For Sharon Beesley and her husband, Rob, finding their dream home was a matter of digital serendipity. Six years ago, a friend texted Beesley a real-estate listing with a clear directive: she needed to buy the house. The couple attended the open house together and immediately recognized the 1800s Connecticut residence as their forever home. Today, Beesley looks back on half a decade of habitation with absolute certainty, noting that she never wants to leave the property.
The journey through the historic house reveals a space carefully curated over years through a blend of vintage discoveries, affordable budget finds, and a deeply personal design philosophy.
The Entryway and Historical Details
Stepping through the front door brings visitors into a foyer defined by rich historical nods. Beesley utilized William Morris wallpaper in the entryway, noting that during her search for the right print, she learned the renowned textile designer created all of his iconic patterns in the 1800s, making the aesthetic a fitting match for the home’s 19th-century origins. Paired with a vintage mirror and table, the space balances historical reverence with practical everyday living.
Beneath the console sits a starry floor mat sourced affordably from Wayfair. Beesley admits she initially worried the low-profile mat, which allows the front door to clear it seamlessly while remaining easy to mop, might lean toward the cheesy. Instead, it has become an unexpected crowd-pleaser that garners frequent compliments from guests.
Much of the home’s interior reflects Beesley’s dedication to secondhand shopping. Nearly every item bears a Goodwill price tag on its reverse, inspiring a long-term joke about future estate sales. She imagines guests walking through her belongings years from now, marveling at the quality of her thrifted art and wondering how she managed such remarkable bargains.
Collaborating on home improvements with a spouse can often strain a relationship, but Beesley has developed a unique ritual to keep the peace. Before embarking on any joint home project—such as hanging the foyer wallpaper—her personal rule requires her to read one chapter of a marriage therapy book. For the entryway project, that book was Us: Getting Past You and Me to Build a More Loving Relationship by Terrence Real.
The Dining Room and Secondhand Treasures
Moving into the dining room, the walls are coated in Farrow & Ball’s vibrant India Yellow, setting a warm backdrop for holiday gatherings. Beesley recalls last year’s Thanksgiving, where she followed Samin Nosrat’s New York Times guide to modernizing traditional holiday meals, utilizing inventive dips and toppings to elevate the dinner.
The dining room table and chairs were thrifted, with the chairs originating from a Habitat for Humanity ReStore—a retail chain Beesley counts as her favorite store in the world, often making a point to visit local branches while traveling. A rug in the space was passed down by their late neighbor, Lou, whom the couple fondly remembers. To balance a self-described design aesthetic that can quickly veer into "circus" territory, Beesley incorporates curated focal points, such as a thrifted poster that satisfies her love for bold visuals without overwhelming the room.
When navigating antique stores, Beesley combats visual overwhelm by committing to a single, specific item to hunt for over a multi-year period. Two years ago, her focus was candlesticks; this year, she is on the hunt for vases.
The dining area also houses a vintage metal locker originally used in New York City by her three children to store school backpacks. Now that the children have grown and moved out, the heavy-duty piece serves as a functional tool chest for household equipment like hammers, tape measures, and sandpaper.
This shift coincides with Beesley’s transition into an empty nest. Having married at 21 and started having children at 23, she spent her youth looking forward to the milestone of turning 40 when her children would be nearly grown. Now 44, she is experiencing adulthood without children in the home for the first time. While visits from her kids bring an invigorating energy, the quiet allows for a new chapter of personal reflection.
The Living Room and Daily Routines
The home’s living room is painted in Farrow & Ball’s Inchrya Blue and serves as the primary evening hub where Beesley and Rob unwind. The couple maintains a structured routine for sharing screen time on YouTube, allocating strict ten-minute blocks to each person before passing the remote. Rob gravitates toward vintage car auctions, stand-up comedy, and concert clips, while Beesley prefers Say Yes to the Dress, gymnastics footage, and Gardening With Monty Don.
The space features an Article sofa, vintage side and coffee tables, antique armchairs from Key to the Past, and another rug inherited from their neighbor Lou. Beesley changes wall colors frequently, noting that the living room’s current blue may soon transition to a new shade, much like their primary bedroom, which has cycled through green, blue, white, and brown.
The Kitchen and Family Connections
In the kitchen, painted in Benjamin Moore’s Breath of Fresh Air, the design blends light tones with character-rich details, including a chandelier from The Trove, a West Elm mirror, and black chairs sourced from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
Reflecting on motherhood, Beesley notes that parenting adult children requires a different cadence. Rather than the all-consuming nature of raising small children, her relationship with her grown kids now occurs in weekly phone calls. She maintains a clear boundary regarding her role, acknowledging that while she is always there to support them and hold space for their lives, she is their mother rather than their friend.
An adjoining breakfast nook, featuring custom built-in bench seating, Wayfair tables, Williams Sonoma chairs, and Home Depot wallpaper, was traditionally claimed by her son Owen as a workspace and lounging spot. Nearby, a photograph of Beesley and her late mother has been placed in a high-traffic zone after Beesley accidentally missed her mother’s anniversary date this past July, ensuring daily remembrance.
The Home Office
The home office doubles as a workspace for Beesley, who has practiced as a therapist for six years. She notes that the deep vulnerability and willingness of her clients to discuss frightening parts of their lives continues to inspire profound gratitude.
The office interior showcases peel-and-stick wallpaper from Home Depot, applied smoothly with the help of a specialized adjustment spray. The room is further furnished with Wayfair bookshelves, a vintage floor lamp, a Marimekko pillow, and a coffee table purchased at Goodwill for five dollars.
The Primary Bedroom
The primary bedroom features walls painted in Benjamin Moore’s Tamarind, a Wayfair bed, Quince bedding, West Elm side tables, and rooster lamps by artist Janis Melone.
After more than two decades of marriage, Beesley continues to refine her communication with Rob, consciously working to avoid speaking sharply. The couple relies on periodic refresher sessions with a marriage therapist to maintain their relationship, alongside simple daily rituals like morning coffee walks to a nearby gas station for budget brews.
The Garden Room and Outdoor Spaces
When her children left for college, Beesley converted a spare bedroom into a dedicated indoor garden room, painted in Farrow & Ball’s Green Smoke. Outfitted with an estate-sale work table, a vintage hutch, and an Anthropologie tapestry, the room provides a sanctuary for the colder months. Her advice for aspiring gardeners is straightforward: to begin without overthinking, trusting that the desire to grow things is qualification enough.
Outside, the home’s exterior is painted in Benjamin Moore’s Queen Anne Pink with Capitol White trim, surrounded by resilient garden beds featuring black-eyed Susans that thrive in difficult soil. In a departure from traditional gardening practices, Beesley plans to leave her dead plants standing through the winter rather than cutting them back, viewing the natural decay of flowers as a quiet challenge to rigid societal beauty standards.
Reflecting on the evolution of the property, Beesley acknowledges occasional decorating regrets—such as a past experiment with minimalism that involved painting every wall white. However, viewing the historic house as her greatest ongoing art project, she finds endless inspiration in the spaces she and Rob have built together.