Name: Steve Thornton & Nancy Ostrander
Location: Seattle, Washington
Size: 1048 square feet, 378 of that is the basement
Years lived in: 11
Steve and Nancy live in the Green Lake area of Seattle. Steve works for a non-profit social services agency, Solid Ground. Nancy works at City Peoples’s, a garden and hardware store. Their charming 1958 home has retained a lot of its character because they purchased it from its original owners, Chellis and Nympha Easton. I was told to make a point of mentioning that they “are SO PROUD to own a house built by a guy named ‘Chellis’, with a wife named ‘Nympha’.” Some aspects of the home underwent an unfortunate 1980’s makeover, but they are doing what they can to bring it back to their vintage aesthetic, mostly inspired by 1960s Sunset Magazine.
This couple has many interests and it is reflected in their home. Both are avid photographers, anglophiles, world travelers, and music appreciators. Check out Steve and Nancy’s flickr sites to see some of their photos. To say they are collectors would be an understatement. Though Nancy claims she's done with collecting, some of her past interests include vintage Christmas LPs and 45s, 50s & 60s chrome postcards of motels and modern architecture, Instamatic cameras, Photo books, and vintage cookbooks and pamphlets from the 20s-70s. Steve's collecting habits over the years have made him the proud owner of many records, books (especially Vladimir Nabokov and Kingsley Amis, over 100 items by each), more books, and a large collection of Russ Berry figurines (those terrifying off-white big-head figurines with big eyes and slogans like "I Love You This Much", "I'm Sorry" and "I Mith You"). You will forgive me if I stop here... the list does go on. They have found several clever ways of displaying/containing their collections throughout their home while making the most of their space. I am most impressed by their “archives” in the basement. Custom built shelves by Kerf Design beautifully house their many books, pamphlets, postcards, maps, etc. In the office, formerly a tiki bar, many of Steve's cameras are on display. A portion of Nancy's vintage china collection is exhibited in the kitchen. Regretfully I visited their home in late fall and missed out on photographing Nancy's spectacular garden in its prime. This time of year their living room is super cozy thanks, in part, to the vintage electric fireplace that was once a fixture in Steve's parents home.
AT Survey:
Our style: Post-retro comfort modern
Inspiration: Sunset Magazine issues from the 1960s
Favorite Elements: Dorothy Napangardi Western Desert Dot Painting, all the built-in cabinets, the garden, corner window in the living room, 1980s Tetley pub sign, dual-flush Australian toilet
Biggest Challenge: Avoiding kitsch. Undoing some of the damage done to the kitchen in the 1980s. The gorgeous cabinets will stay, but the ugly, peeling vinyl floor and the scarred beige countertops will go. So will the about-to-die refrigerator and ugly stove. We'd also like to have more than one electrical outlet in the room!
What Friends Say: I love your bathroom.
Biggest Embarrassments: Moss on roof, bad 80s kitchen counters, dated kitchen vinyl floor, grease on kitchen ceiling, crumbling aluminum windows, fading exterior paint on metal siding
Proudest DIY: Steve designed and built the side fence and bluestone patio!
Biggest Indulgence: Dorothy Napangardi painting
Best advice: Buy fewer but better things. You really don't need to get every record you see in a thrift shop with a cool cover, in fact you probably need to stay away from thrift stores. Also, don't put a flat-bottomed sink in the bathroom. It looks cool, but then everything in the water precipitates out while it's slowly swirling down, so when the water's gone, all your toothpaste grit or whatever is still there.
Dream source: Mod furniture we can't afford. Kobo at Higo, an old Japanese variety store that's been turned into part-Japanese-variety-store-museum and part stylish Asian and Asian-American design and furnishings shop.
Resources:
Kerf Design: Custom shelving in bathroom and basement
Richlite: Black countertop in the bathroom. It's actually a natural product, resinated paper. It's the same stuff your high school science lab counters were made out of!
Seattle Environmental Home Center, now Ecohaus: They are where we found the Richlite, the vintage-style linoleum in the bathroom, the magic Australian dual-flush toilet, and a few other odds and ends
Connor Remodeling & Design: bathroom remodel
Antika: Eclectic mix of British inter-war and midcentury modern furnishings and housewares
(Thanks, Steve & Nancy!)
Images: Molly Anderson
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What a charming,warm and inviting home. I would love to spend an afternoon reading a novel next to that fireplace.
This is such a warm and lovely home and shows your interest and travels nicely.
I think I like the living room the best because of colors, layout and light. Not my style but appreciate the 1950's charm and I like that the kitchen was not slicked out but retained the warmth and charm of kitchens in the 50's.
good lord...
those avocado green couches, those lamps, and that "fireplace" make me want to run screaming from childhood. EEK!
