Name: Jason, Meridith, and their two kids, Wylder and Arlo
Location: Clinton, Oklahoma
Size: 3,000 square feet
Years lived in: 1.5
When you think about the state of Oklahoma, hip loft living isn't usually what comes to mind first. Well, this family isn't exactly cookie-cutter and they've done some serious renovations to make their home top notch. Even though we're in the middle of showcasing our smallest spaces, this one is anything but. So trust me when I say, "You simply must see this space!" Oh yeah, and those shelves behind the family — totally handmade and the glass in them? Well, it's from the local jail, of course!
Apartment Therapy Media was first introduced to the Smith Family a few years back with their stop motion video of their first pregnancy and again more recently with a new video when little Arlo came into the world. The family does more than make videos, they have a blog, a webstore full of handmade goods, and one of the most amazing Midwestern homes I've ever seen.
In a world where small spaces are cool spaces, I have to admit, I'm absolutely drooling over their square footage, hardwood floors and the results of the insane DIY renovations that they undertook along the way. So often folks fill every last inch of their space, but not here. They've worked hard to keep things uncluttered and wide open for extreme (livingroom!) skateboarding sessions.
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In addition to taking our tour, make sure you hop over to Flickr and see what this space used to look like when they were just getting started. Ready to hear more about the process? Keep reading below as Jason takes us through the ins and the outs of their lovely loft!
Apartment Therapy Survey:
Our Style: Whatever interesting things we can get our hands on in this tiny western Oklahoma town to reclaim, recover, or completely make new. We make a four hour trip to IKEA for most of our other needs. Stylistically, we are in a constant state of compromise as I lean towards modern and she towards comfort.
Inspiration: The seemingly unaffordable big city loft style living....and Domino magazine (God rest its soul.)
Favorite Element: The giant Main Street facing windows, unlimited parking and open floor plan make it the perfect place for get-togethers, live concerts and the occasional hometown parade watch party. The open floor plan also makes for a pretty stinkin' fun ride on the official house skateboard for me and Wylder.
Biggest Challenge: The question is almost comical because of the constant challenges, but a short list would include:
• jacking up the floors to level them
• the life sized game of Jenga my bro-n-law and I played to uninstall the former weight bearing fireplace to build the new one
• lifting 18ft several hundred pound beams to the ceiling via a pulley system all by myself after stripping out the former ceiling
• heaving the 8x6ft bullet proof sheet of glass from the old local jail's line-up room up the stairs to put in the bookcase....all of which were done while being completely sleep deprived.
What Friends Say: I feel like I'm not in small town Oklahoma
Biggest Embarrassment: Either the times when the innocent pedestrians climb our stairs in search of local shopping, only to find us eating cereal in our underwear, or the smell of the local wiener factory that wafts to our windows on an occasional summer night's breeze.
Proudest DIY: Oddly enough, Meri's proudest was one of the easiest: the chalk board refrigerator. Mine is either the 8x5' skylight we built from scratch (that only flooded our house the first two rains) or the massive project of harvesting, milling, and drying my own domestic black walnut to build the double sided 14x18' bookshelf that centers the 8x6' bullet proof glass (from the old local jail's line-up room).
Biggest Indulgence: The eight, 7' tilt and turn hopper windows that run along the front wall took a pretty big chunk out of our budget.
Best Advice: For the renovation, make friends with as many craftsmen and builders as you can that are willing to give you constant advice. As far as decorating, make friends with as many artists and designers as you can.
