The holidays are always a special time for Ashley Kix — but especially this year as her family celebrates for the first time in their new home.
Ashley, who hosts a radio show called “Kix with Ken in the Morning” on 99.9 WJVL, and her husband Duffy, who works as a land surveyor, recently built a house on the outskirts of Edgerton.
She shares more about her family, their stunning new home and what the holidays have in store for them this year!
Tell us about your family.
I am a Southern Wisconsin girl living with my husband and two littles. I’ve been married to my husband Duffy for six years and we are busy with two kids under two. Our children are named after two Colorado towns: Gunnison West (who is two years old) and Goldie Jean (who is one) after Gunnison and Golden, Colorado. When we aren’t in Wisconsin, we hope to be in Colorado.
And please tell us about your new house! When did you move in and why did you decide to build?
We moved into our new house in May of 2021 and decided to build because I have always wanted to design and build a house. Decorating is a huge hobby of mine so this was always on my bucket list.
What is your style and what look or vibe were you going for in your new home?
I love the whole farmhouse style, especially living in a highly populated farm state. But I also love houses out east in the Cape Cod region and lots of those coastal homes have the shiplap with lots and lots of white.
Were there any elements or details that were especially important to you as you built or decorated your home?
Some things that were very important to us were vaulted ceilings — we are very tall people and have always lived in low-ceiling places, so that was a necessity. Living in a snowy cold state, we have a lot of coats and boots so having a mud room where that can all be collected was a must.
Things we didn’t have the budget for that we had to forgo were a powder room — we only have our master bathroom and the kids’ bathroom. We also were not able to finish our basement at this time.
What’s it like to be in your home now? What are your favorite spaces?
We love our home and my husband loves the country — he is a country boy through and through. I am a city girl trying to come around to country living. During the building process, I drew out my house plans and every room how I wanted it to look, so to see it all come to life is something pretty amazing. My children’s rooms were really fun to decorate and I love how both of them turned out.
What have been some of your favorite decorating projects so far?
My favorite spot to decorate is my daughter’s playhouse for every season. The backstory of this spot is we mistakenly measured that area wrong. A dresser was supposed to go there and then we realized after all was done that the dresser was too big, so I had this space but didn’t know what to do with it. Should I make it an art area? Or a book nook? But I ended up coming up with a two-story playhouse and the kids love it. It has been fun to decorate for Christmas while keeping her name Goldie in mind and trying to think how to decorate in yellow.
What are your favorite things to do as a family?
Our favorite thing is to travel as much as we can. It’s gotten harder with little ones, but I try and to get them out as much as I can to see and do new experiences. My co-host makes fun of me that we built this brand-new house but are always on the go. So maybe this winter we will stay put and enjoy this house and country view.
What are your family’s favorite holiday traditions or memories?
My favorite holiday memory was the day my husband proposed. It was the week of Christmas and we were down in Chicago with plans to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo for the Christmas Light Spectacular. He surprised me with a carriage ride from downtown to Lincoln Park, where we got dropped off. Before we went in, we were in front of this great big tree that was all beautifully lit with red and white lights, and all of a sudden our song came on and he was down on one knee. So we have tried to keep that a Christmas tradition — to go down to Chicago and view the lights.
What are you most excited about in decorating this year?
I am most excited about decorating PERIOD this year because last year we were living in an apartment saving up for our house and all of our Christmas decorations were in storage so we did not have one single Christmas decoration out. Not a tree, not a stocking, not one thing, so we are making up for it this year. I started putting things out early on November 1 so we can enjoy what we weren’t able to enjoy last year.
How do you want your home, and the holidays, to feel for your family?
During the holidays I want my house to feel welcoming, warm and filled with sugar cookie smells. I am excited to host for the first time this year’s Christmas Eve gathering. We started a new tradition in my family once we all started having babies and having formal meals were just hard with little ones. So on Christmas Eve, we do it very casual on my side of the family we do Pajamas and Pizza! Then there is a more formal Christmas meal on Christmas Day with my in-laws.
What are you most looking forward to this holiday season or in the new year ahead?
I love to create and this holiday season has been very special decorating and creating a home where my family feels so happy. Outside of radio I would love to eventually do that for others and help them create homes that make them happy. Come follow all my creations and shenanigans at @ashleykix. I would love to see you!
– Katie Vaughn
Photos by Ash and Anders Photo.
Katie Vaughn is the editor and co-founder of Northerly. She is a University of Wisconsin-Madison and Stanford University-trained journalist with experience as a writer, reporter, editor, blogger and author. She lives in Madison with her husband, daughter and son, and is always up for an adventure.