More than Just Politics: A DC Couple Designs their Home Together
Name: Kelsey
Location: Washington, D.C.
Sara and I moved in together almost two years ago. I had lived in shared houses ever since college and was thrilled to create a home with Sara where we could welcome our friends and family and offer a little calm in the storm of D.C. Our home is filled with vintage pieces and IKEA finds that we have upgraded with modern details like knobs and pulls from Rejuvenation and Anthropologie. The walls of our bedroom are lined with art friends have given us and even a oil painting we created with one friend… inspired by a tissue box pattern! Our biggest project was taking out some of the pre-fab cabinets in our condo’s galley kitchen and replacing them with open shelving. It really opened up the kitchen (anything you can do in an 800 square foot apartment to make it feel more open is worth it in my book)!
Sara and I have done a bunch of projects together and constantly joke that I never measure things. I always respond that I went to law school, not math school. My favorite moment was when I bought a basket thinking it was small enough to fit under our coffee table. It arrived when I wasn’t home and Sara sent me a photo of the box that was almost too big for her to carry upstairs! Contrary to my vision when purchasing it online, the basket did not fit under the table and now lives in our guest bedroom.
Our home is a space where we can feel calm and relax from the stress of DC. We love hosting our friends around the dinner table and talking about politics . . . or not. Our table was custom built for our space by friend and carpenter Tom at Gristmill and is made of reclaimed barn wood. I love imagining where the wood slats came from and what else they’ve seen, supported and sheltered during their past life. We had the table cut and leaves installed on either side so it is small enough for day to day use, but can expand to accommodate our friend community when need be.
Sara used to be a professional baker so our counters are often covered in flour (she’s also a clean-up expert, though) and the shelves are lined with cookbooks she uses to inspire her next creation. We recently welcomed Mr. Hank, our Sproodle puppy, into our family and have had to adjust some of our interior design priorities and make room for a puppy bed and the mounds of dog gear that came along with him.
Sometimes people just think of D.C. as the White House and the Hill, but our city is so much more than that. I hope our apartment gets that point across.
Thanks, Kelsey !
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