Though neither Leah Pagel nor her husband had ever lived anywhere other than Wisconsin for longer than three months, the couple decided a year and a half ago that they were ready for a new adventure. “Before starting our family, we wanted to try out living somewhere new to us,” says Pagel, a content creator and the founder of bedding company Sunday Spell. “We mainly wanted better weather and good access to nature.”
And so they relocated from Milwaukee to Charleston, South Carolina, where they now live with their two rescue dogs—Eleanor, a chihuahua/cattle dog mix, and Roanie, a senior corgi. “Neither of us had visited Charleston before, but we came down for a weekend and ended up loving it,” Pagel says. “We decided to just take the leap!”
The couple was sold on their current apartment unit for a few key reasons. “We loved the natural light, ample storage space and the fact that we would be the first people to ever live in this unit,” Pagel shares. Clocking in at a little over 1,300 square feet, the unit has two bedrooms (one of which functions as a home office and guest room) and two baths.
When the couple moved in, the new build unit “basically felt like one big beige box,” Pagel says. Knowing this rental wouldn’t be her forever home, she didn’t do so much as paint the walls. Rather, “We just used furniture and decor to make it feel more personal and cozy,” Pagel explains.
For Pagel, her space must reflect her personality. “I fill my home with things I love to look at and try not to overthink it,” she says, noting that she categorizes her style as “cozy, colorful and collected.” Ensuring the space isn’t overwhelming to the eye is also one of her top priorities…