Tales from the Drawing Room: Kaitlyn Coffee

Kaitlyn is a multidisciplinary creative currently specializing in art curation and interior styling and we simply adore her work. With decades of experience sourcing exceptional vintage art and objects, she brings an impeccable eye and refined taste to every project she undertakes.

We love your aesthetic and impeccable taste for beautiful vintage art and decor. Your popular Instagram page @harrisvintage is one of our absolute favourites- so inspiring! Tell us a bit about your journey as a creative and how you got started with interior styling and art curation.

Thank you! I grew up going to estate sales every weekend with my dad, so I have always had a love for vintage pieces and seeing how people used them in their homes. I loved getting a peek into how people lived in and decorated their homes. I began to realize that the estate sales I loved the most were the ones where you could really feel the person who lived there’s personality coming through in their decor and art. Everyone has a story, and I feel like their homes should reflect that in some way! 

I used to sell vintage on my Instagram, and that is why I initially started the account. Since I kept buying so much, I figured I should probably sell some too, so I could continue to buy more! Haha, gradually I began to share photos of how I styled my own home, and people really took to my style and from there I got hired to do art curation for Graduate Hotels, with whom I have since worked several times!

What gets you inspired and where do you look for inspiration when it comes to decorating?

Movies and old design books. I am endlessly inspired by set design in films, and I love how a set can immediately portray a character's personality, lifestyle, economic status, taste, by how it is decorated. I love love 90’s interior design books. The holy grail that every aesthete should own is The Way We Live.

Your top 3 tips for adding character to a space?

Art, Books and a good color palette.

You’ve created such a joyful, cosy and characterful home for your family. What is your favourite room and why?

Thank you! For sure, the den…All of my favorite art and objects live in the den, and my boys and I spend all of our free time there on the big orange couch and swivel chairs (both vintage!) watching movies…dancing….lots of drawing and cuddling. I also just acquired this huge solid wood table that I had cut down to a coffee table height, and so there is now tons of room for Lego building on there.

What role does art play in the overall aesthetic of a room?

A massively huge role. You can have a room with beautiful furnishings, gorgeous textiles, everything goes well together, it looks expensive and welcoming, but then, if you have absolutely terrible art on the walls, the only thing I will see is the terrible art….

We’re very curious to know how large your home art collection is, can you give us a number?

OHHH Lord have mercy…Well I am currently acquiring and sourcing a lot because I sell it in limited batches through my new venture called Limited Time Only. So I do have a lot at the moment (in the hundreds), but as far as the core pieces I have collected to keep forever, I would say like….6-8 pieces.

Tell us something about you that people don’t know.

I used to be in a sketch comedy / improv group!

What are you currently reading - listening - watching? 

I’m actually currently watching Columbo! The detective show from the 70s - ah! I love murder mysteries, and the interiors in the show are sooo good, and I love Columbo.

Listening to….I am really into the genre called “boogaloo” right now, like this song. It is a 1960s musical genre that blended Latin rhythms like mambo and son montuno with American R&B and soul music. 

As for reading…I’m researching and reading a ton of world history right now.

Kaitlyn's Favourite Products

Bronte Armchair	Marbre Small Bowl	Emerson Side Table