This 58-Year-Old House’s “Cathedral-Like Windows” Are Stunning
Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director
Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director
For more than 10 years, I've led Apartment Therapy's real home content, producing thousands of house tours from around the world. Currently, I live in my maximalist dream home in New Orleans, Louisiana, with my partner, a perfect dog, and a cute cat.
published Oct 14, 2024

This 58-Year-Old House’s “Cathedral-Like Windows” Are Stunning

Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director
Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director
For more than 10 years, I've led Apartment Therapy's real home content, producing thousands of house tours from around the world. Currently, I live in my maximalist dream home in New Orleans, Louisiana, with my partner, a perfect dog, and a cute cat.
published Oct 14, 2024
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Home Type
Location
Bedrooms
Square feet

1900

Sq ft

1900

“We bought our home sight unseen while living in Colorado, without ever having visited the area,” Jennifer Dillon begins of this 1900-square-foot, three-bedroom house she shares with her partner and two young girls (3.5 years and 9 months old). “The windows were a major selling point, along with the fact it sits on two-and-a-half acres of forested land and backs up to a nature preserve. For these reasons we jumped at the opportunity to buy, despite knowing the home needed a significant amount of work.”

"I also have a very small family and have always held on to small sentimental pieces from my grandparents, their siblings, and their cousins. You can find mementos from my relatives everywhere you look in my house, most dating back to 1940-1960," Jennifer explains.

“We’ve renovated every square inch of the house, from re-roofing to relocating oddly placed heat registers. While much of the work was completed by contractors, my partner (a mechanical engineer) and I (a museum exhibit and graphic designer) made all of the design decisions within the home, including gut kitchen and bathroom renovations,” she continues.

“The house was built in 1966 and has a very warm, artsy vibe. It’s fairly small for four people, but the open floor plan and high ceilings make up for the square footage. The home is not without its challenges (it lacks sufficient storage, our daughters share a bedroom, etc.), but I prefer intimate, soulful, and manageable spaces to larger ones.”

"My grandmother's graduation photo (1938), cocktail glasses (1950s), and handmade Lucite grapes (1960s)," Jennifer describes.

“I am an artist working at the intersection of science, history, and design. In a past life I worked all over the world as an archaeological illustrator; now I design exhibits at a natural history museum. The house itself is a direct reflection of my values — it’s an artistic, architectural tribute to the natural world around us. Likewise, my own design aesthetic celebrates nature and I often decorate with natural found objects and colors,” Jennifer writes.

Resources

LIVING ROOM

  • Couch — Room & Board
  • Coffee Table — Masaya Co.
  • Extendable Credenza — Facebook Marketplace
  • Chairs — The Citizenry
  • Storage Baskets — The Citizenry
  • Ottoman — Vintage
  • Lights and Lamp — West Elm
  • Artwork — Original Agnes Martin Lithographs
  • Mirror — Facebook Marketplace
  • Armoire — Etsy
  • Artwork — Barry Moser original woodcut print (left), Corey Drieth original paintings (right)
  • Figurines — Brought back from Italy by Great Uncle Leo during his service there in WW2 (1940s)
  • Postcard — Christmas card from my Great Aunt Evelyn featuring my mother as a child (early 1950s)
  • Blue Woven Pillow — The Citizenry
  • Corduroy Pillow — Woven Nook
  • Side Table — Vintage, free off curb in Los Angeles
  • Rug — The Citizenry

DINING ROOM

  • Table — West Elm
  • Table Runner — Food 21
  • Artwork — Owen Mortensen Birch Bark Mosaic
  • Hanging Shelf — Etsy

DEN

  • Leather Couch — West Elm
  • Hanging Lamp — Craigslist
  • Coffee Table — Facebook Marketplace
  • Side Table — The Citizenry
  • Pillow — The Citizenry
  • Rug — Sundance
  • Artwork — Barry Moser Original Woodcut Prints
  • Wall Color — Sherwin Williams “Tarragon”

Thanks, Jennifer!

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.