Carrie Anne's thrifted paradise in cookie-cutter suburbia #Homes & Tours#gamers#geeky#mid-century modern#retro/vintage#suburban#thrifting#Western homes March 8 2011 | Cat Rocketship The offbeat occupant: Carrie Anne, librarian Other occupants: Husband Anthony, daughter Isobel, and cats Zorro, Poppy & Jupiter Lives in: Modesto, California Tells us all about your neighborhood: We live in the midst of typical middle-class, suburban tract homes. What makes your home offbeat? Despite being a cookie-cutter home in a suburban neighborhood, we personalized it through vintage items found by thrifting or scouring our families' storage sheds and cast-offs. We incorporated our tastes with items we love and things that will last. At the same time we tried to keep things simple, clutter-free, and usable, so it's a home that not only looks good, but functions well. Related Post Megan & Aaron's tropical Los Angeles setup — nestled behind a porn shop You will LOVE Offbeat Bride Managing Editor-Megan and Aaron's apartment. One part Hawaii, one part LA, and one part artist bungalow -- but the best... Read more First of all, I loved the big fire place in the living room, but it was a weird calico "natural" brick color: black (verging on navy), rust red, and beige. It was awful and we immediately painted the brick a deep brown. It took many coats of primer, and then many coats of color after that, but it was so worth it and transformed an eyesore into something we love. Secondly, we've had our issues with the paint color choices of the previous owner. We still need to add color to the hallway, bedroom, and office, but before we moved in we had the bathroom, laundry room, and kitchen totally repainted. And last, our largest challenge has been the nasty, worn, original carpet from 1986. Our solution for the time-being? Avoid looking down. What's your favorite feature of your home? I love the green walls in our living room. That's probably the first thing a prospective homebuyer would change, but I love them. I really like the layout of the space, too, how the kitchen is connected to both the dining and the living room but not necessarily a part of it. What's the most important lesson you've learned from this home? You really need to work with a space, not against it. I'm not a huge fan of the navy countertops in the kitchen, but I can make them look the best I can, which helps. What's your grandest plan for the space? All new floors (except for the kitchen and dining rooms.) The carpet has to go, and I'd like to change out the chipped entry tile and worn, dented linoleum in the bathrooms and laundry room. I also want to paint the ceiling beams in the living and master bedrooms. Deep brown—to match the fireplace. What advice do you have for other Offbeat dwellers? Don't get discouraged by lack of funds or the interior sea of beige in tract homes. Paint color and thrift stores, two relatively inexpensive things, can transform a space into something personal and amazing. Any stuff or services you want to recommend? Instead of getting prints custom framed, scour thrift stores for frames of less common dimensions. That alone will save you all kinds of money, look great, and help break up the monotony of suburban style. Is your home amazing? Have you customized it to your needs? Are you living in a punk house or with an exotic pet or under unusual conditions? Round up your photos and submit your home to us. Reporter Name * Reporter Email * Original text Enter the original text here. Edited text* Enter your suggested copyedit here. Notes You can add a note for the editor here. * Required information. Fix Typo Cat Rocketship I was the Managing Editor of Offbeat Home for a year and a half. I have a rich Internet life and also a pretty good real life. Hobbies include D&D, Twitter, and working on making our household more self-reliant. I also draw things. PREVIOUS Wedding photog Jason Lee and his amazing technicolor photos of his kids NEXT All about my unexpected love affair… with the stroller Show/Hide comments [ 28 ] I love the green walls! My sister's bedroom was that color for a few years. I also love the placement of kittehs. Small world moment… I literally just put down a Robert A. Heinlein book! Reply I really, really admire homeowners who manage to blend "straight out of a catalog" with "random crap we managed to find and use" so seamlessly. Beeeeeeautiful home! It's a testament to my addiction to office supplies that, out of all the lovely thrifted goods in your home, it's the kelly green filing cabinet that I swoon for. 4 agree Reply Thank you so much for featuring me! Reply I know this was years ago… But… Can we please talk about that baby blanket? If you happen to know what yarn/what pattern, I absolutely adore it. Reply Love this post! We also live in a super suburban neighborhood. I really love the area and I like that making our house unique is more of a challenge 🙂 But still in a pleasing-to-the-eye sort of way! And you nailed it! Reply Yay for green walls! Calming and warm at the same time – joy! Reply How did you paint the lovely "Isobel" design over your daughter's crib? Reply Hi there, Actually, we didn't. We purchased a wall decal through Etsy. You can find thousands of decals, and they come off without damage to the walls. Reply LOVE your place! I saw your Dala horses and called my husband over since he's part Swedish, and we have several of them. He saw your viking ships and almost wet himself. Where did you get them? Reply I was lucky enough to nab the Dala horses while thrifting. My mom has several, though, that we purchased locally. My town historically has a large Swedish population (us included), so it's easy to find them. Reply Not to mention the Swiss! *waves* Reply I LOVE the color blue in your nursery… do you by any chance remember the name? Reply I get asked the SO OFTEN that it's a deep regret of mine that I don't. We painted our two bedrooms this color when we moved in in 2005. It's a Martha Stewart color from way back. I've tried searching for it online with no luck. The thing I love about this color is that it ranges from gray to blue to green, depending on the light and time of day. Reply Two cheers for the fish bottle opener!! I bought two in Mexico when my brother got married down there and I totally cherish them. Mine are red and orange though. It made me giggle to see their cousin in someone else's home. Reply I would LOVE to see your fish bottle openers!! Reply I love what i can see of Isobels room, i'm at the stage where all i want to see is babies rooms for inspiration! Reply Then here's a direct link to about 40 different shots of the nursery. It was featured on Ohdeedoh and Etsy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/exlibris/sets/72157615325624519/ To see what her nursery looks like now that she's two, go here: http://thelittlebig.