Hello, friends! Welcome to our fourth installment in our Habitat series. This is where we chat home, design philosophy, hospitality and more with a homeowner and get an intimate glimpse into the places they call home.

I’ve been a long time fan girl of Andi and her design studio Old City Mailroom. The work she creates and shares has an intention and restraint that draws you in for more. When I saw that she and her husband had purchased a century-old farmhouse in Tennessee and now had this new avenue for intentional beauty, I asked her if she’d be willing to share more here. To my sheer delight (and yours too, I am sure!) she said yes!

One of the biggest joys in these conversations is the story line or theme that organically surfaces. While we start with general questions, without fail, a unique undercurrent comes through by the end for each space and homeowner. I thought themes of what I mentioned above - design, creativity in a new outlet, historical renovation - would be the driving forces in this chat. However, while those elements were touched on, what I really noticed was Andi’s consistent return to this one thing: living without performance.

You’ll hear it in the way she connects with the landscape around her, the way she’s changed rooms’ layouts to reflect how they actually want to live in their home, her emphasis on simplicity and presence while hosting. Andi makes room for designing from intuition and freedom, instead of performance or pressure. And there’s nothing we love more than that.

Enjoy –

Please introduce yourself!

Tell us a bit about your home and its history.

We live in a historic 1920s farmhouse complete with columns, 12’ ceilings, beadboard accents, and transom windows. This home has always been known as “The Chestnut House” because it was built with Chestnut wood.

Over the years we’ve learned bits and pieces about the history from people who lived here, or whose family lived here. People will say things like “We lived there in the 80s, we’re the ones who put the bathroom in under the stairs!” We’ve learned that at one point it functioned as a neighborhood schoolhouse, and at one point there was an expansive one-acre garden out back. At one point the walls were red, and the kitchen was a bedroom. There were sheep in the back field and a wheelchair ramp to the back porch. It’s shape-shifted many times throughout the past century to meet the needs of each family that’s passed through, leaving little pieces of each story behind.

One day we had a structural engineer come out to look at the crawl space. He was quiet throughout most of the consultation, then at the very end he said “My grandfather built this house.” He has one of the matching 4 panel doors in his own home!

How long have you lived here and what was the condition when you bought it?

We’ve been in our home for 3 years now! When we bought the house, I was so enamored with my charming homestead vision that I was pretty unrealistic about the condition of the house itself. I assured my husband we could just live in it as-is, which is laughable now looking back. Some of the issues were hidden, like water damage or shoddy foundation work. Overall, the aesthetic was bearable - most elements were fairly neutral, just very outdated. The bathrooms were straight up dim and ugly. Oh, and there was a koi pond outside! Except it was so murky that we didn’t realize until a few weeks in that there were actual fish in it — they must have survived just by eating all of the thick green algae from the surface.

Can you tell us a bit about the restoration process - what all have you done to the home?

Based on my answer to the last question, you’ll appreciate the irony when I say we’ve touched pretty much every surface in this home. Floors, subfloors, interior paint, exterior paint, added windows, moved walls, lighting, landscape, hardware, fixtures, fireplaces, attic cleanout, crawlspace cleanout, ducting repairs, and so on. It sounds relatively simple when I rattle off the list like that, but when I say something like “interior paint”, what I mean is that my husband and I spent weekend after weekend on ten foot ladders with rollers and tape and micro paintbrushes trying to cover every little nook and cranny of the crown moulding, ornate trim, and transom windows. It’s not like working on a modern day house. We’ve hired some things out, but Kyle has taken pride in doing most of the work himself, and I pitch in with a helping hand here and there.

Our biggest undertakings were the kitchen and primary bathroom. We gutted the kitchen completely and started over with a new layout featuring custom designed and locally crafted cabinetry, banquette seating, and integrated appliances. The primary bathroom was the project I thought would never end—it literally took a full year and we lived in the guest room during that time. We swapped the location of the closet and bathroom because natural lighting in the bathroom is a must for me! It seemed like such a small project in theory, but it required every kind of trade: framing, structural, drywall, tile, electrical, windows, plumbing, and carpentry.

Outside, we filled in the koi pond and made that into our garden area with raised beds and picnic tables, and we built a proper run for our chickens and ducks.

Was interior restoration + design always a dream? If not, what sparked the interest?

I’m a designer and Kyle is an engineer, so I would say renovations have been more of a byproduct of who we are rather than a dream. We’re the perfect team and we just can’t help ourselves!

What is a favorite space in the home?

Lately, my favorite space is the living room (well, the former dining room). When we moved in, I laid out each room based on the conventionally expected setup, but I recently re-arranged in a way that just makes more sense for how we personally use each space. It’s felt good to let go of what’s expected and just make our space ours. The new living room feels less formal and more casual and cozy.

What are some design inspiration sources for you?

Most of my design decisions are based on a combination of intuition and nature. I’ve really leaned into trusting my discernment versus what I think is on-trend or safe. I enjoy natural materials like European linen, white oak wood, and roman clay. I’m easily distracted, so our house is pretty “undecorated” and minimal. The architecture and furnishings themselves are the design, so I’m intentional about making all of the details count.

Has the move to the farmhouse sparked new interests or habits?

The privacy and space that we have here has opened me up to a new lifestyle of being outside and immersed in nature as much as possible. You can find me snuggling with our kitties, gardening, doing chicken-related chores, or raising baby ducks. I make dinner on the grill so I can linger outside a little longer and watch the sun set over the horizon. We recently put together a stock tank pool and I have been living in the water, just floating under the sun.

You own such a lovely boutique design business - has the art of graphic design and interior design felt interconnected for you?

The principles of design remain the same—things like color, texture, hierarchy, balance, and composition all translate pretty directly from graphic design to interior design. I’m able to use my technical skills to cobble together mockups and plans as needed, but it’s more of a means to an end than a passion.

What comes to mind when you think of hospitality? Has this changed since owning your home?

Hospitality is making our guests feel at home and at ease. In the past, hosting felt more performative to me… I wanted to have every detail picture perfect and ready to go. Now my focus is more on simply being present with our company. It helps that creating a peaceful atmosphere has become second nature to me and sometimes it’s as simple as lighting a few candles, turning on the record player, and setting out fresh fruit. My role as the host means that I get to set the tone for people’s experience here. I want people to feel taken care of whether that’s plenty of food or fresh white towels for overnight guests. I love having people stay with us and seeing our home through their eyes. Sometimes I forget how lovely it is to just sit on the back porch with a cup of coffee until I see someone else do it.

Where can we find you and follow along?

Home @thechestnut_house / Design @oldcity_mailroom

Habitat No. 4: Designing Without Performance with Andi Aukshunas

Habitat No. 3: Prioritizing Personality with Becky Simpson