Category: house tours.

Remember the beautiful yellow and white dresser I painted?  Well, I sold it to a lovely young woman named Jen via Craigslist.  As it turned out, Jen had an old dresser that she wanted to part with so we made arrangements to bring the yellow dresser to her and pick up the discarded dresser for me.  This gave me the opportunity to see Jen’s home, and I was totally smitten with it.  I loved her fantastic classic Minneapolis bungalow, her color choices, her mix of vintage and modern, and her sweet little Corgi’s whom she writes about in her own blog, Sassy Little Corgis.  So, on a whim, I asked if she would be willing to let me share her home on my blog, and she said yes!  So last Sunday I popped over to Jen’s and took a million photos to share with you.  So many in fact that I’m breaking her house tour into a two-parter.

Jen’s bungalow in the Longfellow neighborhood was built in 1925.  One of the things that drew me to Jen’s home is that the layout is identical to my grandparent’s home that was in the same area.  I also wonder if Jen’s home could be a Sear’s house.  Maybe?

Jen has a darling little entry porch that welcomes you to her home.  Her Wisconsin pillow was ordered from Etsy, and yes, Jen is originally from the Badger State.

She just moved in to her home this past April, and considering that she’s been in her place less than 5 months, I think she’s done some great things so far.  We’re starting in the living/dining room that was already painted this lovely rich green when Jen bought the house.  She brought in this gorgeous sectional from West Elm.  I love its mid-century, tailored sort of vibe.  It’s also quite comfy (and on sale at the moment)!  Across from the sofa is a fab mid-century credenza that Jen found with a little help from Craig and his list.  She has cleverly outfitted it for her TV with the components just inside the cupboard door.  Her router is velcroed to the back!  How clever is that?  Velcro, people!  Get on it.

What really impressed me about Jen’s house is the way she makes vintage feel hip and modern, giving it a breath of fresh air.

Her 1925 bungalow has gorgeous woodwork including an absolutely amazing dining room built-in that is in fantastic shape.

(Look out Jen!  Sneaky candid shot!)

That door to the left with the gorgeous glass knob leads up to the attic.  I’ll admit, I asked Jen to let me go up there.  It’s unfinished, but my grandparents had one just like it and I had to see it.  It even has that old house attic smell that my grandparent’s attic had.  You gotta love it.  Right?

Speaking of love, how about Jen’s dining set.  The chairs are from Target, sometimes they have the best stuff.  I didn’t mention this to Jen, but my dining room chairs are also from Target, but not as cute as these.  I’m tempted to run out and get these.  They look super comfy, like you could sit around and drink coffee after dinner and not have your behind fall asleep.  These chairs work beautifully with her round table, and the entire set is sized perfectly for her space.

The doorway to the right leads to the kitchen, and I believe I may have had a momentary flashback when I stepped through.  I’m telling you … my grandparent’s kitchen was the exact same size … which is to say small.  Sometimes I wonder if I am mis-remembering how tiny that kitchen was.  But now having seen Jen’s kitchen, I know I’m not.

Jen is making every inch of her kitchen count with this butcher block cart.

And as you can see, she gets plenty of light from two windows to keep it bright and airy feeling.

Now, just get a gander at this wall of gorgeous original kitchen cupboards!

Gorgeous, right?

But I am wondering about the fridge.  My grandparents did not have a fridge in the kitchen proper, it was out back in the hallway.  Jen has a fab built in pantry in that spot, see …

Anyway, there is clearly a spot for the fridge in Jen’s kitchen, but I am guessing that few houses had electric refrigerators in 1925.  Did they have an icebox there instead?  Or were the cupboards re-worked later to fit one in?  Jen is worried about being able to find a new one to fit in this spot, should this one ever need replacing, but I suggested she check out a SMEG.  They aren’t cheap, but they are gorgeous, and small.  Hey, guess what Jen?  West Elm carries one!

Here is the opposite side of the kitchen.  A simple sink and stove.  Jen painted the white tile.  It was an odd pink and purple-ish swirly mess when she bought the house, but now it is fresh and clean.  I would never have guessed it was painted.  She also painted the sink base, and added the floating shelves above the stove.

Before Jen moved in to her house, she took the time to repaint and do a lot of freshening up, like painting the tile.  I like that everything is clean and fresh and liveable for now, and then down the road she can make more expensive changes bit by bit.  I know she’d like to eventually have a nicer sink area in her kitchen, but this is perfectly presentable and functional for now.

I hope you are enjoying the tour of Jen’s cute bungalow as much as I did.  Stay tuned, in my next post we’ll see the rest of her lovely home!

Sue and I go way back.  We have worked together at our day jobs for over 25 years.  Sue has been a mentor to me in many ways.  She is the one who introduced me to garage sales.  She is my partner at the Carriage House Sale, which we have been hosting together for more than 12 years.  Quite a few of the plants in my garden have come from Sue’s garden.

