House Crashing: Textured & Southwestern: a house log

To everyone who has asked where our House Crashing posts have been lately, we are sorry for the hold up and we are excited to share this one! It is a well overdue tour full of inspiration, affordable finds, and a truly unique style perspective. Plus it is full of transformation photos because Lindsay and her husband began with such a rough “before” of a house (they totally saw a diamond in the rough). So let us poke around and see what they’ve done, shall we? Here is Lindsay now. She lives in Greenville, South Carolina with her husband and her Strong Dane, Gracie – and was so gracious to virtually invite us all over.

This is what the living room looked like before Lindsay and her husband got their mitts on it…

… and here is that same wall after they worked their magic. They took out the old laundry closet from the living room (you can see that above in the before picture) and built bookshelves in its place.

The lights over the bookshelves are outdoor lights from The Home Depot that sell for $20, and the colorful patterned rug was a $19 thrift store find that was all pastel (Lindsay painted it with fabric paint to brighten up the colors). The mid-century coffee table was a $10 thrift find and the tufted leather couch came from Craigslist. Lindsay also covered a leather ottoman with $2 rag rugs to bring in some color and texture.

Here is the old kitchen, which was in a truly small and awkward corner of the house… so they MOVED IT (into an old garage!) and turned the old kitchen into…

… an excellent dining area.

Are you as in love with the buffalo art and that excellent dark woven chandelier as I am? Speaking of that chandelier, it was in fact a Home Goods lamp that Lindsay found on clearance. So she flipped it upside down and paint dipped it. The whole mix of this house gets me like you would not believe. It looks so casual, layered, and charming. Check out all the distinct chairs at the table, and yet they all seem to work together seamlessly. And that rug was a clearance find at Garden Ridge for $25.

That picture above also shows off their remarkable secondhand find of a hutch (it was simply $60 at a thrift store!), and the dining table was made by Lindsay’s husband for their quite first Christmas using plans from Ana White. Lindsay also had an image of buffaloes that she hoped blown up, so she took it into Staples on a flash drive and left with this 3 x 5′ black and white beauty for $6.99. She hoped it back-mounted onto lucite, so she picked up a 3 x 5′ sheet of plexi-glass from Home Depot for $50 and used double-sided tape to attach the art to the wall. Then she screwed the plexi-glass into the wall on all four corners to finish things off.

Here is a before shot of the room that became the kitchen (it was an old garage back in the day, and had been poorly converted into a bedroom – carpet straight over the cement floors and all).

Now it looks like this, complete with casual (and budget-friendly) open shelving and a lively colorful island. I enjoy that Lindsay uses white liberally, but also adds color, texture, and pattern to liven things up (in things like rugs, collected accents around the room, and that bold island color). The open shelving and hood are from Ikea and nearly all the dishes and accessories are thrift store or yard sale finds (for example, the set of vintage brass and copper canisters came from a yard sale for $20) and the kilim rug is a 100 year old Turkish rug from eBay.

Detail shot. Eating it up. All of it. I enjoy the subtle texture of the beadboard walls paired with the farmhouse sink and the warm touches of copper and wood throughout the room.

This is a before shot of the casual sitting room that they call the lounge.

And here is that same room, with a charming mix of textures and homey touches. I enjoy that sweet disco-ball-topped tree – and the mantel is still so strong even without an actual firebox.

Are not those colorful candles and garlands along with the stacked suitcases in front of the mantel so charming? But the rug is Lindsay’s go-to score of all. She and her husband were exploring The Longest Yard Sale and she spotted it in the bottom of someone’s trailer. It was 6 x 8′ and she enjoyed the navajo print, so she asked if it was for sale and they said they were not sure. They talked about it for a minute and then asked if she would pay $5 because it was dirty. She paid them and ran away with it as swift as she could with a big old smile on her face.

I also was so smitten with this little mudroom area full of rustic old wood, a shiny silver clock, and a fairly mix of textiles for that layered and lived in feeling. So cozy.

Lindsay and her husband did not simply confine their makeover to the inside of their house, they also created a truly sweet patio area in the backyard. When they moved in, the whole backyard was simply in short dirt, so they brought in a crushed granite patio (because it was one of the most budget friendly solutions) – and they ended up loving the casual feel of it.

There is a gathering area with a free secondhand wicker sofa, a chiminea, and and low pallet-esque coffee table on over-sized casters (it is in fact any old factory cart coffee table they found at an Antique Yard).

But my go-to part is the eclectic outdoor dining area, complete with a ton of distinct chairs that all charm me to no end. Lindsay’s husband made the picnic table and each chair was a thrift store find for $5 (except for the modern white ones). Once again, she truly is a mix-master. Lindsay is like that girl who layers ten items of clothing and it all looks remarkable and effortless, as if she did not even try. And I am the creepy girl next to her wearing a red bodysuit and high-waisted jeans (true story, that was my go-to sixth grade combination) who is taking notes.

So a big thanks goes out to Lindsay and her sweet husband (and Gracie the dog, holla!) for so thoughtfully allowing us to peek in on their lovely little world. You can also see more and follow Lindsay over on her journal. But first let us play the go-to part game. I am going to call that lamp-turned-chandelier in the dining room and those boss built-ins in the living room. And John’s calling dibs on the chunky and colorful kitchen island along with the dining room hutch. Your turn.

************************************