Dream Sources: Anthropologie, Herman Miller, Pinch
Resources of Note:
LIVING ROOM
- • Sofa: vintage from The Bargain Bin Used Furniture (next door)
• Rug: Urban Outfitters
• Day bed: laying in a yard by the curb in Meridith's Mom's neighborhood
DINING ROOM
- • Dining Table: India
• Dining Chairs: Meridith's Grandpa
KITCHEN
- • Island: local restaurant supply
• Island chairs and shelving: IKEA
• Dishware: Fiesta Ware
MASTER BEDROOM
- • Headboard: made by Meridith
• Dresser: vintage from a relative
• Chest of drawers: vintage
• Fan: vintage
• Side table: Target
• Lamps: vintage
• Lamp shades: Urban Outfitters
• Chair: found on side of road
• Bedding and round mirror: IKEA
BATHROOMS
- • Tubs: vintage
• Floors: Daltile from Lowes
• Furniture, sinks, mirrors: IKEA
NURSERY/GUEST BEDROOM
- • Platform bed: Walmart
• Crib - Target
• Chest of drawers: vintage from a relative
• Maps: vintage from a school auction
• Fan: vintage
• Bedding: IKEA
• Crib bedding: made by Meridith
TV ROOM
- • Couch: IKEA
• TV stand: random, crappy piece we ended up with
• Shelves: local school auction
• Rug: Lowes
WYLDER'S BEDROOM
- • Bed: thrift store
• Chair and rug: IKEA
• Kitchen: repurposed by Meridith
• Dresser: vintage
• Toy Chest/window seat: handmade family heirloom
MISCELLANEOUS
- • Window treatment- IKEA
• Loft Ladder- repurposed
• Ceiling lighting- IKEA
• Floors- Pine tongue and groove box car siding from any local lumber store
• Chandelier- reclaimed painted brass chandelier
• Coat rack- made by Jason
• Bookcase ladder- made by Jason
Thanks, Smith Family!
Images: Caleb Wilkerson from iamgravelveins Photography for Smitty Baby
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White Enamel Flatwa...
Completely in love. OK representing!
I haven't even taken the House Tour and I love it already. :)
I am in love. And, as an Oklahoman, we can be pretty hip.
Amazing. Love it all, especially the use of colour!
This is spectacular! Please tell how you managed to do all of this in a year and a half, with a child and expecting? I am up here in Kansas trying to do something similar and was hoping you could tell me the source for your windows, please. You are an inspiration!
I love that song.
My favourite house tour EVERRRRR. This is incredible! Love all your colour and space and natural touches. So cozy, warm, family-friendly and fun. Thank you so much for sharing.
Looks great but.....dangerous for kids. Open stairways? Low-barrier lofty balconies? Finger-pinching dining room chairs (probably not comfortable chairs either)? Could name other not so child friendly stuff but don't want to digress. Oh, yes, those stair treads that serve as storage could also be a neck breaker if the lids were left open by error. I'm just the type that walks through a space and automatically pick out what could happen to kids in such a space.
Holy jawdropping wow!
Sigh...Magical! Seriously. Mad respect for the tons of DIY and commitment to fun and function.
This is ridiculous. Ridiculously awesome.
Sigh.
love the sofa..and the brick walls are amazing..
maureen
Absolutely gorgeous--you've completely blown away any preconceived notions I might have had about small town living! I love your colour choices, mix of styles and clean use of space.
But jeez, what is with the Parent Patrol?
Helgaj, don't you think the Smith's are more concerned with their children's safety than you, a random stranger on the Internet? I imagine there are some baby-proofing measures usually present that were not considered appealing enough to photograph for a design blog. Chill out!
I'm ruined forever in the knowledge that no place I ever live will ever be as cool as this home.
My favorite element is the huge shelving in the living room.
Another thing that stood out (even though it's such a small detail) is what you did with the mirrors in the bathrooms... love how the wood frame doubles as a shelf :) Brilliant.
And the windows/curtains in the master bedroom. Oh. My.
how did you do this?
it's amazing! i'm stunned!
Your place is AMAZING! I love all of the fun things you have for your kids - the loft area, the "official house skateboard" and the mini drum set! How fun! I actually signed up with Apartment Therapy just to comment on your place (this is my first! :) Love it!
My dream space!
Awesomesauce! Love it! (And makes me not feel so badly about loving Ikea; I've noticed AT and its readers have a love/hate relationship with the store.)
Love everything but the cutesy pillows.
Normally...
I would rather not go back to the old house. There's too many bad memories. Too many memories there...
But in this case I'll definitley make an exception.
Kelly F- The windows are a new window by Marvin. Call Travis at CBS in okc.
HelgaJ- You are so right on. We have completely designed our home around a plan to get DHS to take our kids away. It hasn't worked yet. I guess our next step is to stop being good parents & pray our kids will disobey & not do what we ask them to. It sounds like you might have some tips on that. Please help us with more. ... And btw, I'm just being sarcastic. However I still love you as a human and if you ever need anything hit me up. Seriously
Thanks for the compliments everyone!
Jason, home owner
oh SNAP!
Dreamy. Le sigh.
Everything is so colorful and amazing. Love the pops of red and turquoise throughout. The painted claw foot tubs are to die for, and that staircase is stunning. Job well done!
