A Designer’s Kitschy Yet Classic Austin Apartment

updated Feb 19, 2019

A Designer’s Kitschy Yet Classic Austin Apartment

updated Feb 19, 2019
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Bedrooms
Square feet

1100

Sq ft

1100

Name: Allison Crawford and pup Pierre
Location: Downtown — Austin, Texas
Size: 1,100 square feet
Years lived in: Renting 1 month

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Interior designer Allison Crawford hasn’t been living in this downtown Austin apartment very long, but her style (and the skills to put together so many eclectic pieces) is evident from the very first glimpse of her colorful, vintage-filled home.

Apartment Therapy Survey:

My Style: My style is vintage eclectic. I love to mix design classics with thrift store finds and big box store deals. I combine ultra contemporary with bold, kitschy and classic styles.

Inspiration: I was inspired by the burgeoning pop scene of the 1970s for this apartment. I love the bold colors and funky patterns of the seventies, so I took mid-century classics and refashioned them with a late ’70s early ’80s femininity. If a young Madonna could time travel, I hope she’d want to live here! It’s my “Material World” fantasy realized.

Favorite Element: For this project, I really indulged in my love for vintage so nearly all of the furniture is customized and vintage. The sofa was a shag orange with a wooden base when I found it, but I had it recovered in a knubby light pink perennials and the base wrapped in brass.

Biggest Challenge: I downsized from a four bedroom house to a two bedroom apartment, so I had to make some hard choices. I had to let go of some favorites like an off-white sectional from CB2.

What Friends Say: Friends gasp over the view and rave about all the natural light. The apartment is right downtown, so it’s a fun place to pregame for a night out on the town. Friends who know me well say that this apartment is so me because of all the vintage and bright colors.



Biggest Embarrassment: My sweet little Pierre has a big mouth, so I’m always embarrassed when he barks and disturbs the neighbors. Good thing he’s so cute…

Proudest DIY: The master headboard is a 1960s piece that was pretty beat up, so I spray painted it in a high gloss peach. It totally makes the room.

Biggest Indulgence: I’ve been pining after a pair of vintage Platner chairs for years. I finally indulged in these two and couldn’t be happier. Originally, I wanted to buy a pair and recover them in fuschia, but these two have the original Knoll fabric.

Best Advice: Buy what you love. If you don’t love it, don’t buy it.

Dream Sources: Design Within Reach, all the vintage warehouses in Dallas and LA. I’ve been dying to bring back Mexican Modernist pieces from the Lagunilla vintage market in Mexico City and to go on another sourcing trip for textiles from Indonesia. In a perfect world, I’d travel and source all of my pieces for my clients from artisans and markets around the world, like I do for my Chairish shop.

Thanks, Allison!


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