The Domestic Nest Blog

photo courtesy of Cindy Horovitz Wilson Photography

If a wet knot is harder to untie than a dry one, these two newlyweds will surely be blessed with an unbreakable bond. They ‘tied the knot’ last summer during a monsoonal month in Rhode Island. The precipitation held off just long enough for photos and the fog provided not only the perfect New England backdrop, but nodded to Rip’s serene nature and Kelly’s flare for the dramatic. Kelly is known in her circle of friends as the empathetic optimist who could talk to a wall, gravitates to all things that glitter, and invariably adds some form of animal print to every outfit. She’s also known for her passion for teaching. Rip is known for his impressive ability to listen. I mean really listen to people. Though he may be of few words, he conveys thoughtfulness, wit and valuable information when it’s his turn to talk. If you were to stake out Kelly & Rip’s house on any given weekend (not that I have), you’d be drawn in by their yin-&-yang, pb-&-j, Oreos-&-milk kind of balance that makes everything seem just right in the world. I’m loving learning about how Kelly and Rip are making their nest in Rip’s childhood home.

1.  What makes your house a home?

Kelly: Our ‘little orphan’ Annie, the black lab mix dog we rescued in early fall, really made this house feel like home to me.  Seeing her sillouette in the doorway and the hero’s welcome I get every time I come home never fail to make me smile.

Rip:  My loving wife and the little bits of herself she leaves around….like the pictures she put up on the wall and the random things she leaves around the house (as I look at the zebra towel she uses to dry the dog’s feet that she abandoned on the table)

2.  Give three words that describe your style.

Rip: aw-we-some

Kelly: Fun, Fresh, and of course……a bargain

3. What domestic activities do you love?

Kelly : Surprisingly, after years of loathing Ellen’s (my mother) dirt filled gloves and dealing with a slight paranoia of creepy crawly things, I actually love gardening. I find spring gardening much less embarrassing because I do a lot less screaming and running away since the garden monsters haven’t yet matured so I get a lot more done. And I’ve got a new motto that’s changed my gardening forever…..’if its not where you want it, its a weed’…..very effective

Rip: Fixing Things

4. What domestic activities do you loathe?

Kelly: I hate emptying the silverware in the dishwasher…….I don’t know why, I always have!

Rip: Everything comes in waves…right now, I hate vacuuming ….I usually don’t mind it but it needs to be done and I don’t feel like doing it…..I don’t mind cleaning in general but sometimes I get lazy and don’t want to be bothered.

5. What is the best investment you’ve made in your home?

Kelly: We’ve got a tie…..but they’ve got something in common….both were the ultimate early bird Black Friday purchases.

1) A front loader washer and dryer for $599 TOTAL (less than the price of each piece individually) that helped the electric bill tremendously

2) Our sweet little new couch…….totally modernized the upstairs living room!

Rip: The washer and dryer.

6. What’s it like living in Rip’s childhood home?

Rip: I don’t think about it…..only every once in awhile am I reminded it is my childhood home. I think I spent enough time away from it that I don’t really notice.

Kelly: Its interesting. There’s a story and a history to everything which can be fun and help with repairs but also can create a bit of stress when it comes time to make changes because I don’t want to offend anyone.

7.  What fires up your creativity?

Kelly: One word…..procrastination

Rip: Seeing what other people have done…..HGTV and This Old House especially

8. Got any tips for work/life balance?

Rip: I work from home and having a separate office space is definitely key. I try not to even go in there unless I’m working.

Kelly: I wouldn’t be the one to ask about that…….teaching still consumes me. I’m at school far longer than I should be and take work home. Lucky for me I found the perfect balance by marrying someone who appreciates and admires my dedication to my students.

9. What is your next project, plan or dream for your nest?

Well we just got a new couch this week which is the catalyst to start revamping the colors in the house…..everything is just dingy and old and needs a new coat of freshness…….so we’ve got paint strips taped up in the bathroom, living room, kitchen and dining room……and we just decided that since our dream kitchen is a ways off we might as well paint the wooden cabinets as well to make it feel like the kitchen had a facelift…….We’re ambitious, its all or nothing! But we better get moving because once spring breaks the gardens are up for a major overhaul as well!

10. What helps keep you organized?

Kelly: Oh aren’t you funny…….me? organized? apparently you haven’t lived with me lately. I’ve got to give all organizational credit to Rip. His patience and spacial organization skills really are a rare find. My mind is always a step ahead of my body…..i tend to come off as an explosion and Rip helps pick up the shrapnel.

Rip: Periodic flurries of organization. Everything should have a place and everything should be in its place. Its cliche but its true.

honeymoon safari

home in the snow

Tags: Kelly Smith, newlyweds, Rhode Island, Richard Smith

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 6th, 2010 at 10:12 pm and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.