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/after-photos-nursery/ Reply I love your place, and I especially love the picture of the cat on the changing table. 🙂 2 agree Reply That cat was named Peaches, and he was the best ever. He's since passed away but I miss him. 1 agrees Reply I love the green walls too… also, check this out for those navy counters you don't love. http://www.miraclemethod.com/photoGallery/slideShow/kitchens/4.htm Reply Ooh, very interesting. Reply Woah………. I totally have stranger in a strange land beside my bed right now. Freaky. Reply Hey there, lady… I know you! Haha, what a small world, eh? I should have known you'd be on this site. It's so YOU. Love your place, and love that it got some off-beat attention. So fitting! Reply LYDIA! My darling! I only just saw this. Called your mom today. I hope to see you guys soon. Reply I also live in a cookie cutter house. And we have had such luck with repainting things bright colors and incorporating our funky fun furniture. A bonus I never expected was to see in our neighbors houses and how they met the same challenges we face in our matching house. I have gotten some great ideas from them! Whenever I am in a new neighborhood home I am always asking to see in the bathroom! Love the house! Great color choices! Reply I actualy found the picture of the peacock cologne bottle while looking for peacock home decorations on flickr. I'm going to buy myself one off of ebay. 😉 Reply I happen to one of the peacock cologne bottles! Love it! It's made by Avon and they have dozens of fabulously cute shaped bottles, I collect them and have found them everywhere from thrift stores to garage sales. Reply Redirected to this page while searching for chair images in Google. Anyways you have a cute home 🙂 Reply Join the conversation Cancel Reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Subscribe me to your mailing list No-drama comment policy Part of what makes the Offbeat Empire different is our commitment to civil, constructive commenting. Make sure you're familiar with our no-drama comment policy.
I love the green walls! My sister's bedroom was that color for a few years. I also love the placement of kittehs. Small world moment… I literally just put down a Robert A. Heinlein book! Reply
I really, really admire homeowners who manage to blend "straight out of a catalog" with "random crap we managed to find and use" so seamlessly. Beeeeeeautiful home! It's a testament to my addiction to office supplies that, out of all the lovely thrifted goods in your home, it's the kelly green filing cabinet that I swoon for. 4 agree Reply
I know this was years ago… But… Can we please talk about that baby blanket? If you happen to know what yarn/what pattern, I absolutely adore it. Reply
Love this post! We also live in a super suburban neighborhood. I really love the area and I like that making our house unique is more of a challenge 🙂 But still in a pleasing-to-the-eye sort of way! And you nailed it! Reply
Hi there, Actually, we didn't. We purchased a wall decal through Etsy. You can find thousands of decals, and they come off without damage to the walls. Reply
LOVE your place! I saw your Dala horses and called my husband over since he's part Swedish, and we have several of them. He saw your viking ships and almost wet himself. Where did you get them? Reply
I was lucky enough to nab the Dala horses while thrifting. My mom has several, though, that we purchased locally. My town historically has a large Swedish population (us included), so it's easy to find them. Reply
I get asked the SO OFTEN that it's a deep regret of mine that I don't. We painted our two bedrooms this color when we moved in in 2005. It's a Martha Stewart color from way back. I've tried searching for it online with no luck. The thing I love about this color is that it ranges from gray to blue to green, depending on the light and time of day. Reply
Two cheers for the fish bottle opener!! I bought two in Mexico when my brother got married down there and I totally cherish them. Mine are red and orange though. It made me giggle to see their cousin in someone else's home. Reply
I love what i can see of Isobels room, i'm at the stage where all i want to see is babies rooms for inspiration! Reply
Then here's a direct link to about 40 different shots of the nursery. It was featured on Ohdeedoh and Etsy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/exlibris/sets/72157615325624519/ To see what her nursery looks like now that she's two, go here: http://thelittlebig.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/after-photos-nursery/ Reply
I love your place, and I especially love the picture of the cat on the changing table. 🙂 2 agree Reply
That cat was named Peaches, and he was the best ever. He's since passed away but I miss him. 1 agrees Reply
I love the green walls too… also, check this out for those navy counters you don't love. http://www.miraclemethod.com/photoGallery/slideShow/kitchens/4.htm Reply
Hey there, lady… I know you! Haha, what a small world, eh? I should have known you'd be on this site. It's so YOU. Love your place, and love that it got some off-beat attention. So fitting! Reply
I also live in a cookie cutter house. And we have had such luck with repainting things bright colors and incorporating our funky fun furniture. A bonus I never expected was to see in our neighbors houses and how they met the same challenges we face in our matching house. I have gotten some great ideas from them! Whenever I am in a new neighborhood home I am always asking to see in the bathroom! Love the house! Great color choices! Reply
I actualy found the picture of the peacock cologne bottle while looking for peacock home decorations on flickr. I'm going to buy myself one off of ebay. 😉 Reply
I happen to one of the peacock cologne bottles! Love it! It's made by Avon and they have dozens of fabulously cute shaped bottles, I collect them and have found them everywhere from thrift stores to garage sales. Reply
Redirected to this page while searching for chair images in Google. Anyways you have a cute home 🙂 Reply