At Home With Dans Le Townhouse

We are excited to welcome Tanya from Dans Le Townhouse to the blog today to share a bit of her home with us! This townhouse was the first home my husband (Handy Hubby) and I bought, so it’s pretty special to us. We saw past the salmon pink bathroom, stained carpet, and general disrepair, and envisioned a bright and modern space. We replaced carpet with hardwood, updated the bathrooms, installed a herringbone tile backsplash in the kitchen, and painted (almost) every wall a crisp gallery white. So much is handmade, including the curtains, throw pillows, both of our desks, our headboard, bedside tables, and more. We have a small budget, but we’ve made it work (and had some luck). We bought our cream leather sofa previously-loved from the classifieds, the teak sofa tables were $20 for the pair at an estate sale, and my beloved Pyrex collection is largely thrifted. We’ve also gotten inventive and made a lot of our own “art” and accessories. Some of my favorites include the discarded bathroom mirror we antiqued and stenciled with a Hungarian poem (above the fireplace), the framed agate coasters (in the dining room), and the abstract triptych I painted for our bedroom.I’ve really tried to make sure the townhouse is a space that reflects both of us. The mid-century furniture is my thing, but the wood kitchen cabinetry (that I stripped and refinished) is Hubby’s preference. I think the most unusual décor pieces are the three 1960s posters in the kitchen. I brought those back from Hungary, where I did research for four months. They are ads commissioned by the Communist Party to get people to go shopping in nationalized stores! My favorite thing in our space is the metal sculpture in my office (beside the silhouettes) that my grandfather made. He was a professional artist at one time, but he no longer wants to create art. This is one of the last sculptures he made, and he made it for me.  He also welded our giant headboard and bedside tables, which my Mom and I designed. I think Handy Hubby would say his favorites are his grandpa’s art, including the painting in the dining room and the pair above the sofa. We really love art, but we don’t really have the means to buy much, so we’re so grateful to have artistic family members. To fill in gaps, we get creative. We DIY a lot, so having a garage was a must-have. We even gave it a makeover with icy blue paint and shelving we built. We have been DIYing together since we started dating as teenagers. Back then we refinished a desk for me, upholstered a chair for him, and then painted my ’92 Dodge Colt lime green.  Now tackling a project—whether it’s tiling or refinishing furniture—has become a hobby we share. The garage and backyard get a lot of use (and see a lot of spray paint). I work from home, so I also spend a lot of time in the office. We turned an old treadle sewing machine base into a desk for me, and it’s a good think we live in our own townhouse now, and not an apartment, because I treadle when I’m thinking. Squeak, squeak, squeak. Our most used room is our living room. We love kicking back and relaxing for movie night!

Thank you so much for sharing your space with us, Tanya! You can find more of Tanya over at her blog Dans le Townhouse. xo.