In the heart of Connecticut lies a historical 19th-century residence that has transcended its physical architecture to become a living canvas of personal history, sustainable design, and marital evolution. Homeowner, therapist, and avid gardener Sharon Beesley—alongside her husband, Rob—has spent the last six years meticulously curating a space that she unhesitatingly calls her "forever home." Originally flagged by a friend via a real-estate listing, the property captured the couple’s imagination instantly during an open house, setting the stage for a masterclass in eclectic, budget-conscious interior design and intentional empty-nest living.
This feature explores Beesley’s sprawling Connecticut house tour, moving room by room through an abode heavily defined by thrifted treasures, bold historical paint choices, dynamic wallcoverings, and a deeply personal botanical philosophy. Beyond aesthetic curation, Beesley offers candid insights into navigating a newly minted empty nest, maintaining a vibrant marriage after more than two decades, and challenging conventional societal beauty standards both inside the home and out in the garden.
Detailed Chronology & Room-by-Room Breakdown
The Entryway: Setting a Historical Tone
Upon stepping through the front door, visitors are immediately greeted by a harmonious blend of past and present. Beesley opted for William Morris wallpaper in the foyer, a deliberate nod to the 1800s construction of the home, given that the legendary textile designer produced his iconic prints during the exact same century.
Complementing the historical wallpaper is a low-profile, highly practical star-patterned floor mat from Wayfair. Purchased primarily for its affordability and ease of maintenance—crucial for a high-traffic mudroom area—the mat initially caused Beesley aesthetic hesitation. "I thought it might be cheesy," she admits, "but everyone compliments it, so I guess it’s cool!"
True to her ethos of sustainable and budget-minded interior design, nearly every piece of art and accent furniture in the entryway features a Goodwill price tag on the back. Beesley humorously envisions a future estate sale where distant attendees marvel at her thrift-store acquisitions, whispering about her knack for uncovering high-value design pieces for pennies. Furthermore, Beesley highlights an unconventional marriage hack: before undertaking home renovation projects—such as applying the entryway wallpaper—she and Rob read a single chapter from a relationship therapy book, ensuring collaborative harmony.
The Dining Room: A Study in Color and Thrifted Triumphs
Transitioning into the dining room, the space sings with vibrant warmth, courtesy of Farrow & Ball’s India Yellow paint. The room serves as a central hub for family gatherings, including ambitious Thanksgiving dinners modeled after culinary guides like Samin Nosrat’s techniques for elevating holiday menus.
Furniture-wise, the dining table and chairs were acquired secondhand, anchored by a rug passed down from their late, beloved neighbor, Lou. Additional accents include a Goodwill lamp and a poster sourced from a Habitat for Humanity ReStore—Beesley’s self-proclaimed favorite store worldwide. To combat the visual overwhelm common in antique shops, Beesley relies on a hyperfixation strategy: selecting one specific object category (such as candlesticks or vases) to hunt for over a multi-year span.
The dining area also houses a vintage metal locker once used in their former New York City apartment by their three children for school backpacks. Now that the children are out of the house, the locker serves as heavy-duty storage for home tools like hammers, tape measures, and sandpaper.
The Living Room: Cozy Hub and Bold Hues
Painted in a rich, moody Inchrya Blue by Farrow & Ball, the living room functions as the primary evening gathering space for Sharon and Rob. The couple maintains a lighthearted system for evening media consumption: alternating ten-minute intervals on YouTube, where Rob gravitates toward vintage car auctions and stand-up comedy, while Sharon opts for gymnastics videos, Say Yes to the Dress, and Gardening With Monty Don.
The room features a balanced mix of an Article sofa, antique armchairs from Key to the Past, Goodwill lamps, and another "Lou special" rug. The layout is so intensely associated with the couple’s togetherness that one of their children once checked in out of concern after finding them sitting apart, accustomed as they were to seeing their parents anchored in this exact cozy nexus.
