“I would say more than 60% of the furniture I own is vintage, upcycled, or handmade. Everything has a history, which I love,” says the designer. One case in point is the curved sectional in the living room, which, as she puts it, “screams me the loudest,” and which she thrifted and reupholstered in a House of Hackney fabric and embellished with a fringe. “I am obsessed with that fringe. There’s something about the way the light shines through it in the morning and at night,” she adds. Other novelties include decorative table lamps, accent pillows, and chandelier shades handmade by her sister, muralist and textile artist Dede Chiloiro, in the living room and bedroom.
The walls weren’t exempt from time travel. “They were too white and too new for my personal style,” says Francesca, who papered them through and through until there was no white left in sight. (Her favorite is the textured grasscloth House of Hackney wallpaper in the living room, which she says inspires the most beautiful warmth.) “What was once so sterile turned into a cozy, moody sanctuary that’s perfect for me and my chickens,” she muses. Some things, such as the natural oak floor, the living room fireplace, and the wainscoting in the dining room, were left the way they were in a deliberate effort to honor the home’s history.