Did like the display of collections. I just don't get the "Sunset" nostalgia, I guess... if I want to experience that, I can go back to my parent's mid-century "danish modern" (ha, back when it was still modern) Eichler in Palo Alto...
I love the bathroom! And the desk/shelf thing with the plan holders! It is a little too diligently retro for my tastes, but very nicely put together. Love the stove too!
Oh this is wonderful, love how it was all done and does NOT look like a museum, more about mid century contemporary than true</I> modern but still, the effect is very much what many people did in houses much like that back in the day.
Very nicely done, the couches I think are more Olive green than true avocado as that shade of green would come later, like late 60's into the 70's.
Either way, love what has been done to give the house a subtle update and yet be true to house's roots.
There's been such a flurry of house tours lately and they've all been great. The beauty of it all is that all the places I've seen lately have differing styles. You've really done a terrific job of keeping with a vintage style that doesn't at all seem cliche and have modernized certain elements of your home without blurring the overall identity. I guess you could call that "retro." But retro seems so forced much of the time. This place seems timeless and you guys look great in it.
Love the outdoor shots - beautiful plantings!
I'm glad they kept the kitchen as is, but some of the collections are a bit much...the painting over the jukebox freaks me out.
Love it! I have that same Norwegian coffee service in pic 24 :)
Yay for a great Seattle home!
Thank you all for your comments. Yes, we're trying NOT to be too aggressively retro.
There's a story behind that painting; my father, who worked for Boeing, commissioned a company artist (who only painted pictures of jets) to do a family portrait for my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary, c. 1975. He worked from snapshots, not life, and since the people in the snapshots were naturally all different sizes, he painted them the size they were in the photo. So, big heads next to tiny heads. And he couldn't do eyes, so no one has eyes. It's very creepy indeed, but it's my family!
I'm not embarrassed about Claudine Longet!
I love the family portrait. It makes me inexplicably happy.
I think what I like the most about this house is the "comfort" part you mention. I feel like this is the kind of place I'd totally want to hang out.
And thanks for the links to those resources, I live in Seattle too (West) and will have to check them out!
I love this little place. The creepy photo over the awesome jukebox (that is a jukebox, right?) is fantastic and just so unique. The kitchen cupboards are great and look solid and would work so well with any sort of update you go with. I'm curious as to what kind of flooring you're going to replace the vinyl with.
Great place. It's just the kind of style that says you love your home but also hints nicely that you're not out to please anyone but yourselves - you like what you like - and that's the best way to decorate. :)
Different people favor different things. I enjoy this Apartment Therapy website precisely because it shows how different individuals make homes using the approaches that THEY love. Love is the magic ingredient that makes spaces combined with furniture & objects merge into something special and whole. I love this home, and no, I wouldn't have done the place that way myself, but that doesn't matter; it is a wonderful place and makes the owners' vision and interests shine out
Steve and Nancy,
Your place is lovely!
Great house!
Love this house. HOWEVER- did this couple actually say "in fact you probably need to stay away from thrift stores."? I've seen the couch and lamp at my local salvation army (bought the lamp for $3!) 5 times over, and the picture above the jukebox? Eeek. These people need to take their own advice.
Maybe you've got better thrift stores than we do, Radioriot. The picture? Read above.
OMG that is exactly the house I'd love to own someday. GORGEOUS!
Great stuff especially the fireplace, old photos, and shelves under the stairs. Nice art too; the Venice-esque piece about the fish tank caught my eye.
Carpet in the bathroom is a bit weird although probably warmer than tile I suppose.
fnarf, I'd say so. Flint, Mi is an Eames mecca. It was only until I went to a Florida thrift store and only saw Cuban Grandma mirrored things that I found myself feeling very lucky with Michigan. "Staying away" from thrift stores seemed odd advice, considering the majority of their house looks like it was furnished from one, and that's why I loved it.
Love this! Reminds me a lot of my grandparents house, but without the plastic on the furniture LOL! Your home also uses more restraint on the kitschy items....my grandparents had stuff everywhere...it was a thrift shoppers paradise. As much as I loved my grandparents house, I prefer yours much more and it is a look that I strive for in my own home. Thanks for the inspiration.
Can you give the source of the tile in the basement?
Great home! I'm a big fan of the Kerf shelving in the bathroom and underneath the staircase. I also love the jukebox but I'm biased because we have the exact same Seeburg model.
Thank you for sharing!
@district5 - That's actually linoleum in the bathroom.
@jef613 - The tile in the basement is original to the house.
