Sarah &amp Craig’s Jamaica Plain Treetop Treasure

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Name: Sarah, Craig, and son, Maceo
Location: Jamaica Plain — Boston, MA
Size: 1099 square feet
Years lived in: 8 — own

It’s fun enough to be around one homeowner who beams with delight and pride for her home. But when it’s a couple and it’s apparent that they equally love their home and they genuinely share an aesthetic without much need for compromise, it’s even sweeter. Such is the case at Sarah and Craig’s delightful treetop home.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Entryway, into kitchen (Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Their creative, colorful home with so many personal touches is an easy place to love. Start with that uncovered, gleaming, honey-toned hardwood floor. It’s given a well-deserved chance to shine since Sarah and Craig prioritize lots of open kid-frlendly play and run space. Which brings me to another favorite feature: this is such a playful, vibrant and memorable environment for their young son, yet it still feels like adults live here too. Not an easy design task. I’ve also got a thing for things that hang so I love how much dangling stuff there is here: from the vintage stained-glass pieces in the windows, to the dining room mobile, to the long kitchen pot rack, to the adorable sea creature mobile in Maceo’s room, made by Sarah.

Some of my other favorite elements: Craig’s impressive music office, (you can check out his online mixes here) cleverly arranged to maximize storage space and afford a great window view; that delicious orange / yellow / black / white bathroom with the painted medicine cabinet; the novel use of window shades on their bedroom closet; and I could go on but I’ll stop myself at Sarah’s visually splendid jewelry collection sprouting from her mahogany flea market dresser.

Thanks for sharing your wonderful home, Sarah and Craig!

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Apartment Therapy Survey:

Our Style: Vibrant, eclectic, blend of modern and vintage.

Inspiration: We were lucky to discover early on in our relationship that we have a very similar aesthetic and that we both enjoy scouring for unique pieces for our home. Beyond flea markets, the Brimfield Antique Show has always provided inspiration and cool objects to decorate our condo. Being up in the trees of Jamaica Plain has inspired many of the wood pieces and the general warmth of our place.

Favorite Element: We relish living up on a hill, surrounded by trees, out of most peoples’ view. We often refer to our condo as a “tree house.” This luxury has enabled us to live curtain-free in roughly 75% of our home.

Biggest Challenge: Getting big and heavy things up three flights of stairs has certainly been challenging. Keeping our home uncluttered has been tough too, especially because we love to acquire interesting objects. Now with our son in our lives, that challenge is crucial and never-ending.

What Friends Say: People always compliment us on our bold use of colors. Sometimes they’re even willing to listen to our stories of where we’ve found quirky conversation pieces.

Biggest Embarrassment: We bought a navy couch when we moved in almost eight years ago and it has since faded to look like a pair of 80’s jeans. It’s still comfy and is ideal for easy living with a toddler, but really, it is heinous.

Proudest DIY: Craig crafted a birch wine tree from a tree that fell on his parents’ property in New Hampshire. We also converted a discarded cast-iron stove (salvaged from a dump in New Hampshire) into a sleek liquor cabinet. Sarah reupholstered a beat up rocking chair from the late 1800’s (her first project) at a workshop at the Eliot School here in JP that she is super proud of.

Biggest Indulgence: We purchased an incredible Giclee print of an original painting (titled Subway) from our dear friend Chandra Dieppa Ortiz. We are also proud that we were able to custom design and professionally install shelving in our living room.

Best Advice: Given: Don’t be afraid to mix genres/styles/patterns – if your decor is too coordinated, things look forced. Take risks. Taken: Try to live in your space before decorating it immediately. And pay to get art framed professionally.

Dream Sources: Brimfield Fair; Design within Reach; Abodeon in Cambridge.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Resources of Note:

PAINT & COLORS

ENTRY

LIVING ROOM

Mira Elwell

DINING ROOM

KITCHEN

BEDROOM

BATHROOM

NURSERY

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Thanks, Sarah and Craig!

Images: Kyle Freeman

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