When we first encountered Joey Meyers and Mark Baehser, it was online, via their vintage shop Ball & Claw — since renamed Unnecessary Projects — which had taken a place in the sprawling North Brooklyn vintage empire Dobbin St. Co-op. We assumed the two were old-hat dealers. But, as we discovered when we approached them about shooting their Jersey City Victorian home for our book, How to Live With Objects, it turns out they only entered the game a few years ago, out of love but also out of necessity: Meyers had taken to constantly cycling furniture in and out of their home, and they needed an outlet to offload the amazing finds that didn’t quite work with their own space. (You can see what their home used to look like in this Apartment Therapy post from 2018!) Now, don’t think when we arrived to the shoot that there wasn’t still room after room piled with extra stuff —an occupational hazard, we suppose. But now there’s perhaps just enough that it makes restyling — and shooting the house editorially for a book! — that much more fun. From the stained glass windows to the Postmodern bathroom to the insane Mickey Mouse inlay we found in the basement (that’s an online-only special, we’ll post it to Instagram!), take a tour with us below on some of our favorite moments from their house tour! (And check it out in print this month as well, excerpted in the Small Spaces issue of House Beautiful.)

PHOTOS BY CHARLIE SCHUCK

“The Baughman-style burl dining table helped jump-start this room, along with the Dancing Pendant light by Menu. We love oversized lighting since our rooms are larger, with high ceilings. The plaster console table moved around to a few different rooms before finding its home here. We love to move things around quite often in our house; most of the time when we find a piece we love, we bring it home with a place in mind but it winds up looking a million times better in a different place entirely.”

“We wanted to mix styles in this room by pairing the curvy desk with natural wood pieces and the checkered jute rug. The lamp and the side table both came from the estate sale of a woodworker and are one of a kind— unique handmade pieces add so much character. The Memphis-style box adds a pop of color and geometry.”

“We wanted our dressing room to have a moodier, Post-mod feel. The custom ’80s arched floor mirror was a lucky estate-sale find. We re drawn to pieces with unique shapes, so we love how the mirror, drum pedestal, and chairs all work together—the story that mixing shapes and colors creates.”

“We loved the old original details in this bathroom but wanted to add a modern touch without tackling any major renovations. We partnered with muralist and designer Liz Kamarul to create a custom abstract mural for the clawfoot tub. The bathroom fixtures were rescued from a home being torn down, and we painted them yellow. We also love the zephyr-style cantilever pedestal. It’s perfect as a small table next to the tub.”

“Our Tito Agnoli chair is a piece that we knew we loved and had to find a place for. We stored it for more than a year before it found its final resting place in a corner of our bedroom. The art on the wall was also made by the same artist who made the wood lamp and side table in our office — we love carrying a story throughout different places in the house.”

To see more home tours like this one, purchase a copy of our book, How to Live With Objects, here!

IMAGES AND TEXT ARE ORIGINAL AND ARE EXCERPTED FROM SIGHT UNSEEN’S BOOK, HOW TO LIVE WITH OBJECTS. ALL CONTENT IS COPYRIGHT PROTECTED AND MAY NOT BE USED WITHOUT PERMISSION.