Name: Sarah
Location: Austin, Texas
Almost 4 years ago, we bought a tiny, crooked 30s bungalow in Austin, Texas. The plan was to straighten it up and try to add as much space as possible. Our budget was limited but we were tired of moving and wanted this to be THE PLACE.
With a lot of elbow grease and the help of a flexible contractor, we were able to level the house, expand the downstairs and add an entirely new upstairs!
Everything we did was very simple, the main goal was to just get more space. However, I'm an artist with a very particular aesthetic so we found creative solutions wherever we could.
The layout of the house had been two tiny bedrooms, two small bathrooms, a cramped, dark living room and kitchen/dining combo. It is now a huge, airy living room (we incorporated one of the bedrooms into the space), a guest suite (downstairs), a huge kitchen/dining/sitting area, a brightly lit stair case made of huge windows, a lovely, light master bedroom with extremely high ceilings and an office nook, a large yet cozy bedroom for our daughter (the converted attic with a slanted ceiling), and three clean, simple bathrooms.
We got all of the space we wanted but were able to keep the character of the 30s house. I am a collage artist and I think that reflects in our color choices and decor. My husband and I painted each room in our house ourselves. My previous jobs (gallery assistant, prop stylist, graphic designer, artist, teacher) have enabled me to pick up wonderful pieces for not much money. It also helps that I have an unlimited supply of my own art (seen in a lot of these photos, e.g. the piece behind the dining table, the "Onion" piece over the sofa) and have great artist friends who like to trade. My taste is heavily mid-century with some funky bits thrown in here and there. I grew up in a house that was entirely furnished in uncomfortable Empire furniture. This is my way of rebelling.
Thanks, Sarah!
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Very charming!
Love it.
Great space! Where is the fruit stand from?
Cute place, but I don't think it looks much like a bungalow anymore.
Your artwork behind the dining room table made me stop in my tracks. Gorgeous!
is that rex ray in your dining room?
It's a bit eerie to see a house I've been in show up unexpectedly on Apt Therapy. I've always loved your home (and your style!) and L's room is just the best! It was good to see y'all at SLICC the other day!
Hi! Sarah here -
Wow, what a surprise to see this. I thought I was "applying" and didn't expect to be posted so soon. I wish I had taken better photos!
To answer questions - the fruit stand is from Target. I got it during Easter season a few years ago for something like $15.
The piece in the dining room is one of mine - I make digital collages. www.sarahgreenereed.com
Thanks for the compliments. And, hello to my friend Sarah who wrote a comment!
Hey Sarah! Love the rug in the living room - any idea where you bought it? Thanks!
Your work is beautiful! Love it.
The gray "grid" rug in the living room is from IKEA. The "chain" design rug in the sitting area in the kitchen is from www.worldmarket.com.
Lovin' it!!
Love this!!! Art is fabulous and where is the rug in the LR from??
I have to admit I love studs. I see studs on your twin couches! Where did you find them, they are sooo cute. And the baby's 'crawl in" space looks so comfy, I could crawl right in there and take a nap myself!
Also love your digital artwork and the hanging lamp. Awesome!
Thanks! The couch was my big coup. I knew I wanted a vintage vinyl sofa so I kept typing that "vintage vinyl sofa" into Craig's List about once a week until one day it appeared! It has an awesome third section which makes it an L-shape, but too big for the space. So, I'm saving that for later.
The hanging lamp is from Room Service (great vintage store in Austin). The rugs in the LR is from IKEA (I have 3 matching ones scattered around the living room).
And, the "crawl in" space, or tent, in my daughter's room was an exercise in making lemonade out of lemons. That was a weird indented space that had doors to our a/c and heating unit. It was hideous, so I used a duvet comforter from Target hung on a dowel as a backdrop over the doors, an old futon with a fitted sheet on the floor, a bunch of IKEA and Target pillows, and two IKEA cheap-o curtains on a wooden dowel to enclose it. (Also a little IKEA kids wall lamp in there to provide some cool light.)
I want that lampshade!
Next to your bed, is that a giant slice of carrot cake encased in plexiglass? Because if it is, that is just awesome!
hearthheart
Chairs are amazing,
you are so talented. I went to your website but I don't see any pricing on the artwork.
I wish I had your sense of style so I could change the way my bungalow looks.
thought you had a voodoo doll above the sofa. there's something that creeps me out about a sofa with its back to a window
LOVE LOVE LOVE the pictures in the dining room! I want them!
Thanks, everyone!
The cowboy lampshade is reproduction and is from a vintage shop in Charlottesville, VA.
The dining chairs are original (except for the end one which is from overstock.com - great place for chairs), they once were in a speakeasy in New Orleans!
That actually IS a piece of cake by the bed. It's a sculpture by Lisa Ludwig (real cake - no oil or eggs - but real otherwise and sugar icing).
Your eyes are not deceiving you, organizetips, that's not a voodoo doll hanging above the sofa but it is a little cardboard man with moveable wings from Hatch Print Show in Nashville. He hangs from our fan.
itairplane, thanks for going to my web site! If you want to email me via the "contact" page I can tell you pricing for my artwork. Everything is printed in editions of either 5 or 10 and they are priced by size.
Again, thanks! This is fun!
If I had cake next to my bed I would wake up in the middle of the night and want cake. I am very suggestible that way.
Love the house, hope to see it in person at some point! Love Claudia