amy’s amazing home, part 1.

Published on by Quandie

amys-title

I think I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating.  One of the greatest benefits of having a blog is having an excuse to tour other people homes for the purpose of featuring them here.

There are so many people out there that have the most amazing homes, but they’ve never been in a magazine or featured on a home tour.  They are just regular people like you and me and they just have a knack for decorating.  I love being able to share them with you!

Amy is a fellow Reclaiming Beautiful vendor.  Earlier this year she mentioned to me that she really does it up for Christmas, so I asked if she’d let me feature her home here on q is for quandie for the holidays and she agreed.  I’m so glad she did!  The Reclaiming Beautiful owners asked if I’d feature Amy’s home over on their blog as well, so I’m splitting the post between the two.  The first two posts will be here today and tomorrow, and the final post over there on Friday.  But I’ll be sure to include links between the two blogs so that you can be sure you see it all!

amys-fish-tank

My sister Debbie came along as my ‘assistant’ again this time, and as we were approaching Amy’s house we were in a neighborhood full of new and very beautiful homes, but somehow I just hadn’t pictured Amy living in a newer home. As it turns out, I was right.  Amy, much like myself I might add, lives in the original 1936 farmhouse for what was once the Amundsen dairy farm.  The land around it has since been developed with newer homes.

As soon as we pulled up I knew I was in the right place!  Christmas tree in an old wringer washing machine?  Old sleds with vintage skates hanging from them.  Yep, this had to be the right house.

The fact that last Sunday, when I took these photos, was the perfect snowy winter day just added to the overall ambiance.

And by the way, if you haven’t thought to put a small tree and some ice skates inside a bird cage outside your door, get on it.  It’s fantastic.

As soon as I walked in Amy’s door I knew I was with a kindred spirit.  I missed getting a photo of the vintage lockers in her mud room, but here’s what you see upon entering the home proper.

amys-living-room

If you look closely at the photo above you can spy Amy’s adorable dog, Birdie.  See him?  Seriously, he’s so cute he almost looks like a stuffed animal (he’s on the sofa on the right in case you still can’t find him).  Amy also shares her house with with her husband Zach and her four kids, Lucy, Gus, Alex and Greta.

Just beside me to the left of where I am standing for the above photo is Amy’s dining room.

amys-dining-room

I love her collection of ‘yard-long’ photos, don’t you?  And I’m really not sure what the original purpose was of that thing she has sitting on top of her radiator filled with books, but I love the way she’s using it.

Amy purchased her pair of matching sofas  for a rock bottom price off Craigslist and then had them reupholstered in drop cloth material.

amys-sofa

For any of you who know me well, it probably goes without saying that I thoroughly approve of Amy’s aqua blue walls.  She’s added lots of red plaid for Christmas, as well as some snow shoes and skis.

amys-living-room-wall

 And I love this adorable little red camper on her coffee table.

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Amy had a really unique spot for her TV on these chippy old metal factory shelves.  If I was a true professional I would have taken the time to hide all of those cords behind the TV, but I never think of that stuff in the moment.  Plus, I’m so busy admiring all of the incredible stuff that I don’t even notice things like cords until I seem them in the photos.  I hope you’re ignoring them too!

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She says that thing weighs about 600 lbs and she and a friend lugged it into this spot themselves.

Look at the row of vintage radios under the TV …

amys-radios

Keeping a collection like this in one color family is a great idea!

And look what I spied tucked under one of the sofa’s end tables …

amys-structo-truck

Do you recognize it?  It’s my old Structo truck!  Amy purchased it from me at my Carriage House sale.  It’s really fun for me to see it in its new home.

Everywhere you look in her house there is something awesome to see, like this mid-century TV ornament.  Check out the tiny Christmas scene inside.

amys-mid-century-ornament

I think I may have gotten a little drool on the this Christmas tree and the scale it is sitting on.  I joked with Amy that I was going to have my sister distract her while I tucked that thing under my coat.

