I would say that I "love" the stairs, but that's not a strong enough word. Seriously, those are the crowning jewel. Everything in the house is amazingly put together. While I try to steer clear of objects that are just pretty (they usually need multiple purposes outside of decor) I must say you did an excellent job using them. Bravo.

I love this... I love everything about it... this is amazing!!

What amazing ingenuity and creativity! Those stairs are amazing! And I think your advice is the most useful I've ever come across. Thanks for sharing your home.

Your place is amazing. Each room invites you to come in and relax. Like you, I also incorporate old signs, letters/numbers, and other general antiques in my decor. I loved the pillow made from a coffee bean sack.

While this isn't my taste, I admire all of the ingenuity! The pallet desk in her blogging office is fantastic, and the cloud and stars headboard is something I'd love to try for a kids room.

There are some really nice aspects of this home (the desk in the office is GORGEOUS), but in general I think all of the old beverage/gas station/signage stuff is overkill.

Just because something is salvaged doesn't mean it needs to have a giant Coco-Cola logo on it.

I agree with both Anna Europe and DC Girl. So much creativity, but there's a little too much the "old-wood-with-writing" for me. However, I applaud her originality.

Yay for CANADA! Excellent use of reclaim materials, well done. I like this type places.

yay bc! what town are you in? i'm near vancouver. love your house and you can-do spirit

Amazing work. Can't wait to go check out her blog.

Absolutely fantastic! Genuinely eclectic and quirky without being a red hot mess like sometimes happens. Coherent style and beautiful colours from the vintage wood and signs.

Recently found Funky Junk myself. Her blog is fun and full of personality! Good Find.

I would feel like I'm living at the Anthropologie store, but I have to hand it to her for her creativity.

What a great place with so many wonderful details! Also, lovely dog.

oww...damn splinter!

Can I move in. I would feel right at home in this house, amazing. So many ideas I plan to steal. Thanks for showing off your beautiful home.

I love this home...so refreshing to see a house without the overdone antlers/50's wannabe look.

amazing. you did a great job putting all the pieces together!

Homes like this make me unsettled. I start questioning the plethora of items with a purely decorative value ... but then a collection of blown glass would be purely decorative ... however, it could be justified as art, as differentiated from crafts or cool junk ... and does that matter ... and is it salvaged when it is made into a craft with no durability ... and when does decor become just clutter ... and yet isn't the creativity and uniqueness just beyond judgment and to be appreciated for itself ... yeah, too many questions so I find no serenity in such surroundings!

It's already been said but it's worth repeating- those stairs are awesome! I also covet an office desk that size and love the use of the ironing board as shelf/light holder. Thanks for sharing both in the tour and in your blog!

This style reminds me of my childhood in the southern USA -- Tennessee, Georgia, & Alabama. There it's referred to as "poor white trash" decorating. Using what you have to make your home comfortable and repurposing what you have to meet your needs. It's the comforts of home and lack of formality that give it charm.

Some good highlights. but in general it's overkill.

dint this qualify as a green tour??...shabby chic yes,,and with all the savaging done..it is a great green (renest) tour i guess

This is great. Very original and lived-in. It's refreshing to see something that doesn't look like it was "designed." I hope to see more of this type of independent spirit in the Seattle Apartment Therapy. Hopefully we'll get away from the IKEA/ WEST ELM school of design.

Formosa, I'm an hour east of Vancouver, so I could be your neighbor. :)

Thank you everyone for your kudos and opinions! FWIW... I do alot of switching around so there are photos of some of my more favorable elements in the lineup. But not everything is displayed all at the same time. (ie: not so many signs :) )

Donna
Funky Junk Interiors
http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/

Wow. I love the vintage/rustic/industrial look (I wouldn't mind living in an Anthropologie store). It is amazing that behind your fantastic decor is a rather "normal" house with popcorn ceilings, typical modern windows and baseboards, standard ceiling height etc. (but can barely see it anymore). You have done an unbelievably stellar job at converting the your house into a rustic gem.

This is awesome. Perfect example of really living with what you love. Really nice to see a home that is so personalised and individual, after all, that's what a home is all about? Creating a place that YOU love :)

And it just happens to be a nice bonus when it looks SUPER COOL!

This house oozes with creativity. I don't think their is a "signage overkill" at all, but rather a "vignette overkill". Your home is lovely and the shed in the backyard was my favorite part of the tour, saved the best for last!

there*

this looks like a dressed up salvage yard! And that not an insult! It looks like lots of hard work and love went into it and id love to look around but id want to buy things off you!

I think that all of the advertising crates all over the home take away from the uniqueness of the stairs. If I hadn't seen all of the crates, the stairs would have SO much more of an impact, and much more of a conversation piece. So it makes it feel like your home is full of advertising materials. I think I'd absolutely be in love if you had just done the stairs. Instead of a feeling of, 'oh great, more advertising crates.' I do LOVE that desk, and everything else you've done.

