The Tastemaker

— Kaitlyn Coffee

The Tastemaker
If you've ever fallen down the rabbit hole of Harris Vintage, you already know Kaitlyn Coffee’s innate talent for curation. Based in Dallas, Kaitlyn has transformed her own home into a living gallery of second-hand treasures seamlessly mixing antique prints, art books, collected sculptures, and Asafo flags.

After years of admiring her unique eye for decor, and her tips for a good hang, we were excited to feature Kaitlyn Coffee as a member of our Open Call Selection Committee. It has been a joy to see her passion for visual storytelling shapes this year’s selection process.

Here we chat with her about the origins of Harris Vintage, how art influences her work, where she gets her inspiration, and she shares her favourite Open Call pieces - now live.
  • Kaitlyn Coffee
  • Brand designer, art consultant, stylist, and curator
The Tastemaker

Tell us about yourself and how Harris Vintage was born.

Hi! I’m Kaitlyn and I am a creative living in Dallas, TX, with my two sons, and I love to scour near and far for vintage art and decor. Harris Vintage was born 6 years ago out of a need to clear out my house of some of the vintage I had been hoarding and make more money to feed my vintage shopping habit.

I started it 3 months after having my first son, hence why it is named after him (Harris). It has since evolved to a space where I share art, movies, and people that inspire me as well as a place to post my recent projects, my house, and houses I wish were mine! I also post stories of my estate sale, thrifting, and antiquing adventures.

You wear many hats as a brand designer, art consultant, stylist, and curator - which aspect of your work enables you to be most creative?

I would say styling is the aspect that enables me to be the most creative. I love creating a scene from objects I have found that people would never think go together but they do. I like to think of people's homes as movie sets almost, what reflects the people who live here? I love the storytelling a house can do through styling, decor and art.

A low horizontal floor library bookshelf styled underneath a global wall mask gallery.How does art influence your work when working for brands and styling for yourself?

Art has a huge influence on every part of my work. Be it searching the MET archives for research or obsessively collecting folk art to use for styling.

I also collect art books I find at estate sales and when I'm not at my computer working you can usually find me reading one of them. The way some artists use color is a huge inspiration for me in every aspect of my work. A recent one I received for Christmas is the full record of Peggy Guggenheim's collection in Venice.

Harris Vintage is a treasure trove of fun and unique interiors, where do you go to for inspiration?

Movies…Artists' homes, books by Stafford Cliff like “The Way We Live”…estate sales! I read design books from the 90s for inspiration and I've mastered Pinterest and still use it for inspiration daily. I also love Atlas of Places.

I also love T Magazine for inspiration and subscribe to the New York Times just for that! They are top of the game in terms of seeking out and telling stories of collected homes of creative people.

Close-up detail of collectible art figurines and fine paintings displayed on top of a bookshelf.How does your work inspire your personal style?

Well…I think my personal style is really similar to my interior style...vintage, second-hand, relaxed, sticks to a color palette (which is important because it makes thrifting easier for home decor and clothes.) I create color palettes for brand clients all the time so making them for a home or my closet comes without much effort cause I've been doing it for so long and know its value.

If you could live in anyone’s home who would it be?

Any of Ernest Hemingway’s houses. They all have a perfect balance of masculine and feminine and are very collected and have lots of books! I also love the floors and color palette of them all.

A detailed editorial shot showcasing an original painting paired with vintage furniture.What is something you can’t live without?

Music and my kids…I also can’t live without being surrounded by beautiful, interesting, and visually stimulating art and objects. I have had to live in a very sterile gray environment somewhat recently and it literally altered my mood!!! 

QUICKFIRE ROUND

Style muse? Depends on the day ;-)

Song on repeat? Only You Know by Dion 

Favourite interiors piece in your collection? A folk mask from Mexico

Favourite item in your curation? Sunset Snake Pit by Colette LaVette

Favourite movie for its set design? Anything by Eric Rhomer or Call Me By Your Name

A cozy corner vignette featuring antique religious-style paintings and pine green furniture.FOLLOW KAITLYN

@kaitlyncoffeecreative | @harrisvintage | kaitlyn.coffee

Photography by Kelly Christine

Shop the full Open Call Winners Collection

 

Kaitlyn's Open Call Curation

Kaitlyn Coffee

“Kelly's work made me say "oh my gosh yes finally". The tone, mood, color, texture and subject matter are all exactly what I look for in a piece. I want one!”