THE GREAT INDOORS: Lovebirds of a feather loft together

Shauna Alterio and Stephen Loidol welcome us into their renovated loft in Tacony that functions as part work space, part living space.

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THE GREAT INDOORS: Lovebirds of a feather loft together

POSTED: Monday, February 13, 2012, 3:00 PM

Reporter Meg Augustin takes you inside some of Philly's most fab dwellings to showcase our city's unique grasp on design and architecture.

Shauna Alterio and Stephen Loidol (pictured), the artistic couple behind Forage Bow Ties and the blog Something’s Hiding in Here, have managed to stay married for 12 years, which is no easy feat if you're living and working in the same space. “It comes down to trust,” says Shauna. “Trust,” Stephen echoes, “and we’re comfortable and know what each other brings to the table.” After years of working with one another, the duo co-creates everything from ties and cute mustache-on-a-sticks to music boxes and letterpress cards, some of which can be bought on their Etsy page.

The couple met while studying art in Kansas City. “It was in a kissing booth at a school carnival,” Shauna reminisces, “and I paid.” She studied printmaking and letterpress and he was in sculpture. Shauna, a year ahead, had to pack up for her graduate work in Detroit after only about a year of dating. She chose Detroit’s Cranbrook on the basis that it had been the school where Charles and Ray Eames first met and fell in love. If that wasn’t romantic enough, Stephen proposed to her before sher left, and the couple married not long after.

Shauna eventually got a job at Anthropoligie, which is the reason they moved to Philadelphia. It was here they found their glorious renovated loft that functions as part work space, part living space. And it’s wholly inspiring.

The large home is part of a converted tire factory in the Tacony area. Since their six years in the loft, the space has reflected their lives, work and love. “When we first moved in, we just bought a bunch of furniture to fill the huge space,” says Stephen. Since settling in, however, the couple has donned it with a constant rotation of collections, furniture, art and work spaces that have evolved with their interests. Previous home tours of the space featured whimsical wallpapers and brighter colors but now the space is slightly more refined, subtle and romantic. “We are a product of our environment,” notes Stephen, “We put a lot of energy into decorating because it inspires our work.”

The first incarnation of the space reflected the couple’s love of ’50s kitsch and snappy colors, but the more romantic tone of the current décor is reflected in their earthy, classic bowties and sweet-looking cards and toys. The loft’s separated studio space was renovated into a letterpress workshop that has influenced their newest project, Seed House, a new letterpress line. Launching soon, it was inspired by the couple’s chalkboard walls and the antique letterpress sets they have found through Craigslist and auctions. “We started talking about going darker, using more black, going more turn-of-the-century after loving the new workspace,” says Shauna. The constantly evolving space echoes their work and vice versa, but it also seems to reflect their maturing relationship as partners in life, love and work.

You might not think much time and manipulation went into the loft, as the live/work space seems effortless. From open bedroom, lounge, sewing table, dining room, bathroom, kitchen, living room to workshop, there are elements that flow throughout the space, creating cohesion without looking uniform. Worn woods — many from friendly-shop Three Potato Four — cover the dining space, jump in to the living room and library, and even create a romantic backdrop to the bedroom. Floral wallpaper carries colors from the library and bedroom, while the bright green bikes (a rehab from Via bicycle) dot an all-white landscape under the stairs. Little collections spring up all over, giving the space a sentimental feel. The globe collection atop the handmade bookcases was given to Shauna from her principal-father. “I had asked once for him to save me one,” she says, “so one day he surprises me with a car-full of antique globes. It was beautiful.” Similarly, a mass collection of deer and reindeer crowd the mantle (pictured above). “That was our first collection together,” says Shauna. “Every Christmas we would get each other a little deer, some with cute missing antlers or glittery skin.” The little whimsical collections still pop up in the more elegant space as reminders of the couple’s long history.

For Shauna and Stephen, their home is not only a reflection of their interests and inspiration, but on themselves. Even though they’ll admit their lives can get chaotic, the creative couple has manifested a truly romantic. For them, there is an inspiration with being in love, being partners and working and living together. It shows in their home and their work as a series of beautiful things for a beautiful life.

I'd like to send out a special thanks to Sullivan Owen Floral for donating flowers for the shoot.

If you'd like to see your home in an upcoming The Great Indoors, email the author at megan.augustin@citypaper.net.

Photos by William McEwan

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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