Kristie’s Thirties Tennessee Treasure

Name: Kristie and family
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Size/Type: 3000 square foot 1939 4 bedroom Cape Cod
Years lived in: 8

You may recognize a few of the views of Kristie’s Nashville home from this House Call post that we published last September. The comment thread was filled with requests to see more of this unique, true-to-its-roots house, so we are kicking off the 2010 house tours with a just that – enjoy the longer look!

Kristie is a professional stager, home stylist and blogger and her husband is a realtor, so this couple felt comfortable really embracing a vintage home and celebrating the style of the era in which it was built, no holds barred. They kept the original finishes when possible and when doing renovations, they have gone with things that would not have been out of place in the 1930s, such as a black and white checkerboard kitchen floor and booth-style breakfast nook. All of this style was procured on a budget – Kristie is a talented thrifter and they took the diy route for the home projects (including one or two that got a bit scary – see questionnaire below for details!). They call this home that they have slowly and lovingly brought back to life for their modern family StoneBrook, and since it was the inspiration for Kristie’s staging business, that company shares the same name.

Apartment Therapy Survey:

Our style: Enchanted Vintage. We prefer all things old, used, and well-loved. We recycle everything – “green” without even trying! We like our home to have a relaxed elegance, with a little bit of kitsch thrown in – something to remind us not to take ourselves too seriously.

Inspiration: Historic home tours, estate sales, illustrations from vintage children’s books, old issues of Domino magazine

Favorite Element: This house has soul because of the original features like the copper backsplash in the kitchen, the green/black tile in the bathroom, the Italian marble fireplace surround/mantel, the arches in the plaster walls, and the one original Art Deco light fixture that had been in a box in the basement for 40 years – and of course, the nooks and crannies.

Biggest Challenge: Embracing the period of the home and keeping the “granny factor” down at the same time! Also, restoring without messing up any original details and the frustrating lack of closet space.

What Friends Say: Some people thought we were crazy for not gutting the green-tiled bathroom and starting over, and also for taking the kitchen “back in time” by doing the floor in a checkered lino and recreating a breakfast nook. But most people are taken aback, in a good way. I think the nostalgia here is so powerful it affects some people on a very deep level. Kids seem to really love this house. They say it’s like a castle or a fairytale. Lots of great spaces to explore and hide.

Biggest Embarrassment: The shabby dinginess of the old cast iron tub and cracked tiles in the shower. My husband would say the time he built the bookcase for his office (the room with the cool star we stained on the floor) in 4 pieces. They were too tall to get up the stairs. He had to saw them down, so they went up in 8 pieces!

Proudest DIY: The mahogany-veneered countertop that we installed over the existing 1980’s laminate. After pouring the epoxy over it, we had to use a propane plumber’s torch to get rid of all the bubbles! Pretty scary, but the countertops and kitchen tabletop only cost us about $350 total – and that’s including the blow torch! Oh, and the breakfast nook, table, and cabinetry I designed and my husband crafted. And the bookcases and stained star on the office floor.

Biggest Indulgence: The living room sofa we bought 7 years ago. It cost $1700. Which is probably the combined total we paid for all the furniture in the rest of the house!

Best advice: Respect old houses – don’t rip out things without really thinking it through. And don’t just decorate the way everyone else does – do what makes you happy. It’s crazy how happy this house makes me.

Dream source: Great Aunt Mildred’s house (God rest her soul), estate sales, antique malls, a superstore for period kitchen and bath fixtures and tiles

Resources:

Entry
Round Pedestal Table – antique mall
Chairs – Yard sales
Painted Glass Front Cabinet – antique mall
McCoy and other Various Pottery – antique malls, yard sales
Hanging Light Fixture (looks like an underwater sea creature) – Hot Pink Boutique, Brentwood TN
Suit of Armor – bought it for my husband when we were dating, Nashville Flea Market
Painted Mirror – Goodwill

Living Room
Painted French Armoire and Dresser – antique mall
Painted White Round Table – yard sale
Sofa – Storehouse
Painted Rococo Mirror – Antique Tobacco Barn (we bought it on our 10-year anniversary trip to Asheville, NC)
Blue Ruffled Tablecloth – TJ Maxx (it’s actually a Christmas tree skirt I got on clearance!)
Yellow Wingback Chairs – Finder’s Keepers consignment store, had them recovered with clearance fabric
Blue Pillows – Stein Mart
Taxidermy Deer – antique mall (We didn’t kill it! We just recycled it!)
Cuckoo Clock – Harpeth Clocks
Paint – walls are Martha Stewart’s Window Box

Dining Room
Pedestal dining table – consignment store, painted cream over the blond 70’s woodstain
Jackson Press – paternal grandmother
Corner Hutch – maternal grandmother
Oil Portrait – curbside trash
Side Board – antique mall for $30, was the bottom of a broken 70’s dresser set
Mirror – Aunt PeeWee
Art on Walls – yard sales and antique malls

Kitchen
VCT schoolhouse floor tiles – Armstrong

Enclosed Sleeping Porch – I included a picture of it used as a dining area when we hosted a dinner party, as well as a picture of it how we usually use it as a family room – we’ve even used it as a dance floor!

(as dining area)
Hanging Paper Lanterns – Martha Stewart Crafts from Michael’s
Pink Bean Bag – Pottery Barn for Kids
Blue Birdcage – yard sale
Faux Birds – Christmas ornaments from Expo Design Center
All lighting – yard sales

(as family room)
Sofa – belonged to my Granny
Chairs, most pillows, light fixtures, wool rug – estate sales
Faux Fur Throw, Flower-Shaped pillow, striped pillow – Stein Mart

Master Bedroom
Chandelier – Gilchrist & Gilchrist, Nashville
Bedroom Suite – my PawPaw
Bedding – TJ Maxx
Lamps – JoAnn’s with vintage trim hot-glued on
Upholstered Bench – Marshall’s
Paint – walls in Glidden’s Skyline, ceiling in Fountain Sprite

Nursery
Upholstered Rocker – American Signature

Older Daughter’s Bedroom
Porcelain Reading Tub – original to the house, found behind a wall under the eaves
Bedroom Suite – Great Aunt Mildred
Bedspread – HomeGoods
Pillow Shams – Pottery Barn Kids
Paint – walls in Glidden’s Blue Heaven, ceiling in Porter’s Chamber Yellow

(Thanks, Kristie!)

Images: Kristie Barnett