And just above that scale is this fabulous old cubby on the wall.

amys-cubby

According to Amy this cubby started out at twice this height.  It stood on the floor and she had it in this same spot, but it sat in front of the radiator.  Her husband finally put his foot down and said they needed to cut it down and mount it on the wall and quit blocking the heat (here in Minnesota function pretty much has to take priority over form when it comes to heating).  So Amy gave in and agreed, and now realizes she loves it even more mounted on the wall this way!

Before we conclude today’s portion of our tour we really need to talk about the elephant in the room.  The gorgeous Christmas tree.

amys-living-room-tree

Amy is a firm proponent of placing your tree in a unique container and in this case she’s used an old metal crate.

amys-living-room-tree-stand

So creative!

I hope you’ve enjoyed day no. 1 of our tour of Amy’s home.  Be sure to check back tomorrow for part 2.  And hey, if you have a minute, leave a comment about your favorite detail in Amy’s living room.  I challenge you to pick just one!

29 thoughts on “amy’s amazing home, part 1.”

  1. Thank you Linda and Amy! This is why I look forward to your posts – everything is so fun, funky and friendly. What I love about the house… um, what don’t I love? But for specifics, the wonderful wood floors (I know, not a decoration, but so warm and beautiful), the Structo truck, the scale and the tree in a cage are all wonderful. And might I add, how does she keep it all intact with four kids and a dog?? Looking forward to the next two installments.

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  2. I love it all! Can’t wait to see the rest! The tree on the scale and the tree in the wringer washer…wonderful! The whole thing makes my heart go pitter pat! karen….

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  3. OMG AMY!!! I have been impatiently waiting for this post and now am impatiently waiting for the next post! Your home is so beautiful and so perfectly “Amy”. I have always adored your style and seeing it all put together is stunning. Every detail is gorgeous, from the beautifully decorated cubby (I love that you just stuck it in front of the radiator, ha! and it does look incredible on the wall), the metal shelves and cages (who doesn’t want their tree in a cage now?), to the scale and washing machine. All of the mercury glass catches my eye and I definitely can’t pick a favorite, but love the snowshoes and skis on the wall! But then, the photos on the dining room wall really call my name. Let’s just say it’s all my favorite and call it a day 😉 Thanks Q for the fantastic tour!

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  4. How can I pick just one thing-love it all -so whimsical! Love all the collections, the radios, the scales the panoramic photos, the clocks (ironically all collections i’ve started as well…but AMY gets to all the sales before me!!!heehe) I love the color combo of aqua and red, all the plaid throws and pillows! I love AMY, she is such a fun, stylish person with a passion for decorating, she is a gem! Reclaiming Beautiful is lucky to have her! Awesome post Q!

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  5. I love your house tours. Especially the Christmas ones. So Thank You to you and the wonderful people who open there homes to us. Amy’s entire home is amazing it’s hard to choose one thing in her living room,however for me I think it will be the beautiful array of plaid pillows on her sofa. Can’t wait for tomorrow and Friday!

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  6. Every corner is so fun and funky, I just love the way you put it all together Amy. Hard to pick a favorite, but my favorite has to be the cubby filled with Christmas houses. Thanks to you and your family for sharing and thanks to Linda for the great photos and blog.

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  8. Been a fan of “yard long photography” forever so that grouping for me is amazing. Second is the cubby on the wall totally fab but I also thought that aquarium vignette was pretty darn cute. Fun tour look forward to the next installment. Thanks to both of you ladies and to your charming assistant as well.

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    1. That aquarium is adorable. Amy put together quite a few Christmas vignettes in a variety of vintage containers for the Reclaiming Beautiful shop and they have been selling like hot cakes!

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  10. Thanks Victoria for mentioning me in your comment. I my most favorite is the cubby on the wall but the plaid blankets are a very close second. It was a very cool house and can’t wait to see which pictures end up on the other two installments.

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  13. Pingback: Amy’s amazing house, part 3. | Reclaiming Beautiful

  14. The best part of Amy’s house is that it’s a warm, welcoming home. She has great style for sure, but a bigger heart. I’m her sister-in-law, and my favorite part when coming over is to note all the changes. Her house has never looked the same. Now, my house has never looked the same twice, but that’s because of deterioration and a feeling of being overwhelmed by kids and animals! Hers is due to style:)

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  15. Pingback: Amy made me do it. – q is for quandie
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