Doub Hanshaw’s Boho-Inspired Fishtown Garage
House-hunting: I was walking the dogs and I saw this garage for sale. It was terrible. But I wanted lots of space, and I wanted a project. There were all these mechanics in here, and they were all like, ‘Why does she want a garage?’ Now, when I get dropped off by taxi drivers, they think I’m getting my car fixed. But I like the surprise of it when you first walk in.
Open space: You have to be really in love with the person you’re living with. There’s not much privacy. Restoration: We dug the floor up and poured a radiant-heat cement floor. We built the mezzanine—my feminine lair—and opened up the ceiling in the back to create the outside courtyard and the wall of windows. I wanted to keep it really raw.
Handcrafted: My husband, John, made the dining room table. It’s a 16-foot poplar slab that he bought from an Amish guy.
Red, white and blue: I never realized how patriotic I was until I moved into this garage. I love flags, and we just started selling vintage ones at our new Free People store on Walnut.
Fashion show: I don’t really get the opportunity to dress up, so it’s fun to see sparkly dresses on the wall—I can still enjoy them. I love hanging sheer dresses in a window. It’s a romantic touch.
The mix: The rocking chair is West Elm; I needed a rocker for the baby. The wood bench was a prop in M. Night Shyamalan’s movie The Last Airbender. Underneath the TV is a late-’50s Blaupunkt record player.
Aesthetic: American Garage. It’s industrial, the idea that you can live in places that people don’t always consider livable.
