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The living room walls are painted in Sherwin-Williams pristine Greek Villa, the ceiling is covered in a Schumacher paper, and the drapery panel fabric is Oscar de la Renta for Lee Jofa. Selections from Hanley’s collections of powder blue Wedgwood Jasperware, vintage blue-and-white miniatures, and wooden boxes are on display.
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The custom window treatments in the study are in a Pierre Frey fabric, the vintage coffee table was custom lacquered by H.J. Holtz & Son, the walls and trim are painted Sherwin-Williams Greek Villa, the artwork is vintage, and the pillows on the antique sofa were made from vintage cross-stitch panels and Brunschwig & Fils “Les Touches” fabric.
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The chandelier in the dining room is an antique Hanley discovered at a Philadelphia auction house, and the drapery panels are vintage Colefax & Fowler purchased from The Pink Door. The Henredon dining table, Chippendale-style dining chairs and the artworks are vintage.
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Custom sofas in the family room are upholstered in a Kravet Crypton velvet; custom throw pillows are made from Schumacher, Pierre Frey and Scalamandre fabrics; the custom ottoman is by TCS Designs; the floor lamp is by Visual Comfort; and the blue-and-white end table lamp is by Bunny Williams.
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In a corner of the living room, a pair of antique burnt bamboo Brighton Pavilion chairs with custom cushions in a Sister Parish fabric flank a vintage hutch — lined with Brunschwig & Fils wallpaper — that holds a display of family photos in antique and vintage silver frames. Secondhand chairs covered in brown mohair with custom pillows in Quadrille fabric and Samuel & Son leather trim provide inviting seating.
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A quiet, cozy spot in the playroom that doubles as a guest bed. The walls are clad in Sister Parish Serendipity wallpaper, the custom window treatments are Quadrille Les Indiennes, toss pillows are covered in Lee Jofa and Brunschwig & Fils fabrics, and the needlepoint pillow is vintage.
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The vintage furnishings in daughter Louise’s room include a bed that belonged to Hanley’s mother when she was a girl. The bedding is a mix of high and low gathered from Target, Lands' End, Garnet Hill and Biscuit Home and a neckroll pillow in a Sister Parish fabric.
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A pair of vintage twin-size poster beds and bedside table in daughter Frances Miller’s room find symmetry with a selection of antique botanical prints from Hanley’s collection. Hanley assembled the lamp herself by attaching an antique Staffordshire dog to a base she found and adding a shade from Shades of Light.
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Farrow & Ball Parma Gray paint on the walls provides a soft background for the vintage paintings and chinoiserie screen from Hanley’s collection. The lamp is by Wisteria, the table by Ballard Design. The antique four-poster bed is dressed in a mix of low and high, new and antique bedding.
It started with rocks and leaves and then turned into stamps and postcards, recalls Ashley Hanley, whose childhood treasures gradually grew to include maps, comic books and different sorts of “trinket-y” souvenirs from family trips. “I’ve always been a collector,” says Hanley.
Now, at the helm of her eponymous interior design firm, Hanley has embraced the art of collecting as a jumping-off point for creating living spaces that weave together treasured pieces with modern family style. Her personal collections, which can be seen layered throughout the Near West End home she shares with her husband, Brendan, and their young daughters, Frances Miller and Louise, showcase the important role these beloved items play in her decorating.
Ashley Hanley (Photo by James Ransom)
A native of Richmond, Hanley went to Virginia Tech to study fashion design, which she quickly realized wasn’t the best path for her. “Instead, I dove into interior design,” she says. It began with adventures combing through antique shops, thrift stores and even retailers like such as HomeGoods and T.J. Maxx. She found herself gravitating toward anything blue and white. After college, she interned with designer Marcie Blough and worked at Ruth & Ollie (a now-shuttered popular home furnishings shop in Carytown), before opening her own firm in 2017.
Today, Hanley is focused on finding just the right blend. “I love fine antiques, and I love wicker and rattan, more casual pieces, and I think it's OK to mix those types of pieces together and display things you love,” she says. Her latest obsession is wood inlay boxes. Her collections are wide ranging, encompassing everything from equestrian hunt and botanical prints to vintage fine jewelry, silver trays and bags. She also has an affinity for cheeky needlepoint pillows.
“Blue has always been my favorite color,” she says. “And, growing up, my mother was a collector of blue-and-white pieces, and my grandmother had some beautiful blue-and-white china, so I just kind of naturally had an inclination towards those pieces. It was what I was always surrounded with.”
A wide variety of Chinese export-style blue-and-white porcelain pieces are found throughout Hanley’s home, blending effortlessly with a mix of antiques and modern elements that together create her signature “new Southern traditional style” that is both timeless and of the moment.
Like the blue-and-white accessories featured prominently throughout her home’s interiors, the majority of Hanley’s pieces are rooted in childhood nostalgia, including art and furnishings that evoke another era; such as antiques, heirlooms and secondhand pieces that have been passed down over time.
To build her own collections, as well as for clients, Hanley frequents local antique and specialty shops in Richmond as well as Charleston, South Carolina, one of her favorite destinations. In Richmond, her current go-to spot is Justin Westbrook Antiques, where she says she has scored some terrific finds.
Hanley’s design process involves plenty of trial and error. She constantly looks for ways to have collections of accessories match their surroundings. “The accessories get moved around a lot. As I find designated homes for them, I play around with different options for them as I mix them in with the furnishings,” she says.
It is important that the collections accentuate the furnishings and that they remain in concert, says Hanley. Just as the furnishings are a variety of sizes and shapes, so are the items in her collections. The trick is to layer them in. She likes to place larger pieces on larger furnishings. Medium pieces may go on a hutch or similar piece of furniture, with smaller pieces on coffee tables and end tables.
Whatever you collect, what good is it if it’s stashed in a drawer or hidden away in a box?
—Ashley Hanley
While Hanley will occasionally purge some of her older reproduction pieces and sell them off, there are pieces she will never part with, including delicate mini jars and a miniature jug on display in her living room. A uniquely shaped bowl is one of her all-time favorites.
“I help clients open their eyes to possibilities as they build a collection,” she says. “It’s fun to start a collection for a client and then watch them embrace it and expand on it. I like to base client collections on their special interests, whether it be travel, gardening, architecture or something else.”
Hanley says her work has evolved, becoming more layered, refined and elevated over time.
Displaying a mix of collections and furnishings brings a timeless feel to any home. Though Hanley admits she currently has a trove of items in her basement that she has acquired over time, all just waiting for the right home, the right mix and exact right spot to be put on display, cherished and admired, she muses, “Whatever you collect, what good is it if it’s stashed in a drawer or hidden away in a box?”
