Lipsticking the Pig
Kristin, could you talk about creating high style with low dollars? Why yes. I am an expert in this arena.
Luckily, I have the perfect case study: my very own former house. A few summers back in June 2017 I purchased a perfectly charmless beige 1995 townhouse on a cul-de-sac. Let’s just say, this was not my dream home. As my partner Ric would say, "No architects were harmed in the making of this building". Exactly. As bleak as Washington winter day is dark.
As a single, working mother of four, I had not considered the possibility of home ownership but rentals were scarce. My landlords wanted their house back and I couldn't find a thing to rent. My realtor convinced me to give a mortgage broker a call to see what I might qualify for. I was ASTOUNDED to discover that I could purchase my very own home. We walked through this dog and made an offer that night. I had zero inspiration for this place but the mortgage would be equal to any rent I was finding and I have always known that real estate is a fantastic long-term financial investment.
Cue the before and after pics:
Out of sheer necessity in the early days of being young and poor, I became a hunter and gatherer of beautiful things everywhere I could find them. Second hand shops, vintage markets, garage sales, hand-me-downs, grandma's stuff and of course, Target and IKEA. Paint is cheap and makes a huge difference. Lighting completely changes the atmosphere of any room. Pieces collected over time create "story" and mystery and whimsy in your spaces. Old with new. Vintage with modern. High with low (or in my case, low with low!).
The very first thing we did, while waiting for the POD to arrive filled with all of our worldly goods, was to rip down that ridiculous bank of cabinets hanging down to block the oxygen and sight lines between the kitchen and the dining room. Immediately afterwards was the removal of that little shelf-y countertop that effectively prohibited the use of a dining room table in the already small and narrow space. Plus it was tacky. Sometimes you can radically alter a space by taking something away. And it doesn't cost a dime.
Point being, creating a fabulous space does not require a fabulous bank account. In the dining room "after" pic above you will see a chandelier made out of ashtrays and a hub cap, a table that my sweetie made with reclaimed wood whose first life was concrete forms (there are still small chunks of concrete on the wood. And holes from nails. And discoloration. I love it!!), an art wall of original pieces drawn by my grandpa and framed at JoAnn (always 60% off with the app) and others purchased at a rotary auction for $5 each. A mid-century sideboard from St Vincent de Paul, chairs purchased at a vintage market and spray painted yellow, a new fridge that I got for 40% off at the Memorial Day sale at Home Depot and a fantastic peely-paint cabinet that we ripped out of a house we were remodeling and kept after I started stripping the paint and decided I loved the layers of history instead.
If you are open to creative collecting, either on your own or with the expert guidance and trained eye of a design pro (that's me!). I promise you, your house can be breathtaking. Every house should have a tree in it. That beauty in the left corner was a thank you gift from a happy client. The gray sofa on the left was from St Vincents, re-upholstered (splurge) but has lasted 10 years so far and the sofa on the right, from the Rotary auction for $5. The amazing coffee table is an Indonesian import belonging to my love....if we ever break up, I get the table, he keeps my kids (lol).
What I want to point out in the above before-and-after is that this is all lipstick on a pig. The kitchen counter, sink, cabinets.....all original. Note the gorgeous curtains: Ikea fabric, $5.99/yard. Grand total for all of the curtains; $180. Big teal lamp, St Vincents, $23, Crow lamp, Target $39. In the foreground, pink french press, Goodwill $6, letter mugs Anthropologie (gift from sister), other stuff, vintage market.
Here, we actually did some wall removal. The existing closet/pantry was a real eyesore and actually wasn't very efficient storage. Besides that, the fridge was so wide that it had to be pulled out into the room to be able to open the doors. I had this really cool cabinet that I have used as a dining hutch in other houses (I put it on wheels to allow me to move it around at whim). Painting all of the interior (hollow core plastic) doors mustard yellow gives some great punch.
Being a 1995 cul-de-sac townhouse, we do not have things like built-ins to showcase my trinkets and art and books. I searched for about 6 months for the perfect cabinet to fit between the windows. I wanted to emphasize the height of the room. I found this one at a Vintage shop and it was perfect!! I snatched it up, even though one of the doors doesn't really open, the bottom is falling off and there was still vintage dirt smeared on the ancient, wavy glass. To get the height right, we turned an old pie safe cabinet I had in my garage on its side and used it as a pedestal. The flower art is a Carrie Goller giclee, Original oil paintings above fireplace and in cabinet, $100/each bought second hand, candles, throw pillows, sheepskin; Ikea, Planter head; Target $29, all other tchotchkes vintage or hand-me-downs from grandma.
One thing to note here. This is a very compact space. What it lacks in square footage, it makes up for in height. You may find that the quirky elements of your not-so-perfect new home can be played up to a major advantage. Also note what did NOT get changed. The nasty, stained, white original to 1995 carpet that I swore to replace immediately? Still there. It's been cleaned and covered with all manner of area rug but it is still on the to-do list.
More to note on what did not change; the paint color. When I moved in, I couldn't put my finger on the wall color. Was it yellow? Beige? Baby-butt flesh color? Coupled together with celery-sage green trim and the palest of pale mint green doors.....what do I even say about that? I set about doing some dramatically dark ceilings in the spaces I could reach (hall, kitchen, dining room) and also repainted the accompanying walls in those rooms to a gray with very slight purplish undertone. The double height living room and staircase was too much to tackle so it is here for now. I will hire that out. The trim was painted white, the doors mustard, and all of the sudden, the wall color just didn't seem like that big of a deal.
Items in Living Room Stair pic-after; Huge Idaho geological map, Re-Store $1, pink frame, JoAnn $160. Paintings, my grandpa, my daughter Josie, vintage paint by numbers ($4 at St Vinnies), taxidermy; gift from my dad's second cousin down in bayou country, fox lamp, Target $39, Chair in foreground, family heirloom, incredible Speaker lab 7 speakers, vintage.
By now you get the point. Your Ranier-in-a-Solo-cup budget can achieve your Dom-Perignon-in-cut-crystal-flute dreams. Let’s grab your lipstick.
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