A Bright and Homey Portland Apartment

Name: Ashley
Location: Portland, Maine

When my fiancé and I moved back to Portland almost two years ago, a lot had changed. Portland had become not just the place to visit, but the place to live. It has many of the same features as bigger cities like New York, but with the easy of a small city. While we knew we wanted to find a place we could make into a home to live in for a while, we didn’t know how hard it would be to find. Real estate had changed. When we saw this apartment listed on Craigslist, we had to go see it. And see it we did. At a showing with 12 other people just in our time slot. It was love at first sight. I knew I needed this apartment. It was big. It had character. It just felt right. Somehow the apartment gods agreed and it was ours.

The apartment is in a converted brick house built in 1900. It is on a main street in downtown Portland making it easy for me to walk to work or to my favorite coffee shops and restaurants. It houses three apartments, an artist’s studio, and an office. We live on the entire second floor with three bedrooms, a big kitchen, and a winter garden room. It is about 1200 square feet so my fiancé and I both have our own offices. Mine is used as a studio for my large vintage collection. His for drawing and working at his computer.

This was a 180 degree change from our last place so I was excited to make it our own. Our style is kind of a mix. There is modern with clean lines, bohemian with a few rattan chairs and weavings, handmade and mid century. My love of vintage and finding one of a kind pieces plays a big role in decor.

My favorite room in the house has to be the winter garden room. It is lined with big windows looking out at the city. It gets a ton of light allowing us to have a palette garden for growing herbs and veggies. It is a place to unplug and relax. I also love the small details throughout the apartment including a brick arch in the hallway and the floor to ceiling tile covering the entire kitchen.

We are both in love with this apartment. Not only for the location and ease of living in a city, but because we were able to make it our home. We have created a space where we could start a family. Even after being here for almost two years, I am still in awe of our we actually scored the apartment of our dreams.

Thanks, Ashley!

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