A Very Beige, Carpeted Rental Is Redeemed By Florals

Name: Mary Martha Meyer Hill
Location: South Austin — Austin, Texas
Size: 800 square feet
Years lived in: 7 months, renting

I am a recent graduate living in my first post-college apartment. I studied art history and classical studies in college, and I’ve always been drawn to subjects, objects, and styles that possess a history that feels distant and somewhat untouchable. I live alone, which has given me the opportunity to explore and define my style on my terms, with exactly the things that I love. I have filled my apartment mostly with antiques or with items given to me by family members, and living with those objects gives me some sense of being surrounded by human histories that add a beauty to this apartment, both aesthetically and emotionally.

I also have a deep love for the natural world, a love that is expressed in my home in the form of floral fabrics and fresh flowers. I love to buy bouquets of flowers and create my own arrangements in the many (many!) vases I have collected. Flower arranging has begun to feel like a sort of art form that I can practice in my home, an art that allows me to exist in some way alongside the natural world, that brings something wild and beautiful into a domestic space. I have also hand-sewn all the pillows in my home, mostly with fabrics from Liberty London printed with delicate floral patterns. I have developed a calming routine of sewing pillow cases while sitting on my couch in the late afternoon, watching the sun drift through the curtains. Seeing the pillows around my home reminds me of those peaceful moments.

Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Romantically old world— florals abound!

What is your favorite room and why? My favorite room is the living room in the afternoon or early evening. The sunlight streams into the room through the windows, the rays filtered through the linen curtains and touching the leaves of the Meyer lemon tree that stands next to my couch. Nothing makes me happier than sunlight, linen, and plants, and in that room, at that time, I get all three.

If you could magically change something about your home, what would it be? I live in a very new, very standard, very beige, and very carpeted, apartment. I would love to live in an old house someday, like the one I grew up in, but for now, I would just settle for wood floors.

What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? I have become a frequent shopper at an antique store just a few minutes away, called Uncommon Objects. I’m oftentimes embarrassed by how many times a week I go there… but just the other day, I found the brass candlestick holders that are now sitting on my dining table. I went in looking for something like them, and was so happy when I found exactly what I was looking for. That happens all too often at Uncommon Objects!

Any advice for creating a home you love? Pay attention to the smallest details. Make those things beautiful, and work your way up. Also, incorporate things made by your own hand into your home, in whatever form you choose.

Thanks, Mary!

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