“The best rooms have something to say about the people who live in them.” — David Hicks
Any Home can have Charm
My husband and I bought a home built in 1927 in Southern California last year. People always ask how did you find it?! I just tell them the truth, Zillow! My jaw dropped when I saw it. I could not believe it was being sold at the price it was listed at. I stalked this house for weeks. And now that it is finally coming together, I want to share how I added my own Art Deco take to this Normandy Revival Home.
I watch so many TikToks of people buying old homes, tearing them apart, and modernizing them like they are on HGTV. I have been traumatized. So everything I have done so far has been aimed at adding more character, elegance, and individuality. No grey paint here!
Secrets of Affording Quality
My most major piece of advice is to get familiar with Facebook marketplace and build up a good system. Facebook Marketplace is perfect because you often get quality pieces that people find outdated for their own home. However, these pieces are usually in great condition, for super low prices, and they are often of far greater quality than items made now.
The first thing we did was paint the walls a simple Greek white cream shade. This is so we could be very audacious in the rest of the decor. We ripped out almost every fan and then replaced them with chandeliers from FB marketplace. Here is the collection of chandeliers. I still have a couple of rooms to go, but I have my eye on a few new chandeliers in LA. Don’t worry about the different styles. Each room is so unique that it demands its own style. This is a problem I see in modern design. You don’t have to have every room in your house match. In fact, I am considering naming my rooms in my house to give even more individuality. On Pinterest, I have seen people make beautiful plaques and put them on the doors. Some people name their rooms after plants, which is an idea that I love since I have such a huge garden that means so much to me.
The Power of Color Strategy
My next piece of advice for if you want to enhance character from a more vintage home or create that energy in your newer home, is to have rooms that are memorable by color. I know I said we painted the house white. But not every room-
We painted our green room a beautiful, rich red! And one of the previous owners painted the dining room red to match its original state! Red is a very hard color to pull off; however, if you feel the room has enough light and the right energy, it is so worth it. Here is our dining and green room. You could even call them sister rooms.
Furniture is such an important part of telling the story of a home. From the cabinets to the rugs to the chairs. Our home will be 100 years old next year, and I am so excited! With a 100-year-old home comes 100 years of paint as well. So I am starting on a journey of stripping paint from doors and cabinets. Here is one of our closet doors, which I stripped and sanded and refinished. It is not perfect, but now it at least closes!
The Value of Investing in Quality Furniture
The furniture we have invested in is not all intended to recreate a vintage time period. However, it is intended to create character. These are some of our best finds! First, we have this couch from Wayfair! It is massive in person, and we were even sent an extra piece due to some damage on the initial delivery! This is one of the only pieces we bought new. Everything else is from- you guessed it. FB Marketplace! This book taught me so much about one of the best design styles to ever exist. I learned so much about quality in materials, how things are made, and the history of design and how it changes over time. This book gave me so much insight that I feel like Miranda from The Devil Wears Prada in the scene where she berates Andrea over her sweater.
Create your Muse
For me, I imagine two people. A young, popular woman in the 1920s who just got married, and this house was her wedding gift, her husband sets no limits on her allowance, and she loves to impress her friends. The next person I imagine is a chic older woman in her 60s who lives in a nice town like Pasadena. I imagine her father was a doctor, and she is a retired archeologist who tends to roses and stray cats. I have these two avatars as my muse. What would they do in this time period? What would they say about this new light fixture? Sounds crazy? Maybe, but it grounds me, and since I am only 25, I don’t even really have my own taste yet. All I know is Pinterest, so this strategy really works for me.
When you are trying to preserve charm in your home don’t kill the ghosts of the people who lived there. To preserve character is to preserve the memory of the time periods that came before you. Thank you for taking the time to read my post. Please comment your thoughts I would love to hear from you.