The collector finally finds her forever home.

A collector at heart, designer Ashley Hanley discovered her family’s beautiful 1930s home after following signage for an estate sale. To seal the sale of the home, a promise was made to the former owner of the home to keep the existing architectural details and to honor the integrity of the age of the home. Equipped with her team of talented trades, Ashley brought in a fresh look and needed updates to the home that had not been touched since the early 90s. And Ashley’s collections that outgrew her family’s first home finally found the space to be displayed.

This summer, The Glam Pad has been highlighting the work of Ashley Hanley from an elegantly refreshed historical farm to a classic American 1940s home. Today, we are delighted to tour Ashley’s own home, complete with an interview with the designer herself! Let’s take a peek inside with photography by Kip Dawkins Photography.

Welcome, Ashley!

Q:  Please tell us about the home in terms of year built, architect and/or architectural style.

A:  Our home was built in 1939 and is located in an old streetcar suburb outside of downtown Richmond. It is a red brick home that is a hodgepodge of various architectural styles – Georgian, Colonial and Federal. We could not ever find the architect, as we believe that it was built by a prominent builder at the time.

Q:  How did you know that this was the home for your family, and what all did you do in terms of updates?

A:  We had recently sold our first home and were in a rental nearby. I happened to be out on a morning run and I saw an estate sale sign that had me reroute my run. I’m always hunting at local estate sales for my own home, as well as for client projects. However, this one stopped me in my tracks as we found out that the house was about to come onto the market and in a neighborhood that we have always loved. After our first tour of the home, we immediately fell in love. It had so much charm and character, and was ready for me to put our own personal touch on the home, while still honoring the architectural integrity of the home. What really sold us about the home, however, was the extra space that it had, compared to our old home. There were some tricky spaces, but we could see the vision and how it could flow and function for a young family.

Q:  How do you describe the overall design aesthetic?

A:  My personal design aesthetic is collected and not too decorated. My home is layered, warm and inviting, and while it is traditional, there is a sense of freshness due to light walls, fun textiles and a mixture of various timepieces.

Q:  What were the biggest challenges you faced?

A:  Naturally with an older home, we have faced many challenges with electrical, old plaster walls, plumbing, etc. But a few of the trickiest challenges that this home has presented to us are the kitchen, powder room, the third floor and the primary bedroom. We have tackled these challenges over time and in multiple phases – helping spread out the heavy expense of renovating as well as keeping the home liveable for us.

Before we moved in we tackled the third floor that is now our daughters’ playroom, as well as the upstairs hall bathroom. The biggest change for the third floor was flipping the staircase so that it opens into the hallway instead of into my daughter’s bedroom. By doing this, we were able to gain a closet for her bedroom and easy access to the playroom. Getting both of these completed prior to moving in was so helpful to make the house extremely liveable until we could tackle the next project. We also had old wallpaper removed, and my dad helped me paint the entire house!

After many iterations of architectural plans to figure out the best way to tackle our next challenges, we eventually settled on keeping the kitchen in its existing footprint. I decided that it would be best for the home to honor its original 1930s roots and keep the kitchen in its original location. With some smart cabinet planning and rearranging the entry to the powder room, we were able to create an incredibly functional kitchen that also feels very spacious.

I absolutely love to entertain and I have a huge collection of glassware, dinnerware and linens. These were stored on wire metal shelves down in the basement and now all have a home of their own in our latest phase of work – the party pantry. We had an attached carriage garage to our home that was too small to fit either of our vehicles in and served as storage for lawn equipment, strollers, kids bikes, etc. We converted this space into liveable space, but raising the floor and creating an opening from our living room into this newly finished space. Before we started renovating, I found the most incredible antique bookcase at my friend Justin Westbrook’s warehouse. We designed the entire space around this piece that displays and stores some of my favorite collections. On either side of the hutch, we have our very first coat closet (yes, you heard that correct!) and a closet for my tablecloth collection and vases. On the opposite side of the hutch is a new built-in cabinet that is made to look like an old butler’s pantry cabinet, equipped with a sink and dishwasher.

Our final phase of work will be tackling the primary bedroom and adding a screened in porch, as well as a mudroom.

Q:  What are some of your favorite wallpapers, fabrics, fixtures, antiques, etc. Any fun stories to share?

A:  Oh gosh every piece has a fun story! That is what is so fun about collecting vintage and antique pieces. Every single piece of art has meaning, and every piece always has a great story. Most guests that come into our home are always taken away by the dining room chandelier. I found this on Live Auctioneers through a Philadelphia auction house. My mom rode up with me to pick it up and we did not have any proper packing material to bring it home. It made it home safe and sound all of the way down 95, potholes and all! Our poor electrician had quite a puzzle to reassemble it, but did it beautifully and it truly is the crown jewel of the room.

Q:  What advice would you give to anyone looking to create a similar “collected” home?

A:  Buy what you love! You will start to see that you continue to gravitate to similar items. It also makes antiquing fun to have a mission looking for something. Know that the layers take time, and it won’t happen overnight. My home is almost 20 years of collecting.

Q:  Do you have any favorite objects you like to collect?

A:  I absolutely love collecting antique Syrian wood inlay boxes. My dog, Grady, also loves these boxes and has destroyed at least eight of these from my collection! I also love collecting old chippy landscape oil paintings. I think because I could never excel with oil paints, I have such a respect for this type of art – there is so much depth and layers, and I love imagining what story the artist was portraying.

What a beautiful, timeless, and perfectly curated home! Thank you, Ashley — and Grady! — for joining us today.

To learn more, please visit Ashley Hanley and follow @ashleybhanley on Instagram. You can also tour an elegantly refreshed historical farm by Ashley here and a timeless classic 1940s American home here.

And if you want to get a jump-start on the holidays, you can tour Ashley’s beautiful home, decorated for Christmas and check out her Top 10 Tips for Throwing a Memorable Holiday Dinner Party.