This Singer and Songwriter’s Colorful Atlanta House Is the Perfect Place to Make Music

published Mar 23, 2022

This Singer and Songwriter’s Colorful Atlanta House Is the Perfect Place to Make Music

published Mar 23, 2022
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Home Type
Bedrooms
Square feet

1400

Sq ft

1400

Name: Raquel Lily, with cats Rigby, Penny, and Lucy
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Size: 1,400 square feet
Type of home: House
Years lived in: 1.5 years, owned

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Singer, songwriter, guitarist, and online content creator Raquel Lily‘s voice is soulful and smooth, and her music is a blend of a little bit R&B, jazz, and pop — but all very fresh and cool. As an indie artist, she released her debut full-length album, “Fixations,” in early March. (You can pre-order a vinyl of the album now.) But she’s been streaming music online since 2017, gaining a big following on Twitch. It’s not just her own music that she shares with her audiences, however. She shares across her platforms her love of food and cooking, her cute cats, and a wicked sense of humor (which isn’t always SFW and is not for everyone).

Raquel, who graduated with a degree in neurobiology and briefly worked in the field before taking a chance at music full time, was born in the Philippines and raised in New York. She currently lives in Atlanta, a city she chose for an oddly specific, career-centric reason.

“I have been searching for homes in the Southeast for a while and decided to move to Atlanta for, funny enough, fiber internet,” she writes. “I work from home and have been online streaming for the past five years, as my career in music blossomed over the internet. I needed to find a place that was well lit, and something that I could make my own.”

She purchased this 1400-square-foot house, which has plenty of room for her three cats and her music and streaming career. “I love that the house was built in 1930, which tells me that the foundation has remained strong,” Raquel explains. “The neighborhood is quiet and peaceful and is very close to the Atlanta Beltline, one of my favorite things about the area. I bike and walk every day to jumpstart my creative flow.”

Apartment Therapy Survey:

My Style: Boho chic/ mid-century modern/colorful

Favorite Element: My favorite room is my mustard room. It is the closest to where the sun rises and it is super bright there in the morning. I love the color palette and the vibe. 

Biggest Challenge: The stairs to the basement was built in the 1930s and is wayyy too small of a passage way so getting anything down there was a pain. Turns out, my years spent playing Tetris can be translated to moving furniture around an awkward stairway as well!

Is there something unique about your home or the way you use it? My living room is a recording studio and lacks an entertainment system, which I chose to put in my basement instead. I didn’t want the focus of a common area to be about watching TV or movies. Instead, I wanted the living room to be about sharing music and creating. 

What are your favorite products you have bought for your home and why? My lovely green couch. It’s so beautiful, yet so comfortable and gigantic. I can sleep on it or lounge in it. I love its aesthetic. 

Please describe any helpful, inspiring, brilliant, or just plain useful small space maximizing and/or organizing tips you have: I like to keep boxes to help me maintain organization throughout the various cupboards, drawers and dressers in my house. Instead of having any junk drawers, I like organizing said junk. Visually, it helps my brain feel like the clutter is being managed.

Finally, what’s your absolute best home secret or decorating advice? I like to start with a bold color and build around it. Whether that’s the accent wall or a big couch, I enjoy building pieces around that to create the inspiration for the rest of the room. I don’t like to overwhelm myself with purchases all at once. It’s more like an ongoing work of art or a concept that I like to add to overtime. 

Thanks Raquel!

This house tour’s responses were edited for length and clarity.