New home owners Linn and her hubby embarked on a project this past summer turning their little white 40s bungalow-style home into something to treasure. They also have an eye for vintage and some great vintage style was included in their remodel.
Well, I have lots of favorite parts of each room. Mainly I think
because I only choose to have things around me that I absolutely love.
We have a pretty small house, so each space has to really count; we
just don't have the room to keep lots of different things around which
we don't absolutely love and find useful.
In the living room, I love the built in bookcases we constructed a
couple of months ago. We have lots of books and love our books; we
want to be able to see them everyday and keep them out and visible.
Before we had the bookcases, we had a real storage issue, but once we
decided to build bookcases that went all the way up to the ceiling, we
gained a lot of really valuable space, plus I love the way they really
add character to the room.
In the living room I also adore the damask wallpaper. I had the paint
store match the background color of the paper to paint the rest of the
living room in, that way we didn't have to wallpaper all the walls,
and we could get a uniform look going.
In the dining room, my favorite part is probably our blue dining
chairs. I love the pop of color they provide, they brighten the space
a lot and add a whimsical element.
In the kitchen, I think my favorite part is the marble and granite
checkerboard floor which we put in when we renovated the kitchen a few
months ago. It gives the space a retro, yet classic look.
Where do you find inspiration for decorating your home?
I prefer timeless, classic design, however it's also important for us
that things are useful and interesting. I don't like pretty things
just for the sake of being pretty (usually anyway!) I love when the
decor is practical, or in some way generates conversation or thought.
Mainly I find inspiration in the way of books, maps, useful objects in
the kitchen etc… I do however really appreciate nautical themes,
English country estates and Scandinavian homes to mention a few
favorite inspirational sources.
How do vintage things play a role in your room/home?
Things that exude a sense of timelessness and thought are ideally what
I want to surround myself with. That doesn't necessarily mean that the
things need to be old or of a vintage time, but it doesn't hurt if the
idea or theme stems from an earlier time. The most important vintage
source in our home is without doubt our book collection where works
from literature, philosophy, history, science etc… coexist on the
shelves. Other vintage themes include antique reproduction maps, old
wooden furniture (but also newly built ones where we used classic
techniques.) I suppose you can also count our kitchen design into this
category: we have classic white subway tile, vintage style hardware
and a checkerboard floor!
Any advice on creating your look?
Choose things that speak to you and don't overdo it. If you have a
nice book collection, don't hide it behind closed doors. Choose a
basic color theme and stick with it: at first we wanted to stain the
bookcases a dark stain because we generally love that look. But after
realizing it would look really weird against the white moulding in the
room we decided to paint all the shelves white instead. Now we're
really happy we did because it works with the rest of the space
better. Also, try to use real materials as much as possible. We
appreciate timeless elements and "real materials" where you now
exactly what it's made of. So that means real wood and not laminate or
fake wood pieces as often as possible. We also have chosen to surround
ourselves with stone (marble and granite for the floor which we have
also reused in furniture pieces), and stainless steel for the kitchen.
So basically, keep things real, don't take short cuts and select a few
pieces which you really love.
We loved your vintage map collection, can you tell us a little bit
more about this project?
Thanks! Those maps are one of my favorite projects as well. A couple
of years ago, we purchased some really beautiful vintage reproduction
maps which have been sitting in the closet ever since, gathering dust.
As we got done renovating parts of our home, we realized we now could
put our focus towards putting things up on the walls, and immediately
thought of our maps. Since we couldn't find any frames in the store
that would fit right, we decided to custom make our own frames to fit
perfectly. So we measured carefully, created hemlock frames
constructed with dowels and glue, custom ordered glass, and stained
the frames the same stain as we used for our dining room table and
kitchen cart to create a uniform look. Now they hang up on the walls
and we just love them; they are interesting and full of character.
Gabreial, thanks so much for letting me be a part of your "My Vintage
Pad" series!
Thanks so much to Linn and her husband for sharing their charming home with us. Be sure to catch their whole remodel project at their website where you can find many great before and after photos, a deeper look into their handcrafted furniture and more!
