Name: Ray and Patricia Hamm
Location: Llano, Texas
Size: 2,100 square feet
Years lived in: 12 years
Money is no object when it comes to decorating Patricia’s house. That’s because it doesn’t matter if she has money or not, she will find a way to make her home fantastic. Living in the small town of Llano does not afford the luxury of big city shopping, but it does inspire creativity. Patricia has a knack for sniffing out bargains, hunting down treasures throughout central Texas and transforming junk into jewels.
We first noticed her charming green house when it was painted pink, or was it yellow? The exterior has changed several times over the years, but it is always thoughtfully adorned with a smidge of whimsy. The front door of Patricia’s house is painted bright pink with a giant set of clock hands attached to it (for no reason but fun). The outdoor sitting area is decked out with polka dotted cushions, a black chandelier, and a painted mirror.
Patricia is fearless when it comes to DIY decorating and is likely to act on an idea the minute it grabs her (hence, the pink living room walls). One day she got so tired of her grass cloth walls that she painted one room bright pink and the other in monochromatic gray stripes. She taped off horizontal lines without bothering to measure and mixed various shades of gray with leftover paint. Another time, she ran into Marshall’s to use the restroom and came out five minutes later with a mirrored dresser found marked down. Did we mention that her husband Ray is very understanding?
Patricia, the owner of Whimseys antique boutique, shops estate sales almost every weekend to find goodies, keeping some of the best for herself. Because she is always discovering new materials and pieces, the ideas never stop coming and her home is a constantly changing work in progress. We were amazed at her ingenuity and resourcefulness in the way she arranges her found objects into artful displays. She garners collections of ordinary things like toy shovels, doll heads, tarnished trophies, and croquet balls into extraordinary centerpieces. The end result is a home that is vibrant, full of personality, and just a little bit cheeky.
AT Survey:
My style: Fun. Work with what you have. Don't get caught up in a style. Just because it doesn't work for someone else, doesn't mean it won't work for you.
Inspiration: Magazines and my friends homes.
Favorite Element: Windows. Each room has at least two. All the bedrooms have three or more. Many windows are double or triple.
Biggest Challenge: There is not a lot of wall space because of the windows.
Biggest Embarrassment: I haven't touched the second bathroom.
Proudest DIY: Doing the den walls. They were wood paneling. I just bought a box of mud, went to the garage and found a trowel, and started filling the seams and giving the wall some texture. I then faux finished the walls.
Biggest Indulgence: Granite countertops in the kitchen.
Best advice: I do a little decorating on the side and most of the people want it to look great all at once. Don't wait until you can afford the expensive sofa, chair, rug, etc. Work with what you have. Start today. Don't be afraid to do the work yourself if you can't afford to have it done. You might surprise yourself.
Resources:
Appliances: Frigidaire Professional Series Stainless
Hardware: Target, on clearance!
Furniture & Accessories:
Living room - Grey chairs and mirrored side tables from Target (on sale), large picture frames from the trash with art pallets from garage sales, mirrored chest from Marshalls ($299), black concrete urns from Whimseys (my shop), china cabinet from my grandmother, all white porcelain collection from garage sales over time, trophy collection from garage sales and Whimseys.
Dining room - Glass top table from the White Settlement Sale held in Austin once a year ($125), hot pink chairs from Marshall‘s ($165), silver plate collection bought at various garage sales, mid-century buffet ($10) from estate sale and painted black, vintage wheeled table base from Warrenton antique market ($60). The glass table top was free from somebody at an antique sale. They said “take it” and I did!
Master bedroom - Black leather chairs from Target on clearance ($100 each), night stands from Hobby Lobby ($13 each 80% off), chest of drawers from a garage sale and painted black ($20). I don't like a lot of stuff in the bedroom and prefer it to be spacious.
Guest Bedroom - Antique chest inherited from my great grandmother, antique leather trunk ($25) from garage sale, architectural piece from Warrenton antique market ($75). I collected the old metal beach shovels at various garage sales because I love a collection of anything!
Second Guest Bedroom - I love the antique armoire ($400) and so does everyone else. People keep asking to buy it when I get tired of it. The child’s Sunday school bench at the foot of the bed was $2 at a church rummage sale and the old glass sign I bought at a local shop ($25).
Lighting: Living and dining room chandeliers from estate sales (one is spray painted hot pink), living room lamps from Marshall’s ($29 each).
Flooring: Original hardwoods.
Rugs and Carpets: Living room rug on clearance at Target, zebra rug from Round Top antique market (yeah, it’s real and cost $1200), brown shag rug from Target on clearance 75% off.
Window Treatments: Grey linen drapes from Pottery Barn Outlet ($5 each).
Beds: Black platform bed from Rooms To Go($399), iron bed in guest room from a garage sale ($125). I bought the other antique bed at an auction and had to bring it home in the back of a Cadillac. Always take a pickup when antique shopping.
