At Home With Kelley Howley

We are excited to welcome our next guest, Kelley Howley, to the blog to share her gorgeous home with us! "My husband, Troy, and I purchased our home in the spring of 2011 right before we got married (some of our wedding guests actually stayed in our house before we even did). It is a three-story (renovated attic) colonial home in an area of Grand Rapids, MI called 'Heritage Hill', which is one of the largest urban historic districts in the country. It's also only a mile away from the small business we own (Hunt & Gather), so the location couldn't be any more perfect. Our home was built in 1915. And because we live in Heritage Hill, we have to historically preserve the exterior elements of our house. The interior, however, is fair game, and we have finally started to settle into what I really want our home to look like.

My goal in styling and designing our home was to infuse modern comforts with some standout, unique vintage pieces (like our hanging chair, credenza, and dining room table). I love art, so we have a number of 'found' art pieces throughout the space as well as some framed prints of artists who I admire (a lot of impressionist artists). I also am very inspired by mid-century pieces, but I like to mix and match them with newer or reupholstered pieces, so it doesn't feel too kitschy. Most of the walls in our home are white, so our favorite pieces can stand out like our vintage locker basket shelving unit that we use for our dishes or the painting we bought in the Dominican Republic while on vacation. We also have a great feature wall in the living room that we covered with gold/white peony wallpaper." "My favorite room in our home is the sunroom. It is a long, narrow room on the back of our house that we designed to be extremely relaxing. The room is pretty minimal when it comes to design elements (mostly a few seats and some plants), but going in there always makes me feel like I am on vacation in my own home." "We have lived in our house for about 2 and a half years now. Our house was built in 1915, but somebody did some not-so-awesome renovations in the 1990s (fake brass EVERYWHERE). That meant our place needed a major overhaul with the exception of the wood floor and the Frank Loyd Wright-style stained glass windows. We pretty much did all of the renovating by ourselves or with the help of our family: repainting/rebuilding the fireplace area, tiling backsplashes, stripping/painting cabinets, etc. We have become quite the handymen. I have a beer-budget & champagne-taste, though, so furnishing & remodeling has taken longer than I expected. Bedrooms & bathrooms still under construction." "Because of our vintage home decor shop, I am constantly swapping out furniture pieces here or there that would look better in the store or our home, and vice versa. Although I swap things out a bit, I can generally tell when a piece of furniture or art has found its forever home. For example, we have a painting in our living room that sat at the shop for a while. But when we hung it up next to the built-in bookcase, it just 'fit'. That bad boy isn't going anywhere. Ever." "Our goal when buying a house was to be able to have a place where family, friends, neighbors, and pets could relax, feel welcomed, and experience life together. Currently, Troy and I live here with our dog Harper, but we are rarely alone due to weekend house guests, long-term guests (friends/family who have needed a place to stay for 1- to 7-month stints) and pet-sitting. We LOVE dog-sitting our friends' pups. I swear we would have 10 dogs of our own or a hotel for dogs if we didn't own the shop. The rooms we use the most are the living room, sunroom, and attic. They are perfect for both large and small groups of people to be together. We entertain from our home (a lot). We work from our home. We play in our home. We love in our home." Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful home with us, Kelley! You can find more of Kelley over at her shop Hunt & Gather or on the In Good Company Blog. xo. *photos taken by Jill DeVries