Hello and welcome to my humble abode! As promised, today I am finally sharing a tour of my little apartment and home office for my vintage shop! Built in the early 1900s, my apartment is on the bottom level of an old Victorian house in the historic district of my town. With age comes the charm that really made me fall in love with the place, but it also definitely brings a few quirks that I could live without (cough cough, I don't have a shower... only a bathtub)! There is a bedroom, the main living room/ office area, and then a tiny kitchen and bathroom. And even with all the odd quirks, I really couldn't have asked for a better place to be the first real place that was all my own!
What would you say is your "design aesthetic"?
I really love bright white spaces with pops of color. For this apartment, I stuck with neutral whites and grey's and then brought in punches of citrusy- pastel colors throughout with flowers, plants, and artwork.
What is your favorite thing to do in your apartment?
Whew, that's a hard one! I really love mornings here, drinking coffee and reading my favorite blogs or editing photos. That is definitely my most inspired time of day. I really love having a super productive day working on the shop too, whether that be writing a bunch of new listings or shooting a lot of new products! My favorite non work related guilty pleasure to do at home is to get takeout and eat it snuggled in bed watching a show on netflix!
Favorite Part of the Apartment:
My favorite part of my apartment definitely has to be the little breakfast nook table with stools. Besides the dark hardwood floors and the arched doorways, it's what really made the apartment feel special! When I first moved in, I did a DIY to make the hanging caged lantern lights using materials I bought off amazon, and later added the hanging plants and a beautiful "Stop and Smell the Roses" print R got me for my birthday this year.
Least favorite thing about the apartment:
The thing I really don't like about this apartment is the lack of natural light, which is probably evident in these dingily lit photos. Though the windows are above ground level, there are not many, and there is also a hedge (for privacy) that blocks out a lot of the light. Because my online shop depends heavily on well lit product photos, it makes the editing part of my job way harder! I think this is what I am most excited about when R and I move this summer. The new place definitely needs to have lots of bright natural light!
How do you balance work and personal space when it is just one small studio?
This is also a touch one, and I hope to have a bit more separation of space when I move this summer. However, I have definitely found ways to make this work as both a home and an office/studio! It really came down to creative organization for all of my vintage inventory. I used to have multiple bulky rolling racks around the living room, but then purchased my huge ikea shelving unit which has been a life saver. Now after an item is fully cleaned, altered, photographed, and listed, it gets folded and tucked away into a color-coordinated shelf until it is purchased by someone and shipped out. The second most important thing for me is to always keep things really neat and clean. In such a small space, everything needs to have a place, and its helpful to put everything away and clean up the days work before breaking for the night.
What does a typical shop day look like for you working from home?
It really depends on the day! I try to do shop tasks in large chunks, focusing on one or two main things for the day instead of trying to dabble in a little bit of everything every day. For example, one day may be solely focused on altering and fixing up a new batch of vintage with lots of sewing. Another day may be for photographing items to go in the shop and then editing photos for Etsy listings. Saturdays are almost always my buying days, as its when the thrift stores in my area usually have the best sales happening. Whatever the focus of the day is, it usually begins with a short trip to the gym or a home workout, followed by coffee and blogging or answering emails. I then get into the main task of the day, and take a break for lunch or to walk to the post office to ship out orders. Typically I make an easy home cooked meal and end the day relaxing either doing some sort of craft or watching a favorite show. And my weekend are almost always spent at R's place!
Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed hearing a little bit more about my place and my day to day life! If you have any questions about where anything is from, just leave it in the comment section and I will get back to you!
xo Hannah
