Today, Abbey gives us a Show & Tell Home Tour inside her house in upstate New York. Come on inside… I live with my husband, our son (2), and our daughter (3 months) in a small town between Ithaca and Binghamton, New York. We live in a cute little house that my dad and his 5 siblings grew up in. It’s seriously amazing that they all made it to adulthood without strangling each other. This place is pretty small. It’s perfect for us though! We have a really casual approach to decorating. The absolute most important thing is for the people we love to feel comfortable. The bulk of our furniture is from thrift stores, Craigslist, or antique auctions, so nothing is too precious. I don’t want to freak out over a spilled glass of wine or, more typically, juice. It’s also important that it feels like home to all of us, not just me. Honestly, I try to roll with it, but sometimes it becomes overwhelming and we have to do an occasional purge. I make it a point to have our two-year old help pick up his playroom at the end of each day because I want him to learn how to take good care of his belongings. He mostly just laughs at how ridiculous his mother is. I really can’t focus when things are a wreck though. We let our son pick out all of the artwork in his playroom and made sure to hang it lower than usual so he can enjoy it. When friends or family are over (which is at least every weekend all year round), we tend to congregate in our dining room. My family has always been a dining room kind of family; we’re constantly arguing over politics. My husband and I don’t talk politics much with our babies yet, so if it’s just the four of us we turn on the ipod and hang out in the playroom. Craigslist, eBay, and thrift stores are the secret to our house. With two young children, we definitely do not spend a ton of money on furniture. This sofa is a hand-me-down from my parents. All of my siblings have had it in their homes at one time or another. It’s super comfortable but has definitely seen better days. It’s perfect for a family with two tiny babies, and I use blankets to mask the really bad spots. I’ve also found that I’m willing to take more risks with inexpensive furniture. I’ll buy something for a few dollars, try it out in our house, and send it back to the thrift store if it looks terrible. I no longer have a dedicated studio space. I do have an office off our kitchen, but it has been taken over by our two-year-old’s teepee. It’s been a challenge to feel productive, particularly since our second baby arrived in October, but I’m slowly getting my groove back. I look back on the last few years I spent in grad school with a newborn and wonder how I ever had time to do anything. Stories at bedtime and, it will sound crazy obvious, but telling our kids that we love them soooooo much every day is really important. Eventually they’ll think we’re weird, so we’re trying to fit in as many ‘I love yous’ as we can before they’re “too cool.” What household chore do you hate? What household chore do you love? I hate doing dishes, but I love vacuuming. Not really. I also hate to vacuum. Household chores are no fun. I’m a sucker for art books; books of any kind, really. I have never regretted buying a book and love to find new bookstores when we’re traveling. Luckily my husband is a bookstore freak too. Strand and Kinokuniya in NYC and Quimby’s in Chicago are our favorites. Locally, I tend to haunt Target or a group of shops in the town next to us. Online, I’m an Etsy addict to the core. What Home & Garden blogs or websites inspire you the most? This list could go on forever (I read way too many blogs). My most recent faves, however, are Door Sixteen, The Brick House, and Smile and Wave.
For more from Abbey Hendrickson, visit her blog Aesthetic Outburst or her Etsy shop How Now Design for vintage finds and handmades. Or, go see more Show & Tell Home Tours on CafeMom.