For me personally, it's too salvage-yard-y - I'd prefer a little here and there, but I envy her ability to take risks. I love her projects and her blog!

I like this wonderfully creative place. The cohesiveness of the style is exquisite.

Wow, what a fantastic place! Even though it's not my style, the overall look and feel of the house is gorgeous! And I am beyond impressed with your DIY skills!

Wow wow wow!

Best House Tour Ever.

I definitely have to applaud your creativity and your ability to create. Thanks for letting us have a look at your home!

65 pictures and I wish there were more! Your house is simply AMAZING! You have a talant that you've must to good use!! Love it!

There is so much that I love about this place!

Love the title. Love the place. Even though it is 'overkill' in a sense, there is a repetitian (sp?) of elements that make it cohesive. Really cool to look at.

Love the tea on the dresser, and on the bed tray. Looks entirely doable, along with being just a sumptuous look.

Amazing... you can have the most creative house in the whole universe and you will still get negative comments on AT. But there are only like 2 here, which has to be some sort of record.
Thanks for letting AT post this, and now I have a new blog to read!

Negative comments or creative critisism? I like all that salvaged stuff but there is way too much so it just looks overwhelming & "muddy". The peices are so well executed that they actually look fake, like the stuff you see in a Cracker Barrel store. But that's just an opinion.

Wow. I don't even know where to start with this one... it's so unique! My favourite part is the cloud with stars hanging down in the bedroom. I love that you have flowers everywhere!

so many great ideas! i am a total thrift store junky but i see so many things and think thats cool, but what could be done with it, this woman knows the answer! very inspiring!

When I start right clicking and saving EVERY SINGLE PICTURE, I know I love it! Sometimes my thrifting projects get lost in the translation, whereas yours are linguist quality. Thank you for sharing!

I'm incredibly impressed. It's so rare to see a home that doesn't let major retailers do most of the styling. Donna has crafted a home top to bottom- truly original.

Donna, thx for the BC Dingbat reno! I lived in the exact same house design (as did a million others in BC) in Victoria.

What's interesting is that this is the house of a sign painter. She created everything in the house EXCEPT the large gold and red sign in the playroom. The stairs were not made of advertising crates. She made the stairs, THEN painted them to look old. Donna did all this on a budget of pennies. Well done!!! Ann

This home represents creativity & an execution of many unique & ORIGINAL visions. That's what separates a designer from a decorator. Anyone can decorate a home based on inspiration from another but Donna is a visionary & a true designer. Thus we see HER home on Apartment Therapy where it very well deserves to be. Bravo, Donna!!!!

There's certainly an excess of words painted on wood and as others have noted, this makes it an overload. There are too many things that are decorative and without function. I think the place would benefit from some serious editing. Yep, it does remind me of the Cracker Barrel Restaurant chain. I'm sure there was a lot of talent and effort put into her home but it's just too much stuff.

I loved looking at all your unique items, the way you switched around things on your mantle>I am amazed at how someone can look at a rusty old thing, put it in their homes and it looks wonderful. I am not artistic like that. I guess I live in the middle of you and Fomosa...Abbotsford is my town so I bet you hit the Mcc's here.........have you ever been to Creekside? I see they get a lot of their stuff from MCC's.

I have been receiving house tours from apartment therapy for over a year but this is the first one that made me want to comment! I love your house. When can I move in? I am a BC person myself so it really wouldn't be too much effort to pack up and move in!!!Thanks for the inspiration.

I like some of it alot. but I agree with the "editors" that there is too much of a good thing in the painted wood, useless, but interesting, objects.

I'd feel very comfortable in this home!

As another from the south, this is pretty much southern shabby chic. Go into almost any antique store/juck store in Lousiana, Missisippi, Arkansas, etc., this will be the look. There is a lot of it I love, but not the faux flowers, and things just for decoration. I was very excited to see something other than MCM, but this is just a little to predictable.

Wow, what a creative person you are! Your home offers endless inspiration. Thank you for sharing it.

What an awesome ability to see something old/rustic and making into something so inspiring!!! There are so many things to praise about though my favorite is the bedroom and desk...FanTAStic work!!! definetly going to check out more of those projects. Thanks for letting us see your home!

I am totally humbled by your creativity!!!!! HUMBLED!!!!!! I am simply amazed at your abilty to see and use so many things in a new light- I have to open my eyes more now!!! lol!!
MAJOR KUDOS for the freshest home I have ever seen here!!!!!!

I LOVE your kitchen - it looks fantastic! I love the look of old crates. I don't like trying to get them clean and get rid of any odors they are harboring. That said - your tables, crates, steps are the PERFECT answer for me! I'd love to attempt these steps into a garage apartment we are building. (BTW- Was at your blog before taking the house tour. So sorry about your cat - your memory book made me cry! Prayers to you!)

