House Crashing: Lesley & Jeff: a house log

We cannot wait to share this house crashing adventure because you’ve in fact seen how Lesley & Jeff live…. but that was over 4.5 years ago (before they had two sweet little boys and moved into a new home for their growing family). It is in fact a mid-century split level house in a charming woodsy neighborhood right here in Richmond, and of course Lesley and Jeff have fully made it their own.

But first, simply to refresh your memory, here is their first house – which we crashed all the way back in 2008!

But back to their new place. You folks might remember that Lesley is a master of making ugly things into assets. For example, she did not like the dated iron columns full of swirls and zig-zags on her new front porch… so they trained some vines to grow around them and cover them. So charming right? No more swirly iron posts. And it was a lot more cost effective than demoing them out and redoing the porch (although they are open to tackling that down the line).

One of our go-to things about Lesley’s stye is how she mixes things. And not simply anything, meaningful things. See the red chandelier in the mirror of her entryway? That was in fact something she spray painted red years ago for her wedding. She and Jeff danced under that in their reception tent and now it graces their hallway. And plenty of their furniture is secondhand (hooray for worn and enjoyed pieces made from solid wood!).

Here is another corner of their entryway, complete with a pillow with a meaningful number and upholstery fabric that she chose to give the old seen-better-days chair a fresh look.

The family room was one of my go-tos in the house. Why? Because it is paneling, people! But they chose to embrace it. It was not that flimsy faux paneling, it was thick solid wood and Lesley called it “embracing her inner Golden Girl.” How hilarious is she? So instead of drywalling over it or even painting it, she and Jeff brought in a few other retro touches (like that excellent old laundry sign that Lesley got from a local cleaners that was going out of business – she simply asked for it and they gave it to her). Lesley is a master at effortlessly mixing and matching textiles (check out the layered patterns of those pillows, the rug, and those ottomans) to create a cozy and welcoming vibe. It was certainly one of those rooms that draws you in where everyone ends up. And see that pair of wing chairs? Lesley got them for $50 each on craigslist and did not even have to recover them (they had been covered with protective plastic for decades since they were picked up!).

How excellent is this framed secondhand art that Lesley scored on sale for $50? Oh and the throw over the sofa is from her friend’s etsy store.

You know what John went wild for, right? This map. Lesley got it on ebay. I think the bright teal color looks excellent against the paneling with that chic gold lamp layered in.

Here is the kitchen, complete with dark stone floors (the tile is simply plain durable tile store stuff, but Lesley upped the ante by laying it in a herringbone pattern), dark painted beadboard for the backsplash that they DIYed themselves for under $40, creamy white cabinets, and dark hardware that ties into the dark floors and counters.

They also have a wall where they measure the children and have bright silhouettes of each of them. You know we are suckers for those personalized details.

Lesley also made the curtain from glad and bright fabric with some fringe on the bottom. And check out that crane to the left of the curtain that Lesley rests her dishtowel on. Yup, I was certifiably crazy about it. And the aqua foo dogs.

There is an excellent sunroom off the back of the house that Lesley and Jeff converted into a playroom. They brought in functional toy baskets, a big train table, some rich color on the brick (Woodcliff Lake by Benjamin Moore) and the door (Goldsmith by Benjamin Moore) along with some striking and architectural custom window shutters. As you might guess, Clara made a beeline for that room and in short never left.

Upstairs in the bedroom is more patterned fabric, and touches of wood. And how strong are those framed blueprints (from West Elm a while back)? I enjoy how Lesley hung them in a lively offset way.

This is the guest room, complete with dusty grey blue walls, orange patterned bedding (from Pottery Barn), and a giant thrift store sailfish over the bed. And how excellent are those sculptural side tables (from PB Teen) and the textured white table lamps (from HomeGoods). It is excellent how Lesley tempers her bold colors and accents with crisp white or rich wood to keep rooms from being too chaotic – even with a big ol’ fish on the wall.

One of our go-to things about Lesley is her work-with-whatcha-got spirit. She in fact embraced her pink tiled bathroom to the point that it feels totally like her. Is not the ornate thrift store mirror, the bright green rug from Target, and the blue-gray wall color (Metro Gray by Benjamin Moore) mixed with the ruffled curtain (from Anthropologie, but found on craigslist) so sophisticated and lively? I enjoy how it does not look too “serious” or “over designed” – it is simply straightforward and everything goes without being matchy-matchy. So I was so excited to share this picture for anyone else out there with a pink bathroom.

Her sons enjoy sharing a room, and we enjoyed how their beds were the same color/style (found on the low-cost thanks to craigslist) but that the bedding was slightly distinct along with what was hanging over each bed (they were both secondhand finds – the flag was found locally and the old bus scroll was from ebay). We think it is truly cool to personalize each corner so things are not cloned but still tie together truly well.

And this is Lesley’s office down in the basement. I enjoyed everything from the black storage boxes and table lamps (those are HomeGoods lights for 30 bucks a pop) to the casual stacks of books going in all directions. Even with the blanket draped over the chair and the flowers in the vase, it certainly did not feel crazy-styled thanks to those random ribbons on the shelves and all of those colorful stacks of books simply shoved in there. There is something quite straightforward-yet-chic about Lesley’s house. Like she’s not trying too hard but it still looks excellent, cozy, and personal.

So we are sending out a large thanks to Lesley, Jeff, and her two sweet boys for having us over so we could share all the photos with you folks! Hope you got some inspiration from things like the pink tiled bathroom and that paneled family room! Let us play the whats-your-go-to-part game. Mine is the smart vine trick they pulled on the porch to hide those columns and the boys’ room with those matching but not too-matchy craigslist beds. And of course John loves the framed blueprints and that excellent teal map. No surprises there.

Psst- Do not wanna stop snooping around? You can check out dozens of House Crashing adventures right here.