To a casual observer, the upbeat one-bed, one-bath condo might seem like a spontaneous mix-n-match, vastly different from the staid, gray stairwells in the renovated Hawthorne School built in 1886.
But to Wicker, every color — every item — has been carefully curated and comes with a story. “This place is a character in my life.”
And she fell in love with this character, she says, the moment the Realtor showed her the place in late 2021. Wicker, who lived in McPherson Town before and in Five Oaks for 11½ years, loved every inch she saw.
The vision for her abode took shape slowly. The bedroom, which was once the principal’s office, she notes, was easy. She wanted a bedroom in her favorite color — purple — just like teen Kristen’s bedroom.
“I try to stay true to my 16-year-old self,” she says. And the rich purple she chose became the perfect backdrop for red and black accents, including the quilt her mother crafted, now hanging above her bed.
Wicker’s former Five Oaks neighbor, a local artist, helped with the living room colors. Wicker and her friend started with a handful of red and yellow paint chips taped to the walls.
“You have to view the colors on the walls throughout the day, in a variety of light,” she advises. She’s also a proponent of buying the smallest cans of paint available and painting sample squares.
“The actual paint is going to look and feel different than the paint chip,” she notes.
After consideration, Wicker chose scarlet and gold hues. Even then, she said, she wanted to live in the newly painted space with furniture, like her vintage turquoise couch, before deciding to keep the colors.
“It’s just like a haircut. You can always change it,” she says.
Once happy with her choices, she started to layer in artwork and mementos, blending in pops of accent colors and complementary shapes. Again, she relied on artist friends for their expertise, but she also had favorite pieces like an ottoman and artwork from her youth living in Cairo, Egypt, and a painting from her former neighbor. Stained-glass transoms from a previous home dress her living room windows.
Lush spring green is a surprising cabinet color. Yet with Wicker’s clever eye, it works with deep peach and purple walls, thanks to the jungle-themed, stick-on wallpaper squares.
“Peel-and-stick wallpaper is the bomb-diggity,” Wicker laughs. She also used it in her bathroom, adding an Oriental vibe in reds and purples.
“I have a very limited budget, so most of what I want to do needs to be something I can do myself,” she adds.
Much of her inspiration comes from life around her: nature, TV and film. Books and magazines are also good choices. Online and social media? Not so much.
“I spend all day staring at a computer,” she says, adding she just finished her 10th year as the Marketing Manager for Five Rivers MetroParks. Once she envisions a design idea, though, she’ll turn to Google to investigate further.
Currently, Wicker is researching resin kitchen counters. The original hardwood floors need renovation, and Wicker is testing several other options in a high-traffic area. The craft cabinet in her hot pink office is a work in progress for 2024. And the leftover purple paint created a nice blank canvas in the entry hall.
Wicker’s vision here is to have her many friends stop by and add their creativity.
“I want it to be a place where everyone feels welcome and comfortable — a place where anyone could plop down, relax and find plenty to look at and experience,” says Wicker.
And maybe leave a story or two.
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