Jaimee Dormer and her husband, Adam, moved to LA three years ago in search of new opportunities (and better weather) and have since created not just a home — but a truly unique space to work and relax. Jaimee, the founder of Coast to Coast Vintage, allows her love for color and patterns to run free throughout the space. Drawing inspiration from the ’80s to themed birthday parties, this creative couple’s home is one of a kind.

When Jaimee and Adam first moved from the East Coast, all they packed up were some living essentials, their two cats (Munchkin and Frisbee), and Jaimee’s Coast to Coast Vintage trailer. Arriving in California, the couple of 14 years were basically given the opportunity to start fresh when it came to their interior design — allowing them to really focus on creating the perfect atmosphere in their home. Three years (and a marriage!) later they are loving the way things have turned out. The next project? Maybe starting a themed motel or diner!

Our Style: We both have always loved a lot of color and patterns! Our old NYC apartment had a wall the color of macaroni & cheese that was definitely a…statement to say the least. Now that we’ve moved out to Southern California our love has increased tenfold and you can find color and pattern in every room! Basically anything that gives us “the feels” when we see it is purchased with no regrets, and seeing our home evolve from those kinds of purchases has been such a fun process!

We both work from home and are here a LOT, so it’s also important that we are happy, inspired, and comfortable. That feeling also extends to our cats, so they have tons of napping spots and little nooks to call their own! I (Jaimee) am very much the driving force behind the vibe of our home and Adam is extremely accepting of that, which I am so grateful for! Having a “theme” behind what I’m working on is almost a lifestyle for me — it organizes my brain in a way that is very soothing to me and guides my aesthetic. I think it might come from all the themed birthday parties I had as a kid — it adds structure to the creativity for me because there are SO MANY choices and options out there!

Inspiration: Oh man, so many things! The ’80s Memphis Design Movement, artists of the past (Matisse, Picasso, Joan Miró, Paul Klee, Gloria Vanderbilt, Francine Dressler, Pegge Hopper, Lee Krasner), artists of the present (Will Bryant, Kenesha Sneed aka Tactile Matter, Isabelle Feliu, Isa Beniston aka Gentle Thrills, Ellen Dusen aka Dusen Dusen, Lucy Sparrow, Kate Fanto aka Ruhling Woven, Kate Zaremba, Kim Sielbeck, Kim Baise..the list goes on forever), ’80s movies/TV (Pee Wee’s Playhouse, the painted mural entryway to the apartment in Three Men And A Baby, Iona’s living room in Pretty in Pink, Clarissa’s room in Clarissa Explains It All, Angela’s living room in Boomerang, Josh’s loft apartment in Big, Selina Kyle’s bedroom in Batman Returns), vintage interior design books, Los Angeles neighborhoods that have maintained a vintage aesthetic, Bedrock City in Williams, Arizona (just outside of the Grand Canyon), oversized objects that were big in the ’80s, pun intended — the list goes on forever! They all somehow meld together in my mind, shaken up with a bit of modern flair and it’s truly the best way I could describe how my brain would look outside of my head.

The ’80s/early ’90s as a whole are so influential to me not only for nostalgia purposes (hello, childhood!), but it was also such an incredibly creative time! It was all so playful — there was an explosive use of color and pattern like never before, design elements that had never been tried (the Memphis Group is a perfect example of brilliant minds coming together to create something that was so different that it took over 30 years to be truly appreciated!), and it all just WORKED somehow. There was so much personality and creativity infused into every TV show, movie, photo shoot, music video…I love it. No one seemed afraid of not looking a certain way — it was more about expressing how you felt on the inside with what you projected on the outside — whether it be in the way you dressed or what your home looked like.

Favorite Element: The kitchen nook is what sold me (Jaimee) on the whole space! I loved the arched entryway into the nook, and I had been DREAMING about purchasing wallpaper from Kathryn Zaremba someday, but never had the right place for it! Also the whole vibe of the place was so California to me — the molding, the tile, the linen closet, the wood floors. It made me feel like I was already home from the first moment we stepped inside. Adam loves living in an actual house (we’ve always lived in apartment buildings or in shared homes!) and having a backyard where he can grill!

Biggest Challenge: Having nothing once we moved here! We drove out with our Jeep (that was packed to the gills with necessities for the trip, our bed frame, and our cat) and my Coast to Coast Vintage trailer that doubled as my storefront (we did events while on our trip, so only inventory could live in it!), so we were very limited on space. We basically had to start over with everything! So building everything from the bottom up has been more of a fun challenge! Our actual challenge at home is our backyard. It’s more of a back space than a yard because there’s little to no grass — there’s concrete everywhere and a lot that needs to be totally gutted. Because we rent, we’ve been more apprehensive about putting money into it because we don’t want to invest and then have to leave our hard work and money behind when we move out!

What Friends Say: “It’s so YOU!”, which we take as a compliment.

Biggest Embarrassment: Our garage! