Designer Makié Yahagi opened her pint-size children’s clothing shop on SoHo’s Thompson Street in 1999 calling it, simply, Makié. The daughter of a seamstress, Makié was making clothing for her two sons (they’re now just a little older than her shop) when she got the idea.
We’ve been adherents of her brand (that now includes adult sizes and housewares) for the past decade and have always wondered: What does her house look like? Not surprisingly, it’s as charm-filled as her store. She rents the two-bedroom loft in SoHo from an acquaintance and has set it up in a simple, thoughtful way that can only be described as so Makié.
Above: Makié uses rugs and groupings of furniture to create “rooms” in the open floor plan. She inherited the dining table from a friend, and the chairs are beech Ro Dining Chairs designed by Tomoko Azumi for Zilio A&C. Above: In the kitchen, Makié arranges her cooking utensils according to material (wood or metal) and height. Glass boxes—one holds sesame seeds, the other sea salt—are kept with tiny salt and pepper shakers nearby. She hand-washes most dishes and dries them on a Muji dish drainer (sans tray). The faucet is a Vola. Above: In the compact galley kitchen, Makié stores kitchen towels and a Japanese cookbook in a basket. (The kabocha squash was in place when we arrived.) The double ovens are Viking Designer Series wall ovens, now discontinued but the current version is the Viking Professional Custom Series 30-Inch Double Wall Oven. Above: A peek into Makié’s cabinet is the stuff (our) dreams our made of. Her collection includes raku pottery, Yali Murano glass, and Sunata Masami porcelain. Above: Makié organizes cutlery by type (chopsticks, resin handle flatware, and vintage silver) and size in a drawer beneath the Miele 30-Inch Gas Cooktop. Hidden behind a walnut panel is a Miele Fully Integrated Dishwasher. Above: Makié made the pancakes; years ago, she tells us, she used to run a café in SoHo where she would make perfect pancakes and plate them on porcelain plates “just like this.” (You can find the Sunata Masami cups and bowls online at Makié.)
Above: Under the stairs is an antique children’s chair; a photograph by Inez & Vinoodh of their son, Charles Star; a Rowland Scherman photo of John Lennon; and a hand-shaped ceramic bowl by artist Genevieve Chevallier. Above: To keep mosquitos at bay (up the stairs is a sliding door to a rooftop deck), Makié burns mosquito coils, in a handmade ceramic dish. Above: The living room has an Ikea Osted Rug, a white sofa covered with a linen blanket, and cushions and pillows from Makié. Above: On a long shelf under the large loft windows Makié stores paper goods, clothing patterns, and some of her early designs in cloth-covered boxes from Italian company Fiorirà un Giardino. On top of a sheet of crinkled Japanese paper are ceramics by Genevieve Chevallier and Yali White Murano Glass Cups.
Above: A collection of Makié’s miniature vintage purchases kept in an antique wedding basket. Above: On one side of the fireplace is a small television and collections on display. On the other, built in Rakk shelving holds stacks of linens, old issues of Selvedge magazine, Japanese pattern books, and art biographies on Rei Kawakubo and Henri-Cartier Bresson, among others. Above: A closer look at Makié’s collections; on the center shelf are 200-year-old Japanese Koimari cups and plates and Genevieve Chevallier bowls. Above: Vintage linens are folded on a shelf below a row of white Serax Canvas Baskets that holds miscellaneous odds and ends.
Above: Her two college-aged sons each have a bedroom (“with a very different style,” she says) so Makié sleeps in a nook she created in the main living space. The setup is made with a rolling rack from Ted-Steel Industries in Hell’s Kitchen, a Selena Washed Linen Flat Sheet from Caravane, Roller Shower Curtain Rings, and Riktig Hooks from Ikea. Above: The spartan rooftop is where Makié photographs many of the products she offers on her online shop. On the table is a Genevieve Chevallier hand-shaped bowl in white. Above: The remaining flowers of late summer—pinkish hydrangea—are potted in the built-in planter. Above: A tabletop of purple basil, twiglike herbs, and moss experiments in a mix of terracotta pots and Genevieve Chevallier Oval Pots.
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins
Error: No connected account.
Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to connect an account.
v5.0
×
Join the Remodelista Family of Websites
Become a Member at no charge
When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.
Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites
Or Subscribe for Maximum Value!
For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.
Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites
For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.
Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Sorry! As a registered member you get 10 free posts from our archive (posts more than a year old) every 30 days. You have reached your limit for this 30-day period. If you would like to access unlimited posts from the archive (ad free, too), become a subscriber today, and keep reading as many articles as you want.
Full Access Individual Subscription
Benefits include:
Unlimited access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home sites
Ad-free browsing environment
Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
Receive the full-text daily newsletters
All features that Members have access to
Annual subscribers pay just 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
Sorry! You have reached your limit of three (3) free posts from our archive every 30 days. You can increase this to 10 posts by joining as a free Member, or read unlimited posts with no ads by becoming a paid Subscriber.
Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites
For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.
Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
Become a Member at no charge
When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.
Congratulations on becoming a Subscriber to Remodelista, Gardenista and The Organized Home! You now have access to many great features across the sites:
Unlimited access to all three sites
Ad-free browsing environment
Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
Receive any of the newsletters, including the the full-text daily Remodelista and Gardenista newsletters
Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
Congratulations on joining as a free Member of Remodelista, Gardenista and The Organized Home! You now have access to many great features across the sites:
Access to all posts published in the past year
Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites
If at any time you want to become a Subscriber and enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to all our content, just go to the My Account link and choose Subscribe.
Advertising funds our work at Remodelista and helps us provide you with a daily dose of design. We hope you’ll consider disabling your adblocker for Remodelista so we can continue our mission: a well-designed home for all.
Have a Question or Comment About This Post?
(0) Join the conversation