Artwork: Paintings in kitchen and den are done by my good friend, Linda Wallace. I love her artwork. The nudes in the bathroom were bought at a church rummage sale (love the irony).
(Thanks, Patricia!)
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I love the cabinets with the display windows. I have no idea what they're called, but they're awesome! And the shovels are cool too!
Love this house!! It looks like a very creative person lives here and filled their home with things they love and always keeps an eye out for good deals. I want my house to feel the same way! Love the artwork in the "Always kiss me goodnight" room!
This house tour makes me feel funny inside. I need to digest it! Definitely unique and creative!
Just a bit too much faux painting in some of the rooms for my taste - but the rest of it is crazy-COOL.
FUN! I love it, just my style, creative and irreverent. I don't have as many elaborate collections as you, but then again, I don't shop antique markets for a living, and I would probably bring a lot more home if I did!
Love love love.
My oh my!
This place it OTT, in a GOOD way.
I love that Patricia goes full steam ahead in her approach to decorating, and that when she likes something (mirrors! croquet balls! Fiestaware pitchers! shovels! trays! the color pink! whatever!!!) she -- like a true collector -- does not know the meaning of 'enough.'
This has got to be one of the most unique homes I've seen. It's been so much fun looking at all the pictures. I love the 'bouquet' of paintbrushes and the charming telephone nook and the clock hands on the door and ... everything!
This is crazy fun!
So many styles in one house. Oh, and how did you get your husband to agree to that pink?
I love the outside...very nice.
i love it all! i have similar tastes and similar collections. i love all your display cases and glass domes and jars. awesome collectin' :)
I feel like I would walk into this house, become dizzy with excitement and glee, and knock something over immediately.
I am so envious of your collections! So much cool stuff, and so well displayed that it doesn't feel cluttered at all. Love it!
I admire the confident, no holding back approach she has to decorating and all the fun, whimsical elements. The outside is fantastic.
It is very Alice in Wonderland, and I think that is wonderful. It is absolutely not to my aesthetic, but it shows character, warmth and wit. Most places in magazines and sometimes on these house tours are showcases to affluence and financial achievements. I am thrilled to see a place that is testament to personality over price.
So many styles in one house. Oh, and how did you get your husband to agree to that pink?
There's a certain breed of man who simply doesn't see decor. He can tell if a fuel mixture is running rich, or if a saw blade needs sharpening, but things like chandeliers and curtains hold absolutely zero interest for him so they almost become invisible, despite that fact that they're hot pink and shiny.
This isn't a criticism. It's just something I've noticed.
Blandwagon: I am not disagreeing with your observation about men who don't notice decorating, but I feel it's on fair to give a little credit where credit is due. I met and talked with Patricia's husband, Ray. He seems to support her decorating passion completely by painting furniture for her, filling in at her antique shop, and dragging junk around in the pick-up. He talked about this house as if he was proud of it and his wife for making it so special. A very sweet couple indeed.
I'm starting to think it's sad that we all assume someone had to "get" a man to "agree" to pink walls or similar decor -- I initially thought my husband would dig in his heels when I tentatively suggested we paint our bedroom a rosy pink, and he thought that sounded perfectly nice. Of course, when a room on AT is praised as being "masculine," no one ever asks how the decorator got his female partner to "agree" to it, or whether female visitors like it (if he's a bachelor). I guess the best thing to hope for is to stop assigning genders to colors and design styles, and just get people to appreciate good design regardless of who they are.
I lived in Mexico City for one year and there was a design shop there that had hot pink walls just like this. They had it filled with all kinds of silver accessories, and it was so amazing, that I would make a point just to shop there so I could spend time in the pink room. I've never had the guts to do it in my own house, but after seeing this..... I might just take the plunge. This has to be one of my favorite house tours! Not just the pink room either...all the rooms!
I love it! So weird in all the right ways! : )
Well, sometimes those decorators with "masculine" interiors don't *have* female partners, for one thing. :)
I could do without the big bowl o' doll heads, though. ESPECIALLY in the dining room.
i love pink.
Are you kidding? The dining room is the ONLY place for a big bowl o' doll heads!
Other than out in the front yard festooning a tree, of course.
Yeah, Patrick, I know there's a whole other set of issues in light of gay men being stereotyped as "girly" decorators, so pointing out that a place is still masculine can make sense... it's just that of my friends recently noticed that on AT (and most design blogs), after the attractive qualities of a space are described, the sentence will sometimes end with "yet still masculine!" in a way that makes it sound like "phew, not too many girl-cooties all over this one." That ends up giving the impression that a space being "masculine" is the highest compliment, as if good design is somehow inherently female and that's a bad thing.
Not that writers/commenters actually believe that; it's just a quirk of language that can leave a bad taste in my mouth. And again, I think it's too bad that we always naturally link up gender with certain styles.
Llano? Really? For readers outside of TX a house this creative and spicy little house is a true gem, situated in a small and conservative central Texas town. Awesome!