And as for the thrift stores, I'm taking my own advice and staying away these days (we've had quite a few years to accumulate stuff, you know). The couch didn't actually come from one, in fact none of the furniture was found at thrift stores. It's all been cobbled together from parental cast-offs, vintage resale stores, antique malls, estate sales, and Crate & Barrel.
Thanks everyone for your comments!
Oh Seattle! This takes me right back home. The pictures are spot on for that great misty Seattle light! Love your home, it made my day! I MISS running Greenlake every morning, What a great community. Thank you!
Love the place, especially the kitchen.
Such a lovely, cozy home.
Can you tell me anything about that painting in your living room - the one with the bare trees and moon? I love the style and colors used in it.
Steve and Nancy,
If you're still reading comments, could you provide some information on the (brass?) sculpture of what appears to be buildings bordering a harbor? Is it a C. Jere by chance? I love it!
This is a really interesting house. It feels a lot like my grandparent's house (they also lived in the Seattle area, in Bellevue in a house of similar vintage). Sadly that house was torn down during the housing boom of the early 00's and replaced by a pink stucco monstrosity that takes up the entire lot.
It's not a look that I'd necessarily go for - I like midcentury, but prefer more updated colors - but I do love seeing homes on AT that actually look like people live there.
thank you AT and the homeowners for a refreshingly real house tour. not everyone is a designer/architect/artist with dwr budgets. i LOVE your personal taste and adoration for your family treasures.
makes me feel good about my home and all its quirks, imperfections and long to-do-list.
I feel like I just step back in time and I am looking at my Aunt and Uncle's home! Your home would make a perfect movie set. Except for a few updates, your home is spot on. It's like you took over Chellis and Nympha's furishings too.
That chimney is stunning, how lucky you are to now own this lovely property of a Chellis & Nympha! :) It really seems like a warm house...I love Greenlake, I have a brother living in Ballard, but Greenlake is beautiful. One thing I really love are the low ceilingsin your home, I guess since we don't have it in our home, ours is a lot newer, built in 2004, but I admire low ceilings, it changes the mood of the entire room. My husband would love that English Tetley's beer print, he has an entire beer glass collection from all over! I barely have room in my kitchen cabinets anymore! We are actually moving to Seattle next Spring and starting at UW, so hopefully our new place will have some of this retro- coze feel to it.
What a beautiful and relaxing place to be,I wish I could live there,I would never leave the house. I like the bookshelves and all the nice colors. The tiles in the kitchen are great.
This reminds me of my childhood. Especially the kitchen Our set was green and we had yellow and green tile floors. We thought it was beautiful.. I love it when people live for their own comfort and satisfaction, Decorate for your own sense of beauty and style. Thats why we all call these places "Our Homes", because they reflect our likes and dislikes, Good work I love this
The ironwork on the fence in your yard is absolutely beautiful and I love your colorful, somewhat wild landscaping!
this reminds me too much of Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Gales house - ugh.
I can take 'some' retro but not the whole shebang. Looks like a flip out from I dream of Jeannie. BUT if they love it - It sure is green. :>P
have fun!
Kimp
Reading and looking at the images of this Apartment Therapy blog (a few days after it "hit" the Internet) I find it totally uplifting. Molly, you did a wonderful job of capturing how two creative individuals co-mingle in a truly inventive living environment, inside and out! My hats off to the owners and to the author!
Saving the picture of the under-stairs storage with the desk pullout. Someday - when budget allows - I am going to do something similar.
Please tell me the name of the fireplace! This is what we have been looking for. Is it gas or wood? Doesn't matter really...we just need to know who made it and where to get one!
Thanks
Coletta, that fireplace looks electric.
I love homes from that era they are so well built. The cabinets are likely 3.4 inch plywood, they don't build anything like that anymore - and your basement stairs solid planks of wood....cool. I really like your home, nice job and the garden and fence are fabulous too.
Me likey very much.
That one little detail of the round cubby holes on the side of the bookcase with the orange doors is delightful! Just the kind of place for sketches and posters I can't afford to frame!
The entire place is like a day at the most awesome theme park for me.
I like the bookshelf under the staircase. Great use of space!
cristin @ simplified bee
Reminds me of a cleaner, updated version of what my parents wanted their house to look like. Slightly "homier" than just a magazine shoot. I like it a lot.
@ steve and Nancy
again, please tell me the maker of that fireplace.
gas, wood, or electric...I have to have one! the corner in my house is begging for something just like that.
thanks
What a lovely, charming home.
Wonderful home, just oozes personality and warmth. I love the family portrait (now that I know the story behind it!), the room-divider shelves beside the sofa and the fantastic built-in under the stairs... and oodles of other details.
Was going to suggest Linoleum for your new kitchen floor, but I suppose you are way ahead of me there.
Best of luck with your on-going project.