Since I get so much inspiration from Sue’s home and garden, I thought it would be nice to share it here with all of you!

Sue and her husband Mike purchased their home 31 years ago this month for the amazing sum of $67,000.  Can you imagine that today?  It was built in 1950 and is what I think of as a classic post WWII, one and a half story Cape Cod style home.

Every single time I visit Sue’s house I am just in awe.  I pretty much drool all over everything.  I leave totally inspired and I want to run home and implement her ideas at my own house.  I think the thing that I am most impressed by is that Sue knows her style.  Every single thing at her house is quintessentially ‘Sue’.  This is something that I struggle with myself all the time.  Trying to find my style and stick with it, and Sue does this beautifully.  So sit back and enjoy, you are about to see just why you don’t need a large, expensive house to make a truly lovely home.

Once you have walked up that garden path above, you’ll enter Sue’s house off the kitchen.

I love the simplicity of Sue’s style.  She very much embraces the ‘less is more’ mentality.  You might think that these pictures are ‘staged’ for the blog, but they are not.  Sue’s house is always this immaculate, and despite that fact that she displays several collections, it never appears cluttered.

And this is a kitchen that belongs to a woman who actually cooks, unlike me.  I am quite sure that she uses all of the things in these canisters and bottles!  By the way, how much do you love her fab faux-marble subway tile back splash?

You all keep your scoop thingies in a fab mug on a darling little shelf in your kitchen too, right?

One of the recent projects that Sue and her husband have been working on is adding this fantastic wainscoting in the kitchen.

They are planning a table/island on wheels for this area.  Something multi-functional that can be moved around.

Sue is wondering if any of you have some suggestions for what to put on that grey wall above?  Any ideas?

On the left you can see the glass fronted built in cabinet that houses Sue’s collection of glassware.

Aside from the occasional pop of some fab orange vintage drinking glasses, you’ll find that Sue does not include a lot of color in her house.  She likes a very monochromatic look.  White, with touches of black and grey and some occasional warmer tones.  It gives her home a very serene feel as you can see here in her dining room.

The Minn Coaches sign is off the side of a bus.  You can’t see the size very well here, but it is quite large and fills up one wall.

She has this beautiful relief over her fireplace.

And if you look up, you’ll find this gorgeous medallion on the ceiling.

I am happy to report that Sue does own a quandie original!  I painted this buffet for her back before I discovered milk paint or chalk paint.

Isn’t it a beauty?

Sue gets inspiration from Country Living and Martha Stewart Living magazines.  But she also says that her first stop every morning is q is for quandie!  So maybe this inspiration thing is a two way street.

Let’s move on to Sue’s bathroom.  It isn’t fancy, there isn’t a separate room for the toilet, double sinks or a jacuzzi tub, but it is very charming.  Ultimately Sue wants to replace the wainscoting in here with the same style they just added to the kitchen.

I have copied her idea of simply hanging a vintage linen in the window in my own bedroom.  The light coming through is so lovely, and you can really admire the stitch work this way.

I love this clock that she tricked out in her signature black and white, and her shabby white mirror frame.

If you look really closely at the bottom shelf of the clock, you can see a fantastic picture of her twin boys when they were young.

Another thing that I have copied from Sue, and you can too, is that she doesn’t let herself be boxed in by a room’s official function.  Her dining room is located in what would have traditionally been the living room.  And she has turned her second bedroom into a cozy TV room.

The TV hangs out on this fab vintage buffet that Sue painted herself.

 Her black & white housekeeper’s box is also one of my faves.

Moving on to Sue’s master bedroom.

She added a little more warmth to the walls in this room with a lovely pale caramel color.  I love the way all of her artwork plays off the wall color.

On the wall opposite the bed is this cupboard from IKEA.  It is one of the few items in Sue’s house that isn’t second hand.  Sue and Mike have added molding at the top to make it look built in.

We are now going to venture downstairs to the basement.  I just popped my head into the laundry room because I especially wanted to share her galvanized wall.  Last summer I purchased a load of old corrugated metal roofing to add to my summer house, and Sue used the leftovers on her laundry room wall.  She also made some fab signs.  And even the way she stores her laundry products is attractive!

Sue also has a family room in the basement.  Perfect for chilling with friends.

Nearly everything in Sue’s house came from a garage sale or thrift store.  Including this absolutely gorgeous guy that resides down here.

Every time I see this one I am green with envy.  Isn’t it beautiful?

There is a TV hidden away in this fabulous antique cupboard.

Sue likes to joke that every time her husband takes a fishing trip, he comes home to find that something else has been painted.  I think this oak cupboard is the last remaining unpainted piece in Sue’s home.  It’s possible her husband has given up fishing to protect it!  Or will he come home one day to find it painted … it remains to be seen!

I hope you have enjoyed taking a tour of Sue’s home and that you have been as inspired by it as I am.  Stop back in tomorrow for a tour of Sue’s really gorgeous gardens!