Skip to playerSkip to main content
  • 1 day ago
On this episode of Sweet Digs, we tour the Brooklyn duplex of lifestyle brand Salt House founder, Sarah Ashley. She made the most of the two floors of space with her unique sense of design. Watch this week's Sweet Digs to explore her gorgeous home!

https://salthousenyc.com/
https://youtube.com/c/salthousenyc

Click here to submit your Sweet Digs: http://bit.ly/2MVXlFn

ABOUT SERIES
High rent, small spaces, nosy neighbors — we put up with A LOT of things to live where we love. In Sweet Digs, Refinery29 gets a peek inside the homes of the coolest people we know, from tiny studios to sprawling houses, and ask the real questions like, "Wait, how much is your rent?"

ABOUT REFINERY29
Refinery29 is a modern woman's destination for how to live a stylish, well-rounded life. http://refinery29.com/

RELATED CONTENT
What $7,500 Will Get You In NYC
https://youtube.com/watch?v=hxR0HqStX2U
What $4,800 Will Get You In NYC
https://youtube.com/watch?v=JBZTZZAcFTw
What $3,000 Will Get You In NYC
https://youtube.com/watch?v=UfEXCY4qa5E

SEE MORE REFINERY29 VIDEOS
http://refinery29.com/video

SUBSCRIBE TO REFINERY29
Subscribe to the Refinery29 channel: http://bit.ly/subscribe-to-r29
For the latest trends and videos, visit: http://refinery29.com
Like Refinery29 on Facebook: https://facebook.com/refinery29
Follow Refinery29 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/refinery29
Heart Refinery29 on Instagram: https://instagram.com/refinery29/