Thanks everyone! Your comments are so nice! I am very grateful to get to live in a place that I love. My hubby has worked very hard, making it a perfect home for our little family. Come see us!
My God, does that look like a lot of work.
OK, this is the coolest house ever. Great job. Amazing.
Simply amazing, I love it.
This place is a surreal, alternate universe of perfection. Awe inspiring.
This is incredible. So much inspiration there. Congratulations !
I love this so much I'm almost angry that I can't have it. Was this originally a house? Are the doors with the windows original to the space? Everything is so well edited. I love love love it! And the kitchen! So beautiful!
Wow, so amazing, so inspiring. And when I first flipped through the tour and saw the label "guest-nursery", I thought, What, their place is so huge they have a guest room for visiting babies?
This is so brilliant it literally makes me dizzy. Just wow.
I really love that place too. Since there are bricks, I am conquered.
This would be the best place in the world to grow up.
I think it's every kid's dream to have a huge open space like this to play in! I can think of so many games to play on that wide open floor space!
just, wow. there is nothing in it that's not amazing. i'm taking with me some inspiration for my own (albeit much smaller) open-plan loft.
Unbelievable! Would it be weird of me to move in?
uhh this totally is my dream home. especially cuz it'd be SO FUN to be a kid growing up in that house. love it!!!
Couldn't be cooler. Love the colors and how the wide open space still feels cozy.
this is insanely perfect - i love everything about it, so jealous. Hard work but worth it, what a lucky family!
'sigh' I'm SO uncool.
Just wow! So beautiful and so much fun! Great use of unexpected elements, like the red chandelier over the stairway and the cool pops of color on the bathtubs (and so many others). The wide open space is amazing, yet it looks very warm and inviting. Very cool.
FLOORS.
You could do whatever you wanted in that space, and it would look amazing because of those floors.
I love this.
Wow! Absolutely outstanding! I felt your soul and your creativity in everything you intentionally put into your home...what an amazing place to truly LIVE! Beautiful family too!
I just looked through the photos again and had to add that the paint colors are perfection. Rich saturated colors, punctuated with light walls here and there, and those painted ceilings - it's the perfect complement to all the brick and wood and windows. I think a lot of people would have just gone white, and this is a million times cozier and more interesting.
wow
Jason, I love you as a human being and I need you to make our house as wonderful as yours.
Really, wonderful job and those are lucky kids to have so much comfort, fun, love and talent around them. Great use of the double sided fireplace also.
Amazing and inspiring!
Love every inch.
Swoon
Oh.....this is wow. Having 2 children the same age I am a little envious of the beautiful space you provide them, the best place to dream and play. My husband being a musician he will go nuts whan he sees this. You have stellar style. Thank you for sharing, this is inspiring.
Love the purple and blue clawfoot tubs!
Those floors are so beautiful I could lick them. I have 2 small children myself that would just LOVE all that open space to play and imagine.
It's amazing how you managed to make such a large space so warm and intimate. I will absolutely be coming back to look at this as we continue to restore our 100 year old brick bungalow. I think this is my favorite home tour ever.
I loved every bit of this place! Gorgeous! I'm definitely filing this away in my inspiration folder. :)
My new little family is about to move into the top of an old downtown building in mansfield, ohio and this is so inspirational! The apartments are just like this with all the space and exposed brick. Mansfield is the third cheapest place to live in the nation, not all bad, and right between cleveland and columbus.
I think living in small towns can be so worth it! You can have more money to travel and decorate and awesome space like yours. I live in a city now and a place like yours either doesn't exist here or would cost well over two grand a month.
Oh Smiths, I love you. I would ask to be adopted into your family but my name is so not cool enough!
Perfect hipster house, i want in.
The strong yet detailed woodwork throughout the home is what makes it for me - we're talking shiver down the spine love. That and the awesome vintage furniture. Overall it's a masterpiece.
My only advice would be to keep haunting the salvage yards and second hand stores for light fittings - those passe IKEA lights are the only flaw in this place.
Oh dear. This is too good. To me the Smith's have the ultimate family home. Enough space for everyone to breath but open space so the family isn't in thier seperate worlds. It's cozy and warm even though it's huge. It has so much character but not over done. I kind of agree with blandwagon about the lighting. There's always room for improvement somewhere but really, this place is nearly perfect! Thier children will love living there up until the day they have to leave home, but why would they want to?!
