convey in Asian influences to honor Aiko’s years living in Japan and Singapore. “We ended up also born and lifted in Colorado, so I required to integrate some of all those elements—like gorgeous stones, woods, and metals—into the undertaking much too.” Of system, the home’s extraordinary mountain views were being taken into consideration as effectively. “Aiko enjoys pure light, so we preferred to seize the views in a way the whole family members could love.”
General, cleanse lines and a neutral shade palette channel the serene and harmonious aesthetic of Japanese design and style though complementing the landscapes just outside of. But that is not to say there aren’t times of shock sprinkled throughout the property. “If you go into Aiko’s pantry, you locate a truly exciting wallpaper,” Momoko suggests. “I like to put joyful matters in utility spots considering the fact that they’re typically just for working.” Now, each and every time Aiko techniques foot in this section of her household, she will get not only a moment of joy, but also a sweet reminder of her sister by her signature go.
Nevertheless performing on the dwelling was “four years of enjoyment,” the task was always additional than just something to do with each other. Just after Aiko and her partner put in yrs dwelling and working as “expatriate nomads,” Momoko needed to give her sister a place to plant roots, just one that is also conveniently significantly nearer to her as well. “This is her retreat,” she suggests.
