Brooke Williams, this is authentic

I must admit that I was a bit dumbfounded when my good friend the jewelry designer Rebekah Brooks told me that she and her musician husband Christian Hawkins (of Sybarite) were packing up and moving to western Massachusetts. That is until I set foot in the amazing Victorian former church that they have lovingly crafted into an incredible home. When daughter Hazelle entered the scene a little under two years ago, I knew she would have the most incredible place in which to grow and prosper. I checked in with Rebekah to see how this never ending project of a home is going and how they are adjusting their lives and space to life with a little one.

OK, lets start with the most obvious question: What's up with living in a church?

I know, I know ... everybody asks us that! We were looking to move out of the city, but we were really attached to the loft-style living we enjoyed in Brooklyn, so up here in Holyoke, we looked primarily at industrial spaces in old warehouse buildings. While we were up here, we drove by the church, which our agent told us that was probably coming up for sale but was not yet on the market. We took one look at it and realized that it was exactly what we were looking for--the perfect combination of a non-traditional, lofty space with a yard that we could really make our own. It took us about a year of wrangling, but we finally got it, and we've been loving it ever since.

The space is so open and airy without feeling at all overwhelming. How much of the church's original interior structure is left?

Well, the building was converted to a residence by the previous owner, but we're actually undoing a lot of what he did to the place--mostly in order to let the space breathe again and to take better advantage of the original architecture. We've stripped wallpaper and paneling, taken up linoleum floors, and salvaged whatever we could from the original church. This red bench is the only pew left⿿it was in terrible shape, so we bonded it back together and then painted it bright red.

And then there are, of course, the stained glass windows...

Which we love. They cast such beautifully subdued light. Though we have had to replace some of them with clear glass in order to brighten up the space. Plus it's nice to actually be able to see outside!

It sounds like you guys have done a ton of work to this place--and so much of it yourselves! Tell me about your bedroom. It's so serene.

I'm especially proud of the way it turned out, actually. If you imagine being in a big church or a cathedral, the altar is right there in the middle and there is an arch above it that goes all the way up to the top of the structure. We just slid a 'shelf' into the middle of that space, which became the floor to our bedroom. Then we special-ordered a gothic window to match the shape of the wall, as there was no existing window.

The floor looks unusual as well. What did you guys do there?

Oh that's a funny story. We were at Ikea buying some other stuff, and we saw these big grass mats. One of us (I honestly can't remember who, which is odd, as we had a big argument about it.) wanted to nail them down to the plywood floor for a natural bamboo feeling. The other one felt sure that it would wear out in five minutes and we'd end up having to redo the whole thing at great expense. Thank goodness we went for it! We nailed the mats down and then installed the molding on top. It has held up beautifully, and the whole thing only cost $60!

Speaking of bedrooms, where is Hazelle sleeping these days?

Hazelle actually has a suite, the lucky girl! Her crib is in what was previously a walk-in closet outside of our bedroom. I made the canopy myself, and a family friend made the quilt. The wicker rocking chair--from a local thrift store--is the perfect nursing spot. Her changing station is outside in a more open area. She was a bit colicky at first, so I really liked the idea of a space that is totally dedicated to sleep and sleep alone.

I love the tapestry over the changing pad. Where did you find that?

It's another vintage piece, of course! It is the classic image of the tree of life, but I felt drawn to this one for its unusually psychedelic colors. I've never seen anything quite like it. The mobile is from this great danish family business called Flensted. It keeps Hazelle occupied while she’s on the table. It's hanging from a tree branch that was cut when it was still green and then bent so that it would dry in a curved shape. It's the perfect arm to hang the mobile from and brings a little bit of nature inside, which is always good.

You do a lot of work with branches. Your store window has some beautiful ones! [By the way, dear readers, if you find yourselves in Northampton, MA stop by her exquisite space, or check it out online]

I have always loved working with natural things. When I installed this window, I felt like spring was finally here!

Moving back to the ranch--that looks like a pretty great play area.       

Yes, this is Hazelle's downstairs headquarters. My mom made the table out of old wood and the little tree stump chair was actually made for me by my father when I was born. Hazy loves to sit here and draw or read. We try to keep the plastic to a minimum and try to buy as much as we can from rummage sales and thrift stores--the sales around here are amazing, actually. You can find the best stuff! Plus it feels good not to be contributing to the landfills. In the spring, we have a sale of our own to pass along the goods to the next crew. It's just a positive and environmentally friendly thing to do.

Speaking of being kinder to the earth, I notice that you guys have a huge wood stove. Is that how you heat your place?      

It's a real workhorse! I would say we heat about 95 percent with this stove. We turn the furnace on to prevent freezing pipes when we're away in the winter, but otherwise it's all wood. It can be a lot of work (we went through 6 cords of wood this especially cold winter!), but it is so worth it. You really understand where your heat comes from. It's great heat. There is a fan in the stove that kicks it into the space, and the 1940's ceiling fans keep the warm air circulating throughout the house. It runs us between one-quarter and one-half of what it would cost to heat the place with oil, which is a huge savings, and we're doing our part to be less dependent on fossil fuels.

Well, if it can heat a space that is as lofty as yours, it must be pretty powerful. Hey... is that a ladder you've mounted to the wall as a bookshelf? Ingenious!         

Yeah that was one of my husband, Christian's, many brilliant ideas. We found some old library ladders in the bell tower and mounted this one horizontally to the wall when we needed another bookshelf.

While we're on the topic of shelves and surfaces, it seems like everywhere you look, your eyes land on a beautifully composed vignette of various collections and unusual objects.

I am always looking for things to inspire my work. Nature and natural objects play a huge part in my jewelry designs. The felt balls are a new addition, inspired by my time with Hazelle at the local Waldorf preschool where the kids do all sorts of crafts, even bake their own bread--it's pretty wonderful! I've started making little animals for Hazy and her friends.

I love them! So amazing to have toys handmade by your own parents.

I feel really strongly about surrounding Hazelle with handmade things. Plus they are so fun to make. I've even started blogging about it. It's especially satisfying to make things together. We cook almost every meal together.

From the looks of your vintage pot collection, I'd guess that you are a serious cook!

I love to cook. It's such a fun thing to do with a toddler because they can be as involved as they want. We have a step stool that Christian's grandfather made, so Hazelle can stand on it and reach the counter to help mix things. Lately she's gotten into adding spices to everything! It makes her so happy to be a part of the things her parents are doing. I think children get angry when they are treated like they are some separate lesser society. I can almost always derail a tantrum by getting Hazy to help me with a project.

You guys have really created a lovely life for yourselves up there! Any exciting things on the horizon?

Work-wise we've just finished making and sending a collection of jewelry to LA for the Urban Outfitters Space 15 Twenty pop-up shop that Kim Gordon [of Sonic Youth] curated to compliment her new clothing line. It's up through the end of April. She's got such great taste--I was so honored to be a part of it. Now we can go back to concentrating on new work for the store, the website, and the blog. As for home, the list is endless! For our next project, we want to build a room for the more grown up Hazelle (she'll be 2 in July!) with a miniature house and garden for her to play in.

That sounds incredible ... what a lucky girl! You'll have to come back and show it to us when it's finished!

Of course! But I doubt that our house will ever be really finished. Life is all a work in progress--it's so important to remember that. As long as we stay open to the changes and opportunities that come our way, everything will always work itself out. It just has to!