Want a peek inside our house? Even though it came with great bones and mostly move-in-ready, part of the fun has been making it our own space. We're filling it with color, natural light, and as many repurposed furnishings as we can. Come on in!
LIVING ROOM
Our living room has been through lots of transformations in the past two years. From bright bold raspberry walls to all-white to ocean grean, from a green floral rug to a jute one to a shag and back to jute again, and from one arrangement to another. But what we've ultimately settled on here is neutral, child- and pet-proof, timeless furnishings set off by vivid walls that make the most of this old house's great details.
The walls are Behr Indian Ocean. The sofa and chair are Ashley, and the rug, accent chair and coffee table are from World Market. The drapes are simply hemmed dropcloths (I'm still mulling over a treatment for them).
The art wall is anchored by a canvas of our favorite wedding picture. I made the butterfly shadow boxes with cellophane butterflies, and the daisy and thread prints are from Amelia Kay Photography. The lamps are from Target, and the ikat pillow covers are from etsy.
I love to tinker with the mantel decor. It's pretty narrow, so it can be challenging to find items with the appropriate scale that can sit on the ledge. I am currently obsessed with the balloon art from LullabyWorld on etsy.
This entertainment center is from IKEA's Hemnes line of solid wood furniture. We covered this mostly naked wall with it here to give the effect of built-ins without the expense and sweat!
DINING ROOM
The curved doorway in the living room leads to the dining room. I
painted it with the same Linen White as the living room, and then
painstakingly striped it yellow (BM Hawthorne Yellow, to be exact). I've
never decorated with yellow before, but it's a nice tie-in with some of
the tones in the living room.
I converted the buffet from an old dresser here, silver-leafed the mirror here, and made the mason jar pendants here. The table is an old Duncan Phyfe that my mom refinished, and the chairs are Craigslist finds that got a coat of paint and some Amy Butler fabric.
The gallery wall is anchored by the initial art inspired by the fine folks at Young House Love. I collect cheap frames, paint them white, and fill them with things that are special to us.
KITCHEN
The kitchen was upgraded when we bought the house. Good thing, because we spend a lot of time in it! While the fixtures are not what I would choose myself (granite and stainless steel are high-maintenance and everything is on the dark side), we love the high-quality, Iowa-made Bertch cabinets and gas stove.
While I realize that complaining about a granite/stainless kitchen is definitely a First World Problem, this one reads a little too masculine and modern for both this house and my taste. (Left to my own devices, I would probably replicate this exact kitchen from top to bottom.) I love white cabinets, and they would look beautiful with the dark granite and freshen it up a lot, but these are entirely too nice to paint.
To put a little vintage spin on things I painted the walls Benjamin Moore Copper Patina here, and sewed some white linen cafe curtains, and I'm on the hunt for some pretty pastel vintage Pyrex! I gussied up the IKEA Latt kid table for Bea's first birthday here. The chalkboard is made from one of our old windows, and the corner shelves were a simple DIY.
Now let's head down the hallway and check out the bedrooms and bathroom!
LUCILLE'S ROOM
This is the office-turned-nursery we created for our baby girl Lucille, loosely based on matryoshka dolls. We kept the walls Behr Classic Silver, and offset the cool neutral with shades of pink and coral, unsweetened with some turquoise.
Almost everything in this nursery is DIY. The curtains and all bedding are handmade with a ton of different vibrant fabrics. I recovered the old nursery glider with a fresh fabric, and painted the Ikea Hemnes dresser and updated it with fun new ceramic knobs. Beatrix's old Ikea crib (Sniglar, painted white) will be her bed, and the platform bed we purchased on Amazon will be the big girl bed she grows into. Some of the doll art is from etsy, and some was made from World Market gift bags.
My mom made that gorgeous quilt. Quilting is not a crafty skill I have ever acquired--I lack the precision and the attention span. I so admire those who can do it!
The Ikea Expedit shelves will hold tons of baby needs, and later, her toys and books. This is a room that Baby Sister will be able to grow into with ease!
DOWNSTAIRS BATH
Our little downstairs bathroom is our only full bath (upstairs is shower only). I chose to wallpaper in damask because a little bathroom like this is
the perfect place to try something big and bold! The shower has this sort of
1950s tile motif going, along with the Deco-ish cast iron bathtub, so I
like the crisp black and white to keep it clean.
Now that two girls will be sharing this bathroom, we needed to add a little storage. This cabinet gives us a place to store hair supplies and personal items--they just have to be attractively packaged!
BEATRIX'S ROOM
Beatrix's room was one of the first to be put together when we moved.
It's small, it's cute, and it's a happy place for all of us! Also, because it's light on closet space, we've tried to
work in as much storage as possible.
The paints are Benjamin Moore Shimmering Lime with an accent wall of
Spring Leaf, and the bird decals are from Pottery Barn Kids. I made the
curtains, as I usually do, to coordinate with the bedding (learn how here).
This bookshelf is ancient. It's an old cupboard/cabinet of some kind that has been passed down through several generations. It became a bookshelf in my grandma's house, then my mom's house, and was then passed it on to me. I used it as craft storage prior to Bea, but every girl needs a place for books!
Let's go upstairs, shall we?
If you dare, that is. They're scary!
BEDROOM
The upstairs is the standout feature of this house. It's an open half-story room (technically a "finished attic" according to the property description) surrounded by closets and its own private bath. If the downstairs feels a little cramped, the bedroom more than makes up for it. With built-ins, plenty of light, and a ton of storage, it's a pretty rare treat in an old house!
This old cane bench is one of my favorite pieces of furniture. It's painted Krylon Ivy Leaf and upholstered in a trellis pattern from Hobby Lobby. The lamp is vintage, spruced up with a coat of paint and a recovered shade. These Target pictures were originally in the living room, but they bring the perfect pop against the gray walls up here.
This little nook, surrounded by two built-in dressers, is one of my favorite spaces. The table is an old sewing machine cabinet that my mom and I shortened a little and then painted. I painted and upholstered the old cane chair along with the bench.
BATHROOM
The previous owner did a beautiful update on the shower and floor, but the rest of this bathroom needs some work. So far we've only replaced the ancient, water-guzzling toilet with a new high-efficiency model and painted the walls with Benjamin Moore Bath Salts. We plan to swap out the disgusting, rusty old pedestal sink and faucet as well as changing out the dated (and very hot!) light fixture and framing the mirror.
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So that's more or less the tour! We're in the construction phase of finishing part of the basement, so there will be even more house for you (and us) to love soon!