Love to see great things in my state! :) This house is just amazing and incredibly inspiring. My hometown is another small town in NW OK and there is a downtown space that I've been daydreaming about redoing - great to see that someone has done it so well!
I didn't want a husband or kids until I saw this post. Thanks for ruining my fun single time, Smith family!
ronswansonsmoustache LOL!
super love your place!
I love everything! I'm not usually for large expanses of brick, but this flows so well. I love the use of color.
The music room is brilliant! I love being able to see the backs of the pianos and the guitars on the walls, awesome.
The storage in the stairs is wonderful. We're very storage deficient, so being able to see any of these creative solutions is super helpful. As for safety, any kind of old-school clasp for cupboards would do to hold them closed - or even the magnet holds for entertainment units.
Anyway, I love it! :D
The work you did is amazing but I think the place is too big.
I am so in LOVE with your place I want to marry it. The floors alone had my heart fluttering. Then all the cool little details...amazing. The children's area is really delightful and if I were a kid I would totally be climbing up that ladder to hang out in the loft bed all the time. I'm just curious what you are going to do when they get older and need more private space. Still...OMG! It's gorgeous. I also love that your home is in Oklahoma..it's almost like a "who knew?" moment. :) OK Love Home Ah! :)
<----- riddled with jealousy
I love your home! I live in a studio and I can't keep it clean at all! I imagine you use a cleaning service for such a large space! :)
one of the best house tours ever, great kids space, great colors, great music room, you guys are so lucky
The green couch, the bright-colored tubs, the blue folding chairs, the ladders everywhere... SO COOL. And your family is adorable, to boot. Thank you for sharing. :)
Forgot to include paint colors. A few people were wondering...
(All Sherwin Williams colors)
Main walls, bedrooms, and bathrooms-
Grizzle Gray
SW7068
Entry, play loft, studio-
Intense Teal
SW6943
Ceilings-
Tame Teal
SW6757
Kitchen wall and TV room-
Edgy Gold
SW6409
Wylder's room-
Argos
SW7065
Wow. This is absolutely amazing! I'm not usually one for exposed brick and loft-ish space but wow. It just works.
And that couch. Wow.
Love all the colors but the bathrooms with the bright tubs are by far my favorites.
Wow, it's my dream house! You're making me want to move to OK right now! I love all the colors, the furniture, rugs, EVERYTHING. It's impressive how cozy it looks when it's so HUGE!
As for how to get rid of those adorable kids, have you considered giving them broken glass to play with instead of toys?
Dream. Home. Want. Jealous!
I don't like the open shelving in the kitchen.
Having said that, this place is seriously cool! I love everything else! Every thing.
My college-age daughter and I are coming through Clinton on our way to California next month. We are long-time (35 years) loft-dwellers from Manhattan. Can we bring you anything? Love your space!
Cool place!
Fantastic home. Love it! I recently traveled to Oklahoma and I'm not surprised there are homes like this over there. I just hope these guys were out of the path of the recent tornadoes.
Totally amazing - a dream home for kids and adults alike, you must be so proud!
Did you reupholster your sofa? If so, what is that fabric..? I love it, and all the rest.
What an incredibly wonderful home! I already loved it, and then I saw the photos of the area with the musical instruments -- perfect!
I love your lounge! I also really like your fun playful colour choices.
What an imaginative and playful space for the kids...and adults! The ladder that leads to the enclosed loft with window is perfect for fun and hours of play. The stairway storage is fantastic! This home is clearly geared for a family that really enjoy each other...and has style, too.
The sheer expanse of this - those acres of polished wood floors - actually creeps me out a bit. I know it's awful of me, but I pictured Wylder zooming around in a Big Wheel and coming upon twin girls in that entry hallway ... "Come and play with us!"
I just can't imagine living in such a space.
Okay, i had to re post it. couldn't resit. I wish there were more spaces like this in Australia.
I think this is the coolest place I've ever seen on AT--amazing! I love the colors you have chosen and everything from your bathroom sink to the chandeliers. What a lucky kid to have that loft space, too!
Absolutely breathtaking. Love everything about it but esp. the floors and those embroidered pillows - adorable. What a sweet family and equally sweet place to live.
Wow! Wow! Can I move in?
