Name: Bridget
Location: Sacramento
Size: 800 sq. ft.
Years lived in: 2.5 years
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We first heard from Bridget when she wrote in to tell us about a wonderful store in Sacramento. We were intrigued by her description of her own abode, and voila, here's our first Sacramento House Tour! She says: I move around a lot. A lot. This is my fifth apartment in six years. I have lived with hand-me-down furniture, rental furniture, and even no furniture in order to have the ability to move when needed. No more. Though I most likely will move again (and maybe even again!) I decided that it was time for my home, wherever it may be, to be my haven...
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...I surrendered and decided to live with the things I loved even if it meant that I would have to move them wherever I roam. So I shed the items that I was lugging around, kept the things that carried a story and evoked a memory or emotion in me and set out to discover my authentic style. My current apartment is a 800 square foot cottage that was built in the mid-1920’s and is part of a little grouping of cottages.
AT Survey:
My style: I’d say my style is eclectic; I like lots of color and patterns; I wanted my place to be feminine but definitely not girly, comfortable without being country, a mix of old and new, classic and contemporary, with a dash of homemade.The final product is energizing but somehow calming at the same time.
The inspiration for my home: I happened upon a store in Sacramento called JettModern. There I met the very talented duo of Tim and Linda Arbogast and that orange settee. It all started with that orange settee. It was in the middle of the sales floor. I was drawn to it; perhaps as a child of the 70’s we had an orange shag rug? Tried as I might, I just couldn’t get it out of my head. It was also drastically on sale -- and who doesn’t love a bargain? With help from Tim and Linda, we made sense of that settee and the rest evolved.
Favorite element: I love having a dining area that I actually use. Prior to this, it was a pass-through space, where I dumped groceries on an old table and was continually organizing and tossing the junk mail that seemed to accumulate on it. This table and chairs has become where I read the paper in the morning, do work at my computer, and would you believe, actually sit down and eat. I love the old elements of the apartment, the ironing board, the phone nook and the little door that is supposed to hold the iron juxtaposed with the contemporary table.
Biggest challenge in designing my home: The biggest challenge that I had was actually not in the space but understanding that I wasn’t planning the furniture just for this space, but for future places that I will live in. I looked for things that I could use in many spaces in a house. I also ended up decreasing the actual number of pieces of furniture I have, making for easier moving.
What friends say about my home: It’s inviting, calming, and grown up!
Biggest embarrassment in my home: The closets. Don’t open them. I guess people in the 1920’s didn’t have as many shoes.
Proudest DIY: After years of living with rental white, wielding the roller and edger to paint the entire apartment.
Biggest indulgence with respect to my home: That coffee table. Hands down.
Best advice given or received: My sister-in-law, Elizabeth, who has impeccable taste and a fabulous eye once said, “Just get the things you love and they will make sense in the house that you grow old in.” She’s right. I recall wondering how the giant gold mirror she bought at the Brimfield Fair would fit in her little apartment; and now it graciously greets you in the entryway of their wonderful home!
Also -- someone also said that the only art that you regret is the one that you didn’t buy.
Dream source for stuff: I pore over magazines and design books. A self-proclaimed nerd, I clip stuff out and paste the favorite favorites in a big scrapbook. I like to look back and see which looks still appeal to me and which ones I think, “what was I thinking?” I love that my sense of what I like and don’t like in design is always evolving and improving.
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Appliances: Rental; I’m stuck with them. Even though they are designed for the Lilliputians.
Furniture:
• Sofa: “Pool” colored velvet with vinyl reptile welting; JettStudio Furniture by Arbogast Design
• Orange Settee: JettStudio Furniture by Arbogast Design
• White console table: Pier One Imports and painted white (don’t look too closely, this is not my proudest DIY)
• Coffee Table: Oly Studio
• Hoofed table: Oly Studio
• Rug: Company C, “Mandarin Wasabi”
• Side tables: Target
• Table: Arbogast Design
• Chairs: Jett Modern
• Zebra Rug: Jett Modern
• Mirror: Alameda
• Trunk: Found
• Painted chairs: Thrift store
• Dresser: Ikea
Accessories:
• Coral: Alameda
• Jonathan Adler Bargello Chevron pillow on couch
• Jonathan Adler pillows on bed.
• Frette Duvet Cover: eBay
• Dunn-Edwards Paint in color “Chalky”
Lighting:
• Lamps are from Target
Artwork:
• “Pool” by Kevin McCormick: Crocker Art Museum Art Auction Purchase
• “Untitled” by Kim Squaglia: JayJay Gallery, Sacramento CA
• “Untitled” by John Patrick McKenzie, Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
• Vintage Botanicals: Alameda
• “Lagunitas” by Elaine Coombs: Julie Baker Fine Art, Nevada City, CA
• “Untited” by Roger Wiek: Crocker Art Museum Art Auction Purchase
• “Untitled” by Steven Larsen: Sausalito Art Festival purchase
• “Cut A” and “Cut B”: Crocker Art Museum Art Auction purchase
• Family photos and my own photography
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Thanks, Bridget!
