Inspiration from more stylish Connecticut ladies

While Philadelphia is my adopted home, I hail from Connecticut, a lovely little state that I appreciate more and more as the years go past. In honor of the Nutmeg State, I wanted to share some inspiration courtesy of two fellow Connecticutians (yeah, it's a weird term, I know).

First, Ms. Chloe Sevigny. Say what you will about her fashion choices or roles (which I love), but this ballsy actress oozes style and individuality; so, should we be surprised when her home follows suit?

Decorated by David Cafiero of Cafiero Select, these photos originally appeared in a 2007 edition of the now-defunct Home and Garden.

The welcoming hallway:

The living room:

The guest bedroom:

The master bedroom:

The bathroom:

(all via Cafiero Select)

Lovely surroundings for an endlessly-inspiring style icon, but really, should we expect any less?

The second Connecticut gal with great style is my long-time friend Julie. Julie's blog, which I recommend everyone visit, is filled with delightful daily musings on topics such as crafts, cooking, and all-important wedding preparations. Definitely a must read.

Way to represent the Constitution State, ladies!

I Love Me Some Craigslist

Hassles and scams aside, Craigslist is pretty great, especially for those of us who want an electic, not-purchased-in-one-sitting kind of a look to our homes. Et voila, enter Craigslist.

When I finally get around to sharing photos of our apartment, I will point out just how much of our stuff is straight from others' basements, attics, and estates (via Craigslist). This past weekend, I scouted a pair of matching vintage white wire chairs:

Are they great? Currently, one will be housed in our downstairs den and while one will greet guests in the spare bedroom. Springtime weather jolts people into cleaning, purging, and selling on Craigslist--I can't wait!

Do you have any recent Craigslist finds that you're particularly psyched about? Do tell!

Clover Market

With the sadness of last week behind us, I am looking forward to the exciting things in store for us this spring.

One such exciting event that is Clover Market, which Philadelphia Magazine describes as the Main Line "version of Brooklyn Flea," (subtext: fewer hipsters).

Vendors include Chairloom, the upholstery company of creative genius Molly Worth. Molly reupholstered the chair in the heading of this blog (recovered in Rubie Green's East Village fabric). The fun and vibrant prints of Molly's pieces surely complement the experience of spring in Philadelphia.

The 2010 dates for Clover Market are:

April 11 and 25
May 9 and 23
June 6 and 20

Looks like we have at least a few weekends planned for us!
Who wants to join us?

Goodbye

You probably won't be seeing much of me this week. Over the weekend, I was reminded how short and precious this life really is.

On Saturday evening, Adam and I celebrated the life and memory of his cousin, who passed away too young, but has left an indelible impact on those who were fortunate enough to know him and those who never would.

Early Sunday morning, my aunt passed away after a battle with cancer. She leaves behind a husband and two children, the oldest of which is only eighteen.

Later this week, we will likely say goodbye to someone else.

I share this because, as this exercise in blogging reminds me, there is beauty, grace, and profound love surrounding us daily. We should take every moment that we have in this life to appreciate it and those we have been fortunate enough to know, to love, and to have been loved by.

Thrift store chair + Ebay tote bag = New look!

Math never was my forte, but when 1 $15.99 Alan Campbell printed canvas tote bag (a lucky Ebay find) and 1 $15 thrift store chair are added together, my living room suddenly had 1 whole new look.

Alan Campbell fabric, available to the trade through Quadrille, is out of reach for me at a cost of over $150/yard. Instead a little creative thinking on my part lead me to reinvent a very large tote printed in Campbell's Deauville fabric. I spent about an hour deconstructing the tote, and discovered that I had over a yard of fabric to work with!

I laid the chair seat I wanted to recover (I even had enough for two chairs!)...

...and I began stapling until my fingers were sore!

After reattaching the seat of the chair, my results were rewarding, peppy, and a lot more fun than the original pleather seat cover. But don't take my word for it:

The last and final step? Deciding just who is lucky enough to sit on this beauty.

[Dream] Big or Go Home

My name's Ashley and I'm a Remax.com-aholic. Is that a thing? Because if it is, I have the disease. I regularly search real estate listings like I've got deep pockets and money to burn; but hey, dream big or go home, right?

Dutch-colonial, Georgian, gingerbread Victorian, you name it, I knew the style when I was still in elementary school (I am a geek). The architectural style in my home state of Connecticut and greater New England, with their clapboard colonials, seems to differ quite a bit from the greater Philadelphia area, where majestic stone homes abound. Needless to say, they have quickly become my favorite style.

Every few days, Adam receives emails with several links of dream houses I've found. The subject line of these emails usually reads something like, "I'll take any of these." Somehow, even now, he thinks I'm kidding.

Here are some of my favorites...just don't buy any of them without consulting me first, please:

(all via Remax.com)

By the way, all of these mansions are listed below $400,000, which is a lot of money but somehow seems like a bargain considering the history, the craftsmanship, and the square footage (all are over 3,000 square feet) of these beauties. They all need work, but anything worth having is worth working for.

Domino Taste on a Dollar Store Budget

(via M. Design)

When we moved to Philadelphia from New York, Adam and I came with little more than a few pieces of furniture. We moved into our former apartment in late August 2008 and lived a minimalistic life by default, rather than by choice. But, in actuality, my taste sits somewhere between the minimalist and the maximalist. I love the clean lines of a Parsons table against a jaunty Alan Campbell printed curtain, for example.

Somewhere between writing a Master's thesis, finishing coursework, and working full time, I felt the undying compulsion to furnish, to decorate, to accessorize my surroundings as both a distraction and an attempt to create a comfortable home base here in the City of Bro-ham Love.

My decorating budget remains tight but I haven't let that dissuade my search over the past year and half. Trips to pick up great deals from Craigslist, Ebay, parents' basements, and thrift stores have risen to the top of our weekend to-do lists (have I mentioned how wonderful and patient my boyfriend is?).

In the coming weeks, I will share photos of our current apartment, located in lovely Society Hill, and will share projects, inspiration and ideas about home. So, while there's no De Gournay wallpaper or pristine Paul McCobb in my immediate future, I'm not letting that stop me from making this apartment our home.