Alejandra Trejo and her husband have lived in their Spanish-style home in Long Beach, Southern California, since 2014. They first moved in as a family of four, but their family has expanded in the nine years since with three more children, two cats and a dog.
“We are definitely planning to move to a bigger space, but for now, we try to make it work for everyone,” says Alejandra. “We’re both originally from Mexico, and we lived in a townhouse in the same city before moving in here. We love where we are; it’s very quiet, and we can drive to the beach in less than 10 minutes.”
Alejandra’s interior design philosophy is a space-first approach, where a backdrop of white walls, wall trims and doors, along with optimised storage for essentials, gives the feeling of greater spaciousness.
“My style is a mix of styles,” she says. “Most of my furniture is vintage, but I also love to keep it very minimal. I love to add pine pieces in every room to give it a cosy feeling. I feel a nice vintage pine piece brings warmth to a room, and adding baskets and neutral colours makes it feel complete. I always keep it very minimal and clutter-free to make the space feel bigger, and I have baskets everywhere to keep small things hidden and organised.”
Unsurprisingly, Alejandra has also opted for a pine dining table, which is her favourite piece of furniture and serves them on a daily basis. “We get to do so much there as a family,” she says. “We always eat together and sit together enjoying hot cocoa before bedtime. The table is also where we do crafts and seasonal activities.”
Subtle changes can make a big difference, and for Alejandra, this was in changing the hardware, door knobs and taps when they moved in. Turning her hand to craftsmanship, she constructed her children’s bunkbeds when her search for the perfect set was fruitless.
“I love my kids’ bunk beds so much. I’ve been searching for a vintage bunk bed for a long time and never had any luck, so I decided to turn two matching beds into a bunk bed. They turned out to be amazing, and my kids love them.”
Alejandra finds most of her furniture second-hand and finds unique pieces on Facebook marketplace. She also visits her local flea market every month to try to find vintage quilts, furniture and home goods.
Her knack for aesthetics and pairing textures and colours comes from her eight years in the fashion industry. “I really enjoyed seeing how fabric can transform into a beautiful piece. This is how I envision a room or a piece of old furniture.”
Looking to the future, Alejandra is ready to upsize their home space. “We are looking forward to a bigger house,” she says. “My husband and I have talked about moving to a different state and buying an old home to renovate. It would be such an exciting and changing experience for me. There are so many things we have talked about, but for now, we try to enjoy our family in our small, cosy home.”
Follow Alejandra on Instagram: @alletrejo
