AT HOME
WITH...
E
mbroidery artist Sarah K. Benning
lives with her husband and
business partner Davey, and their
adopted cat Quiqueue, in a three-
level Victorian house in Keene,
New Hampshire, USA. Much like the
textures and layers of her fibre work,
there’s plenty to take in and capture the
imagination in their decorative home,
which has come to mirror the scenes of
Sarah’s stitched interiors in a satisfying
case of life imitating art.
“At the beginning of my embroidery
career, when we lived in cheap apartments
with our few and modest possessions, I
stitched the spaces I longed for: interiors
full of colourful textiles, mid-century
furniture and thriving houseplants,”
explains Sarah. “It was imaginary and
aspirational scenery. Now we’ve been
able to piece together that reality, I take
much more direct inspiration from my
surroundings by incorporating details of
our home into my embroidered scenes.”
It was love at first sight when the couple
moved here two years ago – in fact, it was
the first and only house they viewed. “We
scheduled a viewing ‘just for fun’,” Sarah
recalls. “The second we walked in it was
over. I knew it was the house for us and
luckily we were able to make it happen.”
Next came the renovation, which is
a work in progress. “Likely it will be a
work in progress for the rest of our lives,
and we’re OK with that!”The roof and
chimneys had an immediate service, but
the first two levels were liveable from
the o . Though the kitchen and laundry
room don’t actually have “proper floors”- painted plywood for now – Sarah has
plans to install the perfect tiles. The third
level is the couple’s big project – it hasn’t
seen much love in a hundred years, but
they’re in no rush to do it all at once,
SARAH K. BENNING’S VICTORIAN
HOME IS A PLANT-FILLED SCENE
STRAIGHT OUT OF HER ART
Wo r d s b y LARA WATSON
Photography: MEGAN HALEY