Brilliant! The first time I saw a Mid-Century Modern interior celebrated for its vintage style was when Metropolitan Home showcased Betsy Johnson's place back in the early '80s. Retro was not a term people tossed around back then, and the appeal of Betsy's home was the way her furniture (which most people still considered kitsch) looked beautiful when displayed in sparkling museum-quality perfection. It looked great, but it was so shake-and-snow-toy-perfect that it seemed impossible for Betsy to actually live there. Twenty-five years later, Steve and Nancy show us how to live authentically Modern.
Love this house as much as I love Seattle!
That fire place is sooo cute. It looks original. I really really like that painting of the people looking into the ocean. Oh man, what a wonderful piece! Thank you for sharing!
The owl pictures - the table clothes -the table lamps - the furniture. I think my mother-in-law has come back and decorated this place! Still cleaning out her place - call me - it's yours - no charge.
The Tetley's sign, the kitchen tile back splash & original cabinets, the under-the-stairs bookcase (with a large number of Nabokov books), the corner window, the funniest family portrait ever ... I love your home!
A little too close to Sunset mag for me. Just throwing a laptop into vintage does not bring the house into the present day. Getting rid of the raw-cow-flesh colored tiles in the kitchen should be right up there with counter replacement on the to-do list.
The "indulgence" on that painting was a good choice, though. Very nice.
I love the flooring in the picture with the bookcases underneath the stairs. Does anyone know what this is?
Thanks!
I really like it. Big fan of colour and you used my favourites! Avocado green couches! :D Awesome!
The floor looks like lino
Any ideas on the gray print by the fireplace in the first photo?
Yes, Kushkush, the horrible vinyl floor in the kitchen is the house's worst feature. Even more charming are the cigarette burns scattered across it (we don't smoke). It will go away someday. MW17, the floor in in the basement is cheap-o linoleum tile, original 1954 style. Filt, the print is a silkscreen by "Jillian Field", about whom I know nothing except that she was born in 1950. You see her prints show up on Ebay every once in a while, and I imagine there are many of them in thrift stores around the country if you want to visit every single one! That's where we found ours.
Yes, the wall sculpture in the living room is an authentic! Jeré, bought by someone at the old Frederick & Nelson store in downtown Seattle. Portofino. The original owner even taped a newspaper article about Portofino to the back. Still probably our greatest thrift score. Original Jerés are highly sought after and go for literally DOZENS of dollars!
The most cheerful kitchen ever!
The color on just the outer stair treads is a terrific detail. Perks up the staircase but doesn't make it too busy.
Love the house! Can you tell me where your shag rug is from? I've been looking for one but can't seem to find anything quality. Thanks!
I can't believe there's someone on this thread who thinks having parents that own a mid-century house is a bad thing. Nostalgia as a character flaw? That's just wrong. I am here to only praise such nostalgia. We live in a 1950 home (Fullerton, CA)that is one of a kind on our block. We have a collection of over 30 Sunset books from the 40's to the 70's that cover every subject and is an invaluable resource for decorating, inspiration and for providing a sense of NOSTALGIA!
My wife and I admire your efforts to preserve what was original to the house and marry that with your own kitschy-contemporary design style for a perfect mesh. Kudos.
It looks so comfy!
yay! i love finding AT house tours in my neighborhood!
Very adorable living space, begining with the garden and the living room. The sofas remind me of something we had at home when i was a child and used to open to a bed i never saw it again. Some of the artwork is old posters i wonder if they are photographers where is their art??
Royalcopley, I'm with you re the comment from the person whose parents live in an Eichler home. I'd move back in with my parents if they owned one ! Love Steve and Nancy's place and how it looks so 'well used' and not in the least 'staged' .. as so many mid-century makeovers tend to appear.
This would be my nightmare home. Horrible all around. :(
your home reflects the fun people you must be =)
Just found this post...I am in love with your house. It's like the perfect blend of my grandparents house pre-remodeling and an individual quirky, minimalist style...
i just "pinned" on pinterest so many pics from your house - so charming! the surfer/beach picture, the owls, that fab fireplace. so nice.
Interesting how polarized people are about this house. Personally, it's one of my favorites on AT -- it's all I can do not to creepily beg for a real live house tour (don't worry, I live in New England). I grew up with Sunset and a kind of longing for a mod aesthetic (but we made due with whatever was cast off and free). And my extended family had kitschy cottages up in Maine which gave me an appreciation for like, the linoleum you don't really want, but it's there, and after a while, you kind of start to feel like it's your buddy. Anyway, I love it, and I can't stop thinking about how bad I want TUBES behind every shelf I own!
Someone says this is their NIGHTMARE home?! Hahaha people are crazy dramatic!