U. City Townhouse Reflects Artist's Life Changes

Admin
Admin
10 minute read
U. City Townhouse Reflects Artist's Life Changes

Amy VanDonsel has found her current home online, a space familiar to artists, designers, and this forward-thinking, tech-savvy woman. "I found it on Zillow," he said. The place resonates.

“I love living somewhere with character. I was looking for a space that was a little bigger and more interesting,” he says. I also have a list of things I want, like a garage and a basement full of laundry. I also like to have my own independent house. With a separate entrance, even if it is rented.

The brick and stone exterior of the VanDonsel townhouse, with its shingle roof, is almost like a fairy tale.

A two-storey brick and stone Tudor house with hipped roof, log gables, tall windows and multiple brick chimneys presents a fanciful quality of street. Inside, VanDonsel designed its interior to reflect a modern fairy tale all too familiar to those sharing the collective experiences of work and daily life in times of a pandemic.

People also read...

He lived there for more than a year, creating a space for his life and work that comforted and supported him. Two armchairs flank the stone fireplace in the sunlit living room. "It's my favorite room in the house because of that fireplace," he says. He chose the two armchairs he looked at because they were small and old-fashioned. "It's a new chair from Ikea, originally designed in the 1950s and recently relaunched. When my boyfriend visits, I put a rug in front of him for his dog. Warm and cozy with lots of light."

When the weather turns chilly, Amy van Donssel brings her plants and patio furniture into the sunroom. He painted his artistic discovery above the rolling sea with the words "cloud" and "wave," a clever way of buying cheap artwork and then putting his personal stamp on it.

Plants that move from house to house also love the light that floods all rooms. VanDonsel's gardening skills are evident in the healthy plants throughout his home, even in the sunroom. "Bring patio furniture and plants into the sunroom for the winter," he says. It was an instinctive practice that he used in most of the apartments he lived in.

Some have traveled with him over the years, like the terrarium that sits on the Windsor secretary's desk in the living room. “My mother gave me that terrarium. It has grown over the years.” I cut it off now and then, but that's it.

He bought a secretarial office from a woman who inherited it from a relative. It came with a key to lock it and an old letter opener that the original owner kept on his desk. "I remember seeing this ad and it was from the early 1900's."

However, the table was not the only piece of furniture he found or saved. A friend gave him a 1930s sofa in his bedroom when he moved away from it and didn't want it anymore. He also received a stack of legal bookcases between two dining room windows from a generous friend.

VanDonsel fills her bedroom with warmth and whimsy through things like a dream catcher that hangs from a ceiling light and a blanket over the bed, a resting place for three gently sculpted little pink pigs. “I have been knitting for a long time and I love the art of weaving,” she says. Pigs were my first Ikea purchase when the store opened.

For VanDonsel, the timing of her move in and the space in her new home coincided exactly with the time of day.

"I've been working from home lately, only going to the office occasionally for important meetings," he said. “I love working from home, but it's a huge adjustment. As of March 2020, I spend 40 to 50 percent of my work time in Chicago.

“When all our flights were closed, we never got back there. I didn't even get a cup of coffee out of the Chicago office. Like many people, I didn't know when or if I'd be back in an actual office.” As consultants, we already do a lot of work. with clients."

A few years ago, VanDonsel made a career change from selling her art and working in food service to the high-tech field where she currently works. Take advantage of the training offered at LaunchCode to change jobs. Today his art is evolving in new ways and solves business problems by creatively solving technology.

ALSO READ:“People Were Curious”: Underground Kampala Is Creating A Techno Culture In Uganda

Amy VanDonsel was looking for a home with great architectural details. Enjoy a stone fireplace with stained glass windows in your living room. Painted on the room's color palette for the patterned rug in front of the sofa.

He maintained a strong connection to the art world, which is evident in the paintings and artwork on his walls, including his own.

For VanDonsel, his home is an expression of his art. She still knits, and it's a hobby that gives her great pleasure. He has developed techniques that facilitate artistic expression as part of his work. He is the program director of the popular art app Pikazo. He was a co-founder of Snow Day, a company that uses 3D scanning and printing to create custom snow globes.

"I no longer actively paint," he said, "but I still find creative opportunities for myself. Sometimes art and technology intersect with my work." "I try to bring my creativity into everything I do."

Amy van Donssel sits at her home in University City on Wednesday, January 10, 2023. Photo by Christine Tannous, ctannous@post-dispatch.com

A striped rug under the dining table on the dining room side creates a nice earthy tone that also lends itself well to the plants.

VanDonsel's love of textiles is evident in her choice of blankets for her bed. His indulgence in fantasy is brought to life by the soft sculpture of three pillows of pigs in the master bedroom.

The black-and-white tiles in the kitchen might be the home's forte, but VanDonsel used a sharp color scheme to design the room. Old and new cookbooks are placed on a shelf that also holds home improvement repair books.

Wrought iron handrails and handrails visually open the stairs. He sampled in his miniature Morris chair perched at the top of the stairs.

FKJ lives in Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia for Circle