Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » sneak peek: sarah ridgely

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it’s not often that we get to travel to fort smith, arkansas for our sneak peeks, but that’s where we’re headed today with the home of letterpress designer, sarah ridgley. it’s a fun mix of traditional and modern, all while feeling oh so liveable and functional. don’t forget to check out additional images after the jump, and you can find all of our inspirational sneak peeks right here. [thanks, sarah!] -anne

[above: When we bought this house, the fireplace in our bedroom was hidden behind a wall of fake paneling. I was so happy when we pulled it down and saw this beautiful fireplace.]

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the maps on the wall came out of an antique plat map from a local county court. the table is from design within reach and the white chairs are from ikea. I bought the chandelier from an old house that was being torn down. Luckily Kevin had a tool kit in the car so we could take it with us. The irises on the table are from my garden. they are my favorite flower and I have tons of them in the spring.

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I love green dishes! Kevin and I spent hours measuring out the holes to put up all those cup hooks.

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When we remodeled the house we left the Frigidaire Flair intact. I love this stove! you can fold the cooktop up and hide it when guests come, in case you don’t have time to clean it off. We added the Dutch door to let more light into the kitchen. They were really expensive when I researched buying one, so we ended up making ours.

CLICK HERE for the rest of Sarah’s peek, including additional, full-sized images, after the jump!

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I love my bed. The backboard is from one of my favorite stores in Hot Springs. when we remolded our bedroom we didn’t have room for bedside tables, so we carved out two nooks from the wall. That’s our puppy Fiona. She’s a cavapoo (cavalier-poodle) but Kevin calls her our Serengeti Bush puppy. He has lots of fun stories about her times in the deserts of Africa chasing wild animals.

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My cousin Susannah Rodger of Art Nest made the lovely journal for me. The clock is vintage from an old clock maker’s shop here in town. It’s an original radium clock, which I guess means I should put it away before we have kids.

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My dad bought this antique Steinway several years ago. After moving it to our house, we had it tuned. The piano man said it was the oldest Steinway he knew of in Arkansas. Too cool! I love collecting old sheet music. The piano bench is stuffed with it. . . We went to Europe for Christmas and I was inspired by all the tea sets in our hotel rooms. So I put this together when I came home. My friend Susan brought the table runner to us from India.

They need to clean that fireplace. At first, I thought it was a “before” and scrolled down to see the “after.” It doesn’t need an overhaul – just scrub the smoke off the brick and it will be good as new.

Count me in with others who love the kitchen. It’s adorable.

bravo to you for keeping the stove! we had one in the house i grew up in and I also thought it was a magical gadget or something and couldn’t understand why everyone else’s families had the boring stoves. ha! and I think my mom loved it for the same reason you do: quick “cleanup” ;)

Definitely clean the fireplace and do not use it until you have had it and the chimney inspected. I “unearthed” hidden fireplaces in a house I once owned and they were all unusable w/out chimney liners and other work. Otherwise, they were fire hazards.

That stove is the best thing I’ve ever seen! Why aren’t they making those anymore? If I could get rid of my stove and oven for something that I could fold away or put in a cabinet, I would do it without a second thought.

We used to have a Flair. Wish we still did. Easiest stove to use I ever had. Maybe we can convince them to make it again, with enough response. I bought it in the rain at a junk yard, for $25, with no guarantee that it would work. Used it for 5 years.

Love your home.

Thanks for all the nice comments! We love that stove so much, so I’m glad to see that others appreciate it too. As for the fireplace, I never even thought about cleaning it. It’s been behind a wall since the early sixties, so I just assumed it wouldn’t come off. I’m going to try scrubbing it tonight.

I might not have left Fort Smith so quickly if I’d known there was such lovely interior and letterpress design around. I am in love with your space! (Yours is the second Flair I’ve seen in a Ft. Smith home; I wonder if it was a trend…)

oh, Sarah – Your photographs are fantastic and I love seeing the new hutch! Fiona looks so regal –
I had the pleasure of staying in this very house just 2 weekends ago and it’s always this beautiful! It was fun to see the Mystery Girl journal as well ~ Congrats!
-Susannah @ Art Nest

Sarah, your home is lovely. You certainly have your mothers flair. The charm of Ft. Smith, the people who live there and now your home are a great treasure. Thank you for sharing with us all the way out on the High Plains of Kansas.

Love your home, Sarah. I too am originally from Fort Smith. You have a real flair, perhaps you inherited some of it from your very talented Mom? Great job! (Did you have any luck with cleaning the fireplace?)

I got tears in my eyes when I came to the photo of the stove. My Grandmother had a very similar one in her narrow kitchen. I LOVED it–the dual ovens were very handy. I wish I could have brought it to my house! Grandma is still alive but moved out of the house a year ago.

OH my gosh, I thought I was the only one who had that stove! It came with the house and I can’t bear to get rid of it, even though the oven doesn’t work properly. How did you restore yours? I would love to know. thanks!

Those white mugs with the seasonal trees on them (mixed in with the green plates and cups)? I have a set of those, too. My mother got them in the sixties, and they are a favorite of mine from when I was growing up. Sometimes I use them for an afternoon cup of tea. I love looking at each of the little trees. I always thought that those mugs were sweet, and it’s nice to see that someone else thinks so too.

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