TALENT
Follow Sarah Ashley on Instagram: https://instagram.com/salthousenyc/
Follow Unbothered on Instagram: https://instagram.com/r29unbothered/
Follow OnHerTurf on Instagram: https://instagram.com/onherturf/
Follow Refinery29 on Instagram: https://instagram.com/refinery29/
Transcript
00:00I'm Sarah Ashley and welcome to Salt House headquarters. I mean, my sweet digs.
00:05Before you come in, make sure and subscribe. Okay, let's go.
00:09I live here with my fiance, Jared, and we're in Brooklyn, New York, so we're right on the border between
00:15the neighborhoods of Boreham Hill, Cobble Hill, and Carroll Gardens.
00:19We pay $46.75 in rent, which is a lot, but if you know the New York City marketplace, we
00:26actually are getting a lot of value for what we're paying.
00:28So we live in a duplex, so there's two different levels. There's one bedroom, two and a half bathrooms, and
00:34we also have an amazing outdoor space that has two levels as well.
00:40Here's the kitchen. This used to be the least favorite room in the apartment, but I've made a lot of
00:46changes to it.
00:47I actually changed the look of all these counters. They're not really marble. This is all done with contact paper.
00:54And then we also did something similar with the cabinets, which are fine. They're just a wood, darker cabinet, but
01:00in order to sort of brighten everything up, I put this wallpaper on it.
01:04Also, the open pantry and the spice rock, both of those sort of speak to form and function because they're
01:10both really beautiful to look at, but it also creates so much more storage space, which I'm definitely lacking.
01:16Everything looks super neat and organized, but if you guys were to take a peek in some of my drawers
01:21and cabinets, you would not see such a pretty picture.
01:25So I, too, caught the Marie Kondo bug and just took everything out, threw away everything that was already expired
01:31or just things that I honestly wasn't using that much.
01:34It's made every part about being in my kitchen such a better experience.
01:39I feel like our environment impacts the way that we feel so much, and if I want to feel inspired
01:43to cook, then I need to be in a space that I love.
01:46I was on the first season of a TV show called The Taste that was on ABC, and it was
01:51a competitive cooking show, and it was a super fun experience.
01:54I learned a ton, and that led me to move to New York City and start my company, Salt House,
02:00which is a lifestyle brand all about helping people tap into their own creativity and find more joy in everyday
02:06living.
02:06I think that my favorite thing to cook is a perfectly roasted chicken just because it's so easy to do.
02:12So I always like to recommend that for beginners because it's a really great way to build confidence in the
02:17kitchen, and even if you ask top chefs, that's often their answer is just perfectly simple roasted chicken.
02:23And this is the dining room.
02:25I really love this table.
02:27It has this really beautiful copper base, and it's also very special to me.
02:30Every week, I like to do a little date night, Jared and I, so I'll cook a special dinner for
02:35us, and towards the end of the meal, he always kind of just motions over, and I always go and
02:39sit on his lap for a little bit, and that's actually where we got engaged.
02:43I also really love to collect dishware, all different kinds of plates, and serving bowls, so I needed a place
02:48to put everything.
02:49So I think this IKEA piece is really great because it has so much storage space, and I love that
02:54it displays, as well as has the drawers that you can pull out, so you can store stuff in there,
02:59too.
02:59Another feature about this room that I love is the Lucite bar cart.
03:02It's locally made and available on our website, SalthouseNYC.com, and it's really cool that we have a bar upstairs
03:09and downstairs.
03:10And this is the bedroom.
03:12This bed is definitely the centerpiece of the room.
03:16I knew that I wanted a canopy bed when we were moving in here, and Jared actually was not into
03:21the idea at first, but I convinced him, and he ended up loving it.
03:25I got these nightstands, which were a little bit of a challenge to find just because the bed is so
03:30high, and most nightstands today are built pretty low.
03:33Initially, I was going to get the dresser that matched these nightstands, but it ended up coming damaged, and it
03:38was going to be months to get another one, so I picked out this black dresser, and I actually ended
03:43up liking it so much more just because I don't typically love the matchy-matchy look.
03:48We have a no screens policy for the most part in the bedroom.
03:52We don't have a TV, and I definitely try to avoid being on my phone.
03:55Jared and I met because he was my lawyer.
03:58He was starting my business for me when I was starting my LLC, and yeah, I guess you could say
04:04I was definitely his favorite client.
04:06When we were moving in together, this was his first time moving in with a girlfriend, and he was definitely
04:11having a little bit of an identity crisis because I was just getting rid of all of his stuff.
04:16He ended up trusting me. He loves my aesthetic, so rest in peace to Jared's old stuff.
04:21This is our master bathroom, which is one of three.
04:24We have another one on this floor, which has a little tiny tub in it, and then there's another half
04:30-bath downstairs.
04:31All the bathrooms pretty much look the same, so to spice things up, definitely into some accessorizing.
04:36I got this fun rug from Urban Outfitters, and then a little pop of color in the towels from H
04:42&M.
04:42And like this little soap dish, which is a bracelet that I wouldn't actually wear, but it just kind of
04:48worked under this gemstone soap.
04:51This is the living room.
04:55I had a huge laundry list of all these things I wanted in a place.
04:59I wanted two levels and stairs and tons of natural light and an outdoor space and all these things.
05:05Jared's dad thought that I was totally nuts, and he was like, there's no way that you're going to find
05:08an apartment with all those things.
05:10And I have to say, we hit almost all of the boxes.
05:13The only thing that I want in my next place is a fireplace.
05:16The first thing that I did when we moved in was painted this wall blue.
05:20Just because I knew that it would be an accent sort of focal piece for the room, and then I
05:25wanted to create a gallery wall on top of that.
05:27It's really interesting, I think, to create your own art for a gallery wall.
05:31It's a way that you can do it a little bit more affordably, and you can also tailor pieces in
05:36that way to match the aesthetic of your space.
05:38My favorite splurge item is definitely this sectional sofa.
05:43It's made by a maker named Kristin Drohan, and it's just so deep and comfortable.
05:49Sometimes sofas are really beautiful, but you do not want to sit on them for an extended period of time,
05:55and this one, you do.
05:57The bar underneath the stairwell is also one of my favorite pieces.
06:00I knew I wanted to utilize the space underneath the stairs.
06:03We love entertaining, so it's great having this down here.
06:06And behind it is my home office.
06:09Truly, being at home is one of my favorite ways to be inspired, and that's why I feel like having
06:15an environment that really lights you up is so important.
06:18I've even found a way to turn this little corner of my home into a miniature art studio, so I
06:24have my easel and so many different art supplies.
06:26Cooking was my first love, and from there I went into home decorating, and later on I got into painting,
06:33and I realized they were all just methods of expressing myself through creativity.
06:38I love painting in particular because I feel like it's a way that I can truly turn my mind off
06:43and really get into the present moment, even more so for me than with cooking.
06:47I really think that the home is one of the most powerful ways that we can find more joy in
06:52our lives.
06:53Just waking up in a space that feels inspiring to me, something that really reflects who I am, it's something
06:59that brings me so much joy.
07:02Thanks so much for watching My Sweet Digs.
07:04If you want to watch more videos, head over here, and to subscribe, click here.
Comments

Recommended