Barn Yard Trash Chic!!

this house is love!

Some great stuff - but way too much, which kind of spoils it

I love it all. So creative.

That is a beautiful place. But PLEASE get rid of the flooring in the living room. With all that old wood, that probably fake wood flooring looks bad.

I'm thrilled my home tour is receiving so many comments! But I'd love some help.

By too much stuff, could someone please offer up what YOU would do yourself in a certain area you view as problematic?

I'd like to attempt to edit it to try it out but I'm uncertain what you're referring to. Thank-you if you wish to help!

Donna
Funky Junk
http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/

LOL Meindert! It's 100% real hardwood flooring. The 'bad looking' real deal will be staying put. :)

Donna

You are amazing, you know that Donna? You made a TV stand out of wooden pallets!! I love love your place!

Wow. Donna, you are incredibly talented. Like way out of most people's league. You made all this. That just blows me away and my husband and I design and build stuff too. The level of creativity and skill required to pull this off is not going to be really understood by anyone who hasn't built furniture of a house by hand. The light, creativity and flow is a delight. Thank you for showing us your home. Major inspiration!

I, too, am totally floored and humbled by Donna's creativity. You go, girl!!!!!!!!!!!
So funky.

Holy wow! Why am I just finding out about this awesomeness now??? I love these ideas, and I think I'll be bleary-eyed tomorrow after staring at her blog all night!!

such a creative home! Like it a lot, great work.

Love this!

Really wonderful.

Just fantastic.

i think this is amazing. it is completely impractical in some aspects and some moments feel like i am in a booth at an emporium. but more important is that it inspired me!!! it's so creative and thrifty and heart-made. love it!

I bet all the folks who think this is a bit overdone are lifelong Southerners like me. It feels like the inside of a Southern antique/junk store. I've seen antique drink crates and signs my entire life on restaurant walls and in homes, and it's lost its lustre for me.

That said, I love some of the smaller, practical applications -- the ironing board desk lamp, the bracket file holder, etc.

wow I think I will have to spend hours on this house tour. It needs a fine tooth comb to get through it all. Looking forward to it.

I bow to your creativity. So many things and yet it looks neat and ordered. I love it. I'm a former sign painter myself but never thought of anything like this. I truly love the bedspring as memo board, i will definitely steal that idea eventually! and the curtain draped over the hanger, I dont like the hanger, but I love the poufy valance part. Kudos,kudos,kudos!

Kudos indeed. I'm smitten. It takes a very special kind of person to develop such creative and marvellous relationship with things around..everything feels so loved.

Wonderful aesthetic. My favorite spots for finding treasures is about the same. The vintage logos on the stairs are almost too cool to walk on. Greatness all around.

I don't know how I missed this house tour! The DIY creativity is inspiring. That pallet TV stand was the perfect solution for us - we built one this afternoon. Your blog is one of my new favorites!

In terms of the "clutter"- if you don't feel it's cluttered leave it. If you want a change, remove everything and then put back 1/2 of it...that's what I do when I feel my decorating needs an edit.

I missed this the first time 'round.

I love, love, love the stairs. But (and perhaps this is because I'm not a fan of weathered vintage cutesy look) it looks like the entire home is one huge vignette.

It's not my home, so it's not really important what I feel, but my opinion is that it's too much. The really brilliant parts of the home are sort of lost in the shuffle of way too many similarly styled vignettes. Nothing gets a chance to shine. Which I think is a shame, because there are plenty of high points if you want to sift through all the stuff to find them.

This is one of my favorite tours ever. I had become a fan of Donna's when I happened upon the tutorial for that super-awesome twig chandelier in the kitchen. I love everything about your home, Donna. If you surround yourself with what you love and you're happy and comfortable living there, then there is nothing wrong with it.

Absolutely amazing! I love everything about your home. The pallet desk was your first project that I came across. That made me take note and I've been watching and learning ever since. LOVE what you do!

Beside "Apartment Therapy," I subscribe to only one other decorating blog: "Funky Junk." And now you know why . . .

I Absolutely Just LOVE your bedroom especially the dresser.
Kelly

What's with the bowl of peanuts on the bed? But you do have some amazing skills.

I absolutely love the stairs - I hate coke but I'd happily tread on the slogan!. You are wonderfully creative - and your reuse of items is fabulous. Thanks for sharing your home.

The creativity displayed is really impressive, and I enjoy the roughness of so many of the furnishings and accessories- but if the owner truly loves that aesthetic, I think it might look a bit more coherent with a little bit of attention paid to the house itself- refinishing the flooring, window trim, cabinetry, etc. Some of the photos really make the builder-grade style of the home stand out instead of the funky things she has filled it with.