Rustic and comfortable “found object”-styled Ontario home

Remember Homie Christina’s tips for vintage-ifying a brand new dresser? Wanna see the rest of the house that that dresser resides in? You’re in luck…

The offbeat occupant: Christina Fleming, photographer

Other occupants: my husband David and our kitten Venelope

Approximate square footage: 1000-2000 sq. feet

How many bedrooms? Three

Lives in: Ontario, Canada

When did you move into this home? About four months ago.

Let’s start with the neighborhood. What’s it like where you live? We live in the country halfway between two small towns. There are lots of farms in our area and most of the neighbors are older. Both the towns near us are typical small towns with some basic stores and parks. The nearest “big” town is about a 30 minute drive.

We love being able to see the stars at night because they aren’t drowned out by city lights.

What makes your home offbeat? My husband and I moved into our first home in October 2012. Almost all our furniture and housewares were either wedding presents, bought with wedding money, or we already owned. The only things we bought specifically for the house were the zebra dining chairs, my metallic silver night stand, and a dresser for our living room.

All of our accessories and decor items are pieces that are special to us. My husband has a lot of antiques that belonged to his late grandfather and are now proudly displayed in the bar. All our art is homemade (including the piece on our living room book case! My cousin made it as a wedding gift.), so it’s very personal and unique.

We feel like our home has a “found object” look that some people strive for. Unlike most, we haven’t sought out antiques or unique pieces…they came to us through loved ones or special times spent together.

My husband works full time and I’m currently not working, so I’m a housewife. I love to keep my house looking good!

What’s your favorite feature of your home? The big sign we have hanging in the dining room. It was salvaged from a dump when the tea room closed. My husband gave it to me as a Christmas present when we were dating because It was a special place to me as a kid.

What’s the most challenging about this space? How do you deal with the challenge? Our house wasn’t maintained very well by the people who lived there before us. A lot of things were done wrong (nothing major, just cosmetic things) that we never noticed until we had been living there for a bit. There’s so much we want to fix or repair but can’t because it costs too much and we are down to one income now.

Even though we get frustrated with the flaws we are so blessed to be homeowners at young ages. We currently make lists for all the problems we need to address and try to fix little ones in small batches so it’s more affordable.

What’s your grandest plan for the space? It’s hard to pick what I’m most excited about! We have a good-sized bedroom in the basement but we don’t need it so we are going to knock down the walls to give more space. We are also going to paint the dining room chocolate-brown even though our main floor is open concept. I also can’t wait to get outside and start landscaping! My husband has a large collection of saplings he is eager to plant.

Show me the decor porn!