Interior design has fascinated me since I was just a little girl. My significant other would tell you, by his definition, I have no hobbies, but he is wrong – my hobby is decorating our home. It started innocently enough when I received my first Barbie Dream Home at age 6 or 7. While other little girls were pondering how to dress Barbie, I was trying to find the perfect bedspread for Barbie\’s master bedroom using my mother’s good washcloths. When I was old enough to choose the colors for my room, I began a love affair with color and painting walls. The walls of my childhood bedroom have been lavender, celadon green, chocolate brown and bright turquoise. My room had the distinction of the only room in our house that had never been painted white.

In my teens and early twenties, my interest in interior decorating was spurred on by the gorgeous interiors featured in shelter magazines. Like many, I clipped and saved pages of beautifully designed rooms, ideas and objects that would someday (I hoped) manifest themselves in my own home. As a renter, I tried out many looks and styles until 2006, when I bought my first home.

43rd Street is about our house, and we could not have been prouder. What we didn\’t realize what how much hard work it was going to be. And still is. This section chronicles the things we\’ve done to the house along the way.