This Artist’s Loft in a Former Firehouse Embraces Its Victorian Glamour
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A lot has changed about Orange, New Jersey, over the years, but its vibrant spirit has been a constant. Orange once boomed as a manufacturing hub, with beer, boots, and staplers dispersing from its factories up and down the Northeast Corridor. It was known as the “Hat Capital of America,” at one time producing as many as 4.8 million hats per year. The mid-20th century saw industry and population decline, but today Orange is channeling its productive energy into a burgeoning artistic scene.
You can immediately feel the creativity and vitality of Orange, which now draws a diverse community of artists, musicians, and small-business owners. Orange is only 20 miles from Manhattan, plus it has plenty of exciting amenities of its own within easy driving distance, from art galleries and concerts to coffee shops and breweries. And all that iconic industrial architecture? It’s now home to exciting new businesses and incredible live-work spaces.
One such space is exactly what drew Bailey Li to Orange. This multi-talented interior designer and artist is always creating, whether she’s designing homes for clients, painting murals, or reimagining vintage furniture. But she was on the lookout for more space, and she was intrigued by Orange’s proximity to New York. With the help of a local arts organization, Bailey took over a converted loft space in a former firehouse. When she saw the loft’s 13-foot ceilings, huge windows, and exposed brick, Bailey knew it would be an inspiring HQ for her work — just like the town outside her front door.
“Orange is a town that’s really dedicated to building an arts community,” Bailey says. “This loft, and this town, have allowed me to flourish as a creator.”
Bailey’s incredible studio is proof of that. Her loft bursts with bohemian, post-industrial glamour: as if a very hip fairy had sprinkled pixie dust over an old photo, bringing it to glimmering new life.
Her decor has a sense of scale that plays up the studio’s unique architectural features. Around the bed, hanging drapes billow down from those epic ceilings. They make a dramatic statement, plus the soft fabric and earthy neutrals add warmth and a more intimate feel. A shimmery chandelier creates a lighting moment bold enough for this big room, in a romantic design that’s a compelling contrast to the space’s raw, industrial bones. And Bailey didn’t shy away from so much wall space, using it to display some of her largest canvases.
Bailey also layered in lots of Victorian glamour, gilded accents, and soft surfaces, which add texture and warmth while honoring Orange’s Victorian Age history and architecture. Like the settee she won in a local auction: It was originally “Pepto Bismol pink,” but Bailey lovingly reupholstered it in a sleek black-and-white color scheme, accessorizing it with throw pillows in dynamic patterns. And then there’s that scooter shelf, with so much old-is-new-again style that it feels like it was meant to sit right there. Throughout the space, that combination of hard and soft materials, edgy and sumptuous styles, turns this studio into a place that feels like home.
Whimsical details abound, letting you know you’re in a space where ideas come to life. A velvety upholstered chair is mounted on the wall the way one might hang a picture; a vintage rotary phone perched on the seat. Tall blooms, sculptural busts, salvaged architectural columns — every little detail adds up to a creative retreat that Bailey is always happy to return to after a day spent visiting with artist friends or checking out new shows around the Orange creative scene.
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