What a sweet little home! Thanks for the tour.
view oakland's profile
what a darling home
view hanako66's profile
SO lovely! It's like a Parisian's house at the beach -- very sophisticated and relaxed at the same time.
view Lisa Hunter (Montreal)'s profile
when can i move in?!
view HeatherAB's profile
Hi Bridget, I am very inspired by your home - thanks for sharing. Your sanctuary is serene and comfortable and definitely not "country". Great reminder to get only what you really love. Only what you really love, only what you really. Must remember, only what I really love.
view l u c c a's profile
This is great. It's quite peaceful and looks lived in; not at all contrived or forced like some of the other tours. I'm really feeling that blue couch. It's beautiful!
view Aiekan's profile
Beautiful!
view Lesley's profile
agreed with the others - serene but invigorating as well.
i'm wondering what that lacy container is that you have your files in in the front room?
view darlingcaro's profile
Hi darlingcaro:
That is the bike basket that has been around for a while -- I liked it so much when I saw it in the store but my bike already has a basket! So, i use it as my bill box to make the task of paying bills a little more attractive!
Thanks everyone for your kind comments. Bridget
view number11's profile
sorry -- it's the Carrie Bike Basket by design home stockholm.
view number11's profile
love love love the answers bridget gave. the answer to "my style" is exactly what i would have wrote.
now to go look at the pictures...
view kiwi's profile
This is really lovely. Nice job, Bridget. (And good photography.)
view gscottrinc's profile
Wow, I looked at the pics before I read the description and the things that came to mind were all described as your goal, and it works. It all works. Job well done.
view CliveChristy's profile
What a blissful, idyllic cottage. "Only what I love" is my redecorating credo, too. Maybe that's why it's taken me over a year, and counting, to find My Perfect Rug. (Actually, I found it once -- for $17,000. Ouch. The search continues.)
Having said this, I love your Alameda Flea Market mirror and found trunk, so should you decide you just can't bear to lug 'em to your next abode, I and my trusty checkbook are a quick jaunt south in San Francisco. *cough* Aren't I delicate, though?
I also love your whimsical touch with the color-coordinated lobster tchochke and Ari side table (a house can never have too many cows). Kudos.
view rosenatti's profile
i LOVE your orange settee!!! i am looking for fabric like that for the loveseat in my tv room.
view rouquinne's profile
Lovely home.. very warm and inviting. It's nice to see a fellow Sacramentan on AT.
view agentlemonade's profile
*yay* for a Sacramentan on here. We're the land of the valley with a lot more style than people give us credit for. Beautiful home Bridget! So refreshing and airy.
view rosiewm's profile
what a home. good taste.
is that footlocker/trunk just painted? so cool
view jmbylin's profile
Very "girly", for some reason, so it's not my taste. But I still think it is very charming and inviting. Nice job.
view jyw's profile
the only art that you regret is the one that you didn’t buy
That's for sure.
Charming place, thanks for posting it.
view Henrietta the Terrible's profile
Absolutely delightful!
view lepapillonvert's profile
Love love love it.
view Elizabeth II's profile
What a charming home. I wish we could have floor plans when we have house tours. It's hard to figure out where the bed and couch, etc, are.
view LauraE's profile
Bridget, where did you get the cool pillows on your bed, and on your couch? I've been looking for pillow like those. Nice mix.
view marsek's profile
Truly a lovely home, thanks for sharing!
I wish you would have shown the kitchen and bathroom, too.
If your neighbors are as lovely as your home, I wouldn't move again.....
view sassydo's profile
Gorgeous! Subtly sophisticated yet comfortable and easy. Brava!
view quark's profile
This is a lovely home -- curious about the wall color - is it all the dunn-edwards "chalky", bedroom and living room? Also wondering about those wonderful painted chairs in the bedroom. Really lovely space -- makes me want to repaint mine!
view pugluv's profile
What a beautiful home! So inviting and tranquil, I don't think I'd ever want to leave
view shannonN's profile
i agree with everyone -- such a lovely home.
the paint color looks very blue but i looked it up on line and it actually looks more creamy? could be my monitor...
thanks for sharing, and i'd appreciate any info on the paint.
thanks!
view nov9's profile
Gorgeous!
view PhillyLass's profile
Sublime! That sofa is to die for!
This wouldn't happen to be one of those cute little cottages next to the park with the pond... would it? I drive past those almost everyday, and can't help but wonder and romanticize about their interiors.
view mamalike's profile
wow! charming, warm, personal, inviting.... a perfect little place!
view formosagirl's profile
it's lovely! and refreshing to see a Sacramento entry.
view modernlogcabin's profile
Fresh, serene, cooling, peaceful, restful....I hope the sea is nearby, it would be your finishing touch!
Just lovely, I feel like I need a holiday now.
view Lynda's profile
You have done a wonderful job with 800 sq ft. So cozy and pretty.
view Sylvia K's profile
What a wonderful home. Thank you so much for sharing.
view medusa12120's profile
You give me hope for having a stylish place of my own is Sacramento!!! I miss all the charm I had when I lived in Portland and your home proves I can find the same here!
view Maleaab's profile
Thank you for the tour Bridget! I love your home!
Thanks to AT for including Sacramento. We are a well kept secret that really should be shared. Sacramento has a lot to inspire. A vibrant Second Saturday Art Walk that I am sure Bridget has checked out and lots of great little cottages like Bridget's and tons of sleek lofts too. I hope to see more Sacto on AT.
view DPetersen's profile
This is hands-down one of my favorite home tours I've seen on AT so far. Everything from the dining chairs to the coffee table to the beautiful framed botanicals is just darling. The whole apartment seems so serene and inviting.
Perfect!
view PamelaLynn's profile
Hi Bridget! Could you please contact me, I am interested to write a feature to a magazine about your apartment!
Best regards: Annika anvai@hotmail.com
view Kitty Von Bang's profile