Laura and Blaine’s Restful 1920s Asheville Home

Name: Laura Evans and Blaine Perry and their cat, Honey
Location: Asheville, North Carolina
Size: 1,400 square feet
Years lived in: 2 years; Rented

Historic divided-light windows, crystal door knobs, a brick fireplace, and picture rail molding are just some of the architectural details in Laura and Blaine’s all-white, all-natural 1920s-era home. Their edited decorating style leaves few layers to hide behind, imparting a meaningful weight to each element. Some of the art and accessories are a little offbeat and unexpected, but they are thoughtfully arranged against the backdrop of the enduring Craftsman, giving you the sense that this home was designed to personify acceptance, originality, and honesty.

Laura and Blaine have some unusual pieces of art (be sure to check out the artists in the Resource list below), and their gallery-style installation using the picture rails heightens their presence on each wall. The home is furnished with antiques and used finds; many of the pieces were discovered at Asheville’s well-known Antique Tobacco Barn, a 77,000-square-foot space filled with eclectic objects. The dining room table, however, was made by Laura herself—an achievement which gives her joy and satisfaction. Her passion for designing and constructing items for the home led her to found OUTRA, a home textile company that celebrates the simple and strange.

As in her textiles, bold lines and small doses of warm color against a neutral background are strong design elements in her home. Pieces like the dark bed frames in the bedrooms, the dining chairs, and the black-and-white striped rug in the living room contrast with the white linens and walls, giving visual energy to each room, while subtle suggestions of color—like the yellow front door and green plants—add a calm, yet cheerful spirit.

Our Style: Peaced-out and simple with as many plants as we can keep alive.

Inspiration: I think about a specific friend’s parents’ home often when imagining how I want our home to feel. Their home was bright, approachable, and full of beautiful, weird things they had collected over the decades. I don’t want to rush to recreate that but love that our house is slowly filling up with things that feel exciting and personal.

Favorite Element: The windows. They are original to the house and have that great, wavy glass.

Biggest Challenge: Lack of sunlight. We have a few large trees shading the house in the summer which work wonderfully for keeping the house cool enough to forgo air conditioning most of the time, but we always look forward to the winter when the leaves drop and the sun oozes in.

What Friends Say: Some of our favorite people say they feel at home here—that’s the best.

Biggest Embarrassment: Our cat-scratched furniture is as close to embarrassing as it gets for us. It’s more just a slight downside to sharing our house with Honey and has taught us not to get too attached to things.

Proudest DIY: The dining table, hands down. This is my [Laura’s] latest undertaking and I can’t believe I pulled it off.

Biggest Indulgence: The rug in our bedroom. This was a present to each other when we moved in together. It felt like a goofy splurge at the time, but it’s one of the most special things in our house.

Best Advice: Pay attention to what feels good to you and keep editing. We’re continuously trying out new things but find ourselves returning to a clean, pared down aesthetic. There’s a constant struggle between my desire for change and visual novelty and the need for simplicity, but I’m getting better at balancing the two.

Dream Sources: I love a mix of old, strange things from thrift stores and any of the great antique stores in Asheville, but have dreams for Cold Picnic rugs, Dusen Dusen bed things, and Zoë Pawlak’s figure drawings.

• Couch frame: We decided to go with a wood frame to reduce the amount of damage Honey could do. We found this one at Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and it is made from wood crates.
• Painted pillow covers: OUTRA
• Marble coffee table: Antique Tobacco Barn
• Lamps: Antique Tobacco Barn
• Basket: Connected Artisans
• Hanging lamp shade: IKEA
• Framed boxer painting: George Spencer (our Brooklyn landlord)
• Rug: Nate Berkus for Target

• Paper cutout based on The Last Supper: friend and Laura’s roommate from college, Samuel Stabler
• Portrait: Habitat for Humanity ReStore
• Malachite print: Ravynka on Society6
• Dining table: DIY by Laura, legs from Tablelegs.com, wood from Asheville Hardware
• Green chair: This was painted black and pretty beat up when we purchased it from Antique Tobacco Barn.
• Flower pillow: Antique Tobacco Barn
• Record table: Antique Tobacco Barn

• Rugs: Antique Tobacco Barn
• Portrait: Kreh Mellick

• Nightstands: I found the bases at Antique Tobacco Barn and the tops are marble floor tiles from Home Depot.
• Rug: Rhode Island Antiques Mall in Pawtucket, RI
• Dresser: Craigslist—I was told it was used on movie sets!
• Trunk: Craigslist
• Prints: Strange Dirt
• Curtain rods: Amazon
• Ceiling fan: Wayfair

• Bedspread: OUTRA—this was the first quilt I made.
• Driftwood: Antique Tobacco Barn
• Lamp: IKEA
• Tree slice: Habitat for Humanity ReStore
• Framed sketch: Samuel Stabler
• Jute rug: IKEA
• Light fixture: original to the house

• Stained glass shower curtain: OUTRA
• Cup: Melissa Weiss Pottery
• Bathmat: Target

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