Abigail and Joe’s 560 Square Feet of Great Finds

Name: Abigail and Joe
Location: Washington, DC

I love that our landlord let us paint! The pink wall felt like a risk at the time, but now it seems demure. We love it! I have a love/hate relationship with the size, at only 560 square feet. Most days I can’t imagine ever wanting something bigger, but other days I can’t find any space for the books that somehow keep finding their way into our home.

As many young couples do, we started out with Ikea (and thrift store Ikea) furniture, but have slowly begun replacing or altering them with more meaningful objects as they find us. Our table was an Ikea table purchased on Craigslist, but we have since replaced the original supports with hairpin legs – the chairs were Sunday school chairs a local church was giving away, and some of them have names carved in the seats. The cedar chest and the fruit box lid (now functioning as the top of a side table) were found on a dumpster-diving adventure.

We love surrounding ourselves with life – I consider that to be not only our houseplants and a little garden out back, but things that were handmade or had past lives. For instance, the prayer rug belonged to my great great grandparents and the little watercolors above the table were purchased by my grandma from an artist in her hometown in Missouri. The hexagonal shelf was custom made by a lovely woodworking woman I found on Etsy. Our apartment itself is full of life in its imperfections, with its not quite even floors and crooked marble thresholds.

The most difficult aspect of decorating is patience. You won’t find the “gem” each time you travel overseas or each weekend spent at antique shops. Meaningful and beautiful things slowly present themselves and the hardest part is waiting for them when you find yourself ready. We are peaceful and content in our little home, but embrace the change as it exhales furniture back onto Craigslist and inhales something we’ve made or discovered.

Thanks, Abigail and Joe!

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