Before she moved into her current apartment in an 1838 brick building in Newtown, Kati Sowiak lived in a six-bedroom Victorian in the same town for three decades, writes Sally A. Downey for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Sowiak, a graphic artist who bought the home with her then-husband, Ray, filled the space with beautiful artwork, artifacts from Africa, furniture bought at local stores and yard sales, and many family photos and heirlooms.

After her children moved away, Sowiak decided to downsize – making her choose carefully what she kept.

Her new living space is on the second floor with a studio loft on the third.

One of her most prized possessions – a large framed photo of her mother Maria Antalffy, in 1948, when she was a model in Budapest, Hungary – found its place between two windows in the loft.

She also brought a painting of her aunt Jolan Kemeny to the apartment, but she left the piano it hung above to the house’s new owners.

After she was done, Sowiak did not need to buy anything further and felt “blessed that my furniture adapted perfectly in its new space.”

Read more about Kati Sowiak’s transition from a Victorian home to a studio loft and see photos in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Cost of Living in Newtown, Pennsylvania