I bypassed this tour several times because I'm not into hot pink and thought it wouldn't hold any interest for me. Boy, was I wrong. There are too many wonderful elements here to list, so I'll just say it's magnificent and leave it at that. I'll also add that I covet just about every object Patricia owns. Damn.
Wow. This is a collector's home, to be sure. I like a lot of things here but the exterior is my favorite--just perfect.
Absolutely love! Great mix of modern and vintage collections. Only think the kitchen and livingroom is a little bit masculine for my personal taste. Love the outdoor sitting area too! Thank you for sharing, I got some great ideas for displaying some of my collections.
I normally try not to post negative things on AT, but I have to say I agree with Patrick (the other one). I've seen plastic doll heads displayed in other homes and to me, it just screams "CREEPY!"
On a positive note, I think the use of gray in this home is lovely.
Love it. Seeing interiors like these are refreshing. I'm sick of the 'Dwell' look - pretentious modernism.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Usually houses w/ too many collections are too cluttered but she's done it right. Love the mix of modern and antiques. I especially love the fact that everything didn't cost a fortune.
I LOVE this!
Especially the fishbowl of doll's heads! ^^LOL^^
And the mirrors, the shovels, the paintbrushes in the urn, the framed palettes...
I'm a collector (packrat) so this is very inspiring. I couldn't live with pepto-bismol walls, but kudos to Patricia and her husband for being fearless.
The outside is awesome, as well.
Love it. Here is a link to a little bit of my whimsey. If you need to see more, let me know and I will post a link.
http://www.dwelement.com/blog.php?post=149
This is the woman Christopher Lowell would have married, if he wasn't...you know, on the other team. LOL.
sophiahelix--
Interesting response. Thanks for taking the moment to respond. I don't disagree!
I'd add that on the spectrum, "masculine" and "feminine" space descriptors come *mostly* without judgment, but when the adjective is "girlie," it starts to come with the kind of connotation you describe.
Funny, though, that I've had female clients who use "girlie" as either ultimate goal or pejorative...
I think there *are* interiors that are are sooo frothy, pink and lacy that they make (some) men feel like a fish out of water (for the record, I don't think that at all about Patricia's place) in the same way there are "bachelor pads" that do the same for (some) women. I guess we've just not come up with any better way to describe these attributes.
Thanks for the dialog!
Baby doll heads? Not sot much. Barbie doll heads? Yesss!
The dining room is making my heart go THUMP THUMP. So beautiful and fun, fun, fun!
Also, I'd do a very bad thing for that outdoor space (here in Chicago).
Love all the layering of colors, style, and textures. Great house tour, thank you for sharing!
Great post, Misty. Keep up the good work!
I like the aesthetic generally, but there seems to be at least 10:1 ratio of non-function to functional items. THAT would drive me nuts! Very fun for a retail store, though.
When comments on other house tours mention a needed 'personality' on a home...well, this place has it in spades! When I saw the pink room in the first photo...I passed by this tour a couple of times. When I took the tour, I loved it. I can't say I like all the collections (dolls heads), but everything is displayed with a very creative eye in unusual ways. The mirrors lined over the mantel is a great idea, and the brushes planted in the urn...I could go on, there's so much I like. I really love the exterior green color with the black and white accents. Outstanding collector's house.
Isn't that what you say when you are trying to talk someone into a blind date... "He/she has a lot of personality?"
I do like a lot of this place a lot. It's exuberant.
I don't always get the rustic/glam combos, but you gotta give it to her for going for it!
If this were a blind date...it would definitely be a keeper. :)
...was...
"were" is actually correct. :)
Wow. Yes OTT in a good way.
Patricia!
I truly love your home. That pink is gorgeous!!! And so is everything else.
BTW, I have the same Clown Cookie Jar! It was in our family home for 55 years on top of the fridge. And now it is in my kitchen.
Love your style, panache and love of all things groovy.
You're an inspiration! Now I just need a bigger house to diplay all my treasures as you have.
Love the mix of traditional detailing and bright funky colors in this house. I need a zebra rug like the one in the pic.
Wow - your house is a trip! My Mom would be in heaven and would enjoy your collections immensely.
yikes, this is waaaaaaaaaaaay too "whimsical" for me. totally don't understand mixing Americana with, like, fairy decorating. can't find anything that I could live with, but hey, if she likes it....
http://mylittleapartment.blogspot.com/
The pergola on the exterior is amazing!
Only in Texas can you mix the creepy suburbs of Edward Scissorshands and the gothic whimsy of The Addams Family with lady-like charm and little theatrical sense of humor. Bravo, I love it(...that porch screams sunhats and "sangrias"!)
I love it . . .but I wouldn't want to to dust it or live in it.
There are SO many things in this house that are clever. The first picture looking into the dining room is stunning! I am not big on that pink color atlhough I do like pink but the texture of the wallpaper is nice. The pink in the dining room is lovely just not in the living room for some reason.
I like the jar of doll heads and the glass enclosed trophies and the mirror outside.I wish I could think of such clever ideas when it comes to decorating.