a neighbor's space.

A Neighbor's Space

When arriving home Wednesday evening, I bumped into my neighbors, two girls who live downstairs from me. I had seen them both before and we exchanged hellos, but we hadn't yet had the chance to really talk. Cathy was helping Brianna out the door with her bike and then Cathy and I walked upstairs to our respective apartment doors. Their wide-eyed cat named Raja sat in the hallway staring at us and their apartment door was open. I couldn't help but notice the beauty and light of their apartment entryway.

We got to talking and she graciously allowed me to take a few photos of their adorable apartment. What was striking was that a lot of the most interesting elements of their decor were actually DIY and recycled projects they had done themselves.

For instance, the two interesting shelves shown above under the window were actually made from a chair they accidentally broke.

Cathy told me that this beautiful bathroom wallpaper was already in the bathroom when they moved in. Lucky! I think it is absolutely stunning and almost has a Victorian feel to it.

Above all, these girls have amazing stories and goals. Cathy is currently finishing up her undergraduate degree, but she hopes to eventually open up her own center for children and teens to use as a creative outlet. She told me that Brianna traveled to India, developed a term called "food culture" there, and wrote about poverty in Mumbai. She's even been published!

And here is the lovely Cathy playing footsy with Raja!