Kayley Danielson is a Southern California girl through and through. Born and raised near the shores of Encinitas, she grew up with beachy weekends and sunny Christmases. Never in a million years did she imagine herself living the high mountain life in Salt Lake City.
Kayley also never thought she’d be lucky enough to meet a sterling guy like Tom Danielson. When his entrepreneurial adventures led him to opening a factory on Salt Lake’s west side, she couldn’t stand the idea of a cross-state commute and seeing each other only on the weekends. They said goodbye to the home they built together with all the details Kayley, an interior design graduate from The Art Institute in San Diego, had thoughtfully curated over the years.
Moving to Salt Lake City also meant accepting that they would probably not find the type of new-build home they had grown accustomed to in California. Sure, they could have gone South, East, West or North in the valley for more home, but they wanted a change and the quaint charm of Salt Lake City’s older neighborhoods seemed the perfect antidote. She fell in love with the idea of a small, picturesque bungalow.
“I was ready for it,” Kayley shares, “I was ready to simplify our lives.”
For about three months Kayley jumped at every home sale alert in her inbox. “It became pretty clear that we really couldn’t make this move on our own…Finding Karly [Nielsen] was literally one of the best things that could have happened to us. I will never forget the day when Karly told me, ‘Tom wants something grander.’”
As luck would have it, grander arrived a week after another home contract of theirs fell through. A unicorn of a home, their c. 1922 Gilmer Drive Tudor reminded Tom of his childhood home in the Lake Forest suburb of Chicago.
Kayley embraced the home’s historic artistry along with its quirks and imperfections. “Editing is what I do as a designer. And when you have architectural bones and structure like this, that is the focus.”
After updating all the electrical and replacing traditional light fixtures with contemporary ones, the home needed to be repainted. Kayley took a nod from the Europeans and painted the interior walls white and opted for neutral furnishings and area rugs. Textures in favor of color allow the eye to rest on stunning hand-cast plaster adornments, original millwork and stained glass windows.
The Danielsons also sold most of their contemporary furniture in California. Tom’s mother graciously offered them a stunning hand-painted armoire and the six foot by six foot dining table Tom grew up eating at with his brother, parents and grandparents.
“Life is not themed. I don’t want to be pinholed into a style. I want furniture that tells a story. I want to blend styles for timelessness and livability.”
Kayley has been surprised at how well living in Salt Lake City suits her. She loves the family-friendly atmosphere and her new city’s pace of life.
“I love when Tom brings home friends from the warehouse and I get to cook up a big hearty meal and we watch football together. This home is like us—sophisticated, but living a casual life.”
Many thanks to the Kayley Danielson for welcoming us into her home. We are pleased to welcome Kayley onto our team as our in-house interior designer. You can look forward to her monthly articles on design and style. Contact her anytime at kayley@nichehomes.com for a no-pressure interior design consultation.
