Ashley Kipps Home Tour
Posted: 17 December 2023
If you’re a #sundaycore fan then you will love journeying into the cosy, calming space beautifully styled by Ashley Kipps, which has delightful corners, serene nooks, and there’s always space for fresh blooms to add life and charm. Her rustic, light-filled home in Utah, USA is a masterclass in how to use carefully considered decor and linens to make a rental house a proper home.
When we first stumbled across Ashley (@apkipps) there was a natural connection because both Ashley and our Founder, Lauren, love creating comforting and cosy spaces. We most certainly enjoyed the opportunity to get to know more about her love of slow moments, finding meaning in the small things and how to decorate your space to create a special #sundaycore mood. She has a particular skill in being able to romanticise the small moments in life, standing as a reminder to all of us who might be guilty of rushing through our week and not finding moments of mindfulness in the mundane. As Ashley sums up her bio, ‘in search of a beautiful life’: something that from an outsider’s perspective she most certainly seems to have achieved.
Q: Can you shed some light on the rising popularity of Sundaycore and help us understand why it has captured the hearts of so many people?
A: I started doing my own private version of "Sundaycore" during the peak of the pandemic but continued the habit over the course of the past three years because of the sense of joy & comfort it gave me. When I initially recorded my sunday routine and shared it with my followers, I really didn't think it would resonate the way it did- because it truly just is me dancing around my house & cleaning, but the internet always has a way of surprising you & humans are a lot more alike than we tend to remember. Personally, I think Sundaycore resonated with people so deeply because it's an opportunity for us to find ways to romanticise and appreciate the little things in our lives- whether that's cleaning on a Sunday or some other mundane task that you are able to find magic and & joy in. So often social media & the internet tells us a narrative that you have to have the biggest house, most glamorous existence, & most expensive trending products to enjoy your life and the things that are in it, but that's just simply not true. Sundaycore is a reminder that so many things in your life can be beautiful little routines & moments, if you just give yourself the chance to be intentionally present & find the value & delight that so many things hold.
Q: Drawing from your own home, could you share three "must-haves" that homeowners should consider to achieve an authentic Sundaycore ambiance in their living spaces?
A: I'm a firm believer in the fact that Sundaycore is a feeling and not so much a specific look, and it really does feel like nostalgia, warmth, and homeyness. Three of the things that I feel really help you tap into those feelings are fresh greenery and flowers, cosy lived-in bed linens, and using your books as decor. I have been buying myself fresh flowers constantly for the past three years & it's a habit that I believe makes my personal joy and my home so much richer. Coming home after a long day of work to your space filled with golden light, the scent of fresh flowers, & bright lively pops of colour scattered throughout truly brings on an immeasurable feeling. Cozy lived-in bed linens are also the one thing I am always willing to treat myself to because they have not only elevated our space with their texture, mismatched colours & patterns but it is one of the best feelings to climb into bed & feel an immediate sense of cosiness and calm. I also love the way that books look when you give them additional purpose by using them as decor- stacking them in front of the fireplace, setting them on side tables with a vase of flowers, and piles under your favourite antique stool. If you've ever seen pictures of those big libraries with floor to ceiling bookshelves & just loved the way the room seemed to feel, doing this will give that same effect.
Q: What are some tips you’d give others when it comes to renovating such a unique and cosy space?
A: You would truly be so surprised at what the power of thoughtful decor & design can do for a space. We have not made any major renovations in our home but have still managed to make the space feel like ours through intentionally decorating our home. I always like to design each room separately instead of forcing each to be cohesive, there are so many stories I want to tell & different design styles I love that it only makes sense to give yourself a canvas to illustrate all of these decor passions & interests. I will always be a big advocate for investing in curtains solely because of the difference they alone can make in a room- when we first moved in one of the first things we did was hang our 80" sheer curtains & it immediately started to bring the space to life. I also love to find ways to make a space seem like it has unique features that people will never know weren't original facets to begin with. For example, one of the first things we bought when we moved here was an antique fireplace surround off of FB Marketplace. We cleaned it, gave it a fresh coat of paint, & made it the centrepiece of our great room & it is one of my most complimented & questioned pieces in the house. So many people think that it's a fixed fireplace in our home & when they find out it's a piece we bought second hand they are always astounded. I also think you can get this similar effect with adding in bookshelves that look like built-ins, using fun peel and stick tiles in the kitchen, & even taking advantage of peel and stick removable wallpaper!
Q: Colours play a vital role in aesthetics. What’s the perfect colour palette for Sundaycore decor?
A: I like to take inspiration from nature when it comes to colour palettes, which is why you'll see lots of pastels and earthy tones- cherry blossom pink, sky blue, orchid purple, sage green, rust orange, and lots of warm wood tones. Truly, colour theory is such a brilliant way of tapping into colours that complement one another & helping you find ways to incorporate as many shades & hues as your heart desires.
Q: From a design perspective, if you could go back in time what era would it be and why?
A: The Art Nouveau design era is something that I wish I could've experienced- with its intricate highly-stylised, flowing, curvilinear designs that often were an ode to floral motifs it truly seems like just a magical time in design. The attention to detail & the incorporation of so many different types of materials, shapes, and textures is absolutely brilliant.
Q: At I Love Linen, we are BIG believers in that if you sleep well, you live well - so we always ask: What’s your perfect evening winddown routine?
A: There is nothing more powerful than taking back the time in your day & making sure that you still have time for yourself reserved amongst the buzz of day to day life. My evening routine starts the very moment I get home from work each day and I always love to begin with some fresh air, good company, & light movement. Currently, one of my favourite things to do is pop in my headphones, clip in my dog, & go for a mosey around the neighbourhood for thirty minutes. At the end we always stop to sit in one of the parks & just enjoy a few minutes of stillness. A steaming shower with my favourite lavender soap is always in order & I find that on the days I prioritise a good soak I feel so much better, I try to envision this part of my routine as washing off the rest of the day- whatever stress, anxiety, or frustration I've been dealing with has to go down the drain & I will deal with whatever it is the next day. We love to cook at home so we always make a big homemade family style meal that usually consists of something brothy, with rice, or noodles and we sit around the dining table & do our best to be as present as possible. After dinner I love to make a warm cup of hibiscus tea with honey & crawl into bed with whatever book it is that I'm currently reading, I try really hard to do something other than being on my phone or computer since most of my day is already spent that way. And usually, right before bed we take a couple of minutes to give our dogs lots of love and cuddles before we cut the lights out.