The Kitchen and Breakfast Nook: Parenting Adults
The kitchen is bathed in Benjamin Moore’s Breath of Fresh Air, illuminated by a chandelier from The Trove and anchored by black chairs from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. It is a space heavily defined by transition—specifically, the emotional shift of parenting adult children.
The adjacent breakfast nook, featuring Home Depot wallpaper, a custom bench, and a Wayfair table, was traditionally "owned" by their son Owen, who spent countless hours working or relaxing there. Beesley reflects thoughtfully on the evolution of motherhood: transitioning from the all-consuming physical demands of raising three small children to an adult relationship dynamic where communication happens in weekly check-ins. She extends deep empathy to young mothers, advising them to embrace the survival phase of early parenting.
The Home Office: Peel-and-Stick Precision
The home office pairs Home Depot peel-and-stick wallpaper with a practical installation trick: a specialized helper spray applied to the back of the paper to allow for smooth repositioning. Furnished with Wayfair bookshelves, Facebook Marketplace armchairs, and a five-dollar Goodwill coffee table, the room doubles as a space reflecting Beesley’s professional life as a practicing therapist. Six years into her career, she remains continually humbled by her clients’ profound vulnerability and willingness to tackle life’s most difficult emotional terrain.
The Primary Bedroom: Two Decades of Matrimonial Maintenance
Painted in Benjamin Moore’s warm Tamarind, the primary bedroom is a sanctuary celebrating over twenty years of marriage. Beesley is fiercely transparent about the ongoing work required to maintain a healthy long-term relationship. Beyond taking daily dollar-coffee walks to the local gas station to keep their morning connection strong, the couple routinely attends refresher marriage therapy sessions—an exercise Beesley admits always humbles her initial assumptions about who holds the blame in minor marital frictions.
The Garden Room and Outdoor Flora: Rejecting Societal Standards
When her children departed for college, Beesley converted a spare bedroom into a dedicated indoor gardening room, painted in Farrow & Ball’s Green Smoke. Outfitted with an estate-sale work table, a vintage hutch, and an Anthropologie tapestry, it functions as a seasonal haven designed to carry her through the harsh New England winters.
Outdoors, the home’s exterior—painted in Benjamin Moore’s Queen Anne Pink with Capitol White trim—is surrounded by resilient plantings like black-eyed Susans that thrive in difficult soil. In a bold philosophical move, Beesley is deliberately leaving her dead flowers standing through the winter months rather than deadheading them. By refusing to conform to the sanitized, rigid societal beauty standards that dictate premature plant removal, she uses her garden to spark conversations about the natural, unvarnished beauty of life and decay.
Supporting Context & Metrics
- Property Timeline: Built in the 1800s; acquired by Sharon and Rob Beesley six years prior to this feature.
- Family Composition: Married for over two decades; parents to three adult children (including son Owen).
- Design Philosophy: Heavily reliant on second-hand retail models, including Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity ReStore, Facebook Marketplace, and local antique centers.
- Key Paint Brands Utilized: Farrow & Ball (India Yellow, Inchrya Blue, Green Smoke) and Benjamin Moore (Breath of Fresh Air, Tamarind, Queen Anne Pink, Capitol White).
Future Outlook
As Sharon Beesley navigates her inaugural years as an empty-nester at age 44, her Connecticut home continues to serve as an evolving artistic and personal project. Far from a static museum piece, the residence is designed to morph alongside her shifting design whims—witnessed by her frequent re-paintings of interior walls and her ongoing horticultural experiments.
With her flourishing indoor garden room, expanding antique collections, and steadfast commitment to intentional communication and community generosity (such as her sidewalk "free flowers" buckets), Beesley’s historic property stands as a testament to authentic, lived-in curation. Her journey redefines the concept of a "forever home" not as a finished destination, but as a dynamic space that grows, heals, and matures right alongside its inhabitants.