Wow! I am so impressed. I love it! It has a lot of cool features and not too cluttered......how could it be? It's huuuuuuuge! I love the pops of color everywhere and am extremely jealous.
I have to agree with whoever complained about the Ikea lighting just cause there is so much to love about vintage lights and the space is so big it could really showcase a unique one.
Can you explain how the stairs are decorated please and source the material?
thanks. well done!
How in the world did you do this with two kids?
Wowza! Love it all-kudos to you guys. It looks fab!
WHAT! This is insane. I just have thoughts of running and sliding across the floor in really slippery socks.
I REALLY REALLY LOVE IT!
There isn't a single element in here that I am not in LOVE with.
"Come see us!" Haha, when you're in your underwear, eating cereal? That very much amused me, but seriously. How epic is your place? Luckiest kids IN THE WORLD. Just goes to show you don't need the best city neighbourhoods and expensive schools etc etc, just a creative and loving family. + 100 points!
Cassium- Yes. A hot bowl of macaroni & cheese from Tipsey Parsons and some Mast Brothers chocolate from Brooklyn for me. I'll let my wife speak for herself.
Amazing!
My stomach hurts...
I am green.
Stunning! I love the wood and the colors. This may well be the best home I've seen on AT. Your kids will have wonderful memories of growing up in such a cool home (if they don't succumb to the wicked chairs and stairs. wink!).
Incredibly awesome!! So inspiring that you created such a space in Clinton, OK! It would be fantastic if more people would revitalize old buildings in small-town Oklahoma. Where I grew up in Oklahoma, the downtown is slowly caving in on itself. Kudos to you for all of your hard work! It is an absolutely beautiful place!
This is amazing. And all the more so that it is in OK rather than NYC. I love everything about it.
What an amazing loft and what lucky children! Love the pretty floors and woodwork. Great job!
If it's not too much trouble, could you show a better picture of the skylights? How big and how many? Without them, I suspect the back of your space would be very dark.
As a fellow Oklahoman, thanks for representing! Great space.
oklahoma is not only OK, but boy howdy ... that is SPECTACULAR!
everything. everything everything everything about this is a delight.
Oklahoma-Good Job!
this loft is absolutely amazing. so rich and full of color - i'd love to be one their accidental walk-ins.
and the music reference makes me really want smith as a last name, too.
Wow, this may be my favorite house tour of all time! Would almost make it worth living in Oklahoma:) (Just kidding, I'm in Texas and we are required by law to make that comment). What an amazing space!
I know I'm the 5 millionth person to say this, but I love the colors you used everywhere...and I can't believe you've only lived there a year and a half - it looks so polished!
I would love to see a floor plan since I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around all the little nooks and crannies...
Everything about this is amazing. Beautiful family as well!
Chiming in with the comment about the lack of white walls--it's really exciting to see so much stained wood and color used to such a great effect.
This house is amazing, inspiring, and just gorgeous!!! I really like the open shelving concept in the kitchen, we are building and seeing this, I am definately going with some open shelving. Love, Love, Love
This is incredible! So inventive and original.
where would I find the lights that you have hanging over the sofa?
IKEA used to have them. I don't think they do anymore.
My most favorite tour EVER. As a parent of a toddler, I think this space is brilliant... I can just picture a kiddo running in giant circles and enjoying every minute of it! The music room is akin to something my husband and I have been dreaming of forever... simply a wonderful and inspiring cozy family space!
Wow, what an unbelievably amazing and gorgeous house! I love how they have incorporated many spaces for the kids yet still have a grownup feel to the house!
OBSESSED with this place. Perfect.
This is so astonishingly awesome I have no words. The wood and the color choices and the amazing renovations. Gah.
Just discovered this house... Amazing! I spent so much time looking at all your pictures and got so many inspirations for my first home purchase, just closing a deal. I have specific question on flickr... If you are willing to exchange. Thanks!
Does Ikea own Apartment Therapy? There must be some kind of financial arrangement. Ikea furniture MAY look good but it is cheaply made. You can do better for the same price at flea markets, garage sales, thrift shops, and eBay. I furnished an apartment with antique furniture for less than it would have cost at Ikea and today the furniture is worth three times what I paid for it and still in great condition.
You guys have such an amazing place I can just keep coming back to this tour for inspiration. No doubt its due to all the DIY's involved. Great Job! Peace
Too cool for me. Even the whimsical details.