Irina and Daniel’s Colorful Vintage Menagerie

Name: Irina and Daniel Schaffer, and kids Lily (7) and Milo (4)
Location: Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood; Portland, Oregon
Size: 1520 square feet
Years lived in: 5 years; owned

Irina and Daniel, their two young children Lily and Milo, and their rambunctious dog Oscar, live in a whimsically decorated old home in Northeast Portland. Irina is an avid collector of vintage objects and jewelry maker (her jewelry line: Moss & Mirror), and has a knack for creating vignettes and wall galleries that incorporate all of her beloved things in a way that is fun and pleasing.

When the couple purchased the home five years ago, they were happy with the layout and most of the existing wall colors. The family moved in when Lily was a toddler, so the home has always needed to work for small children. Irina’s mix of thrift and vintage items, along with affordable practical pieces made sense for the young family, and Irina’s playful decorating style is both interesting to explore and fun to be surrounded by.

Our Style: Eclectic cozy vintage

Inspiration: The whimsy of Wes Anderson Movies, childhood adventure, the history being surrounded by vintage pieces with a story of their own.

Favorite Element: The lockers in the upstairs bathroom, the exposed brick chimney stack in the master bedroom, my backyard gardens.

Biggest Challenge: Bringing in vintage pieces that my dog and children won’t accidentally destroy. Keeping it functional and whimsical all at once.

What Friends Say: “I want to live in your house!”

Biggest Embarrassment: My fake “finished” basement. It’s a lot of staple-gunned sheets as “walls,” cheap-o rugs, and random Ikea cast-off furniture. It looks like a college kid’s basement apartment. But it gives the kids an extra place to run around.

Proudest DIY: Our backyard “treeless” tree house. Daniel and I built it over the course of a month and a half on the weekends last spring. It was the first building project we’d ever done. We now feel like we can build anything!

Biggest Indulgence: Most of our house is filled with functional Ikea mixed with reasonably priced vintage. Until our kids (and dog) are older, it seems unwise to invest in anything that could (and mostly likely will) end up damaged in some way. We’ve learned to be flexible.

Best Advice: Keep looking for things that make you feel inspired. I’ve spent years fine tuning, replacing and rearranging, and still change things on a monthly basis. I keep it interesting so it’s never boring.

Dream Sources: Grand Market Place and School House Electric. I wish I could live inside of a classroom from the 1920s, only it would include taxidermy and a chesterfield sofa. Urban Outfitters offers some modestly priced vintage inspired pieces when you need a quick fix and the right vintage piece isn’t presenting itself!

• chairs- vintage
• table- Ikea
• map – vintage

• table- Target
• chairs – vintage
• lamps- Schoolhouse Electric
• island- Ikea
• art – local, vintage

• shower curtain- Ikea
• shelf- urban outfitters
• crate turned shelf – vintage

furniture- vintage

FAMILY ROOM

MILO’S ROOM

LILY’S ROOM

• loft bed and rug- Ikea
• shelf crate- vintage

→ Share your home with Apartment Therapy: House Tour Submission Form

→ Are you a designer/architect/decorator? Share your residential project: Professional Submission Form.

→ And see all of our past house tours here

Follow Apartment Therapy’s board House Tours Apartment Therapy on Pinterest.

Updated daily with fresh tours full of photos for you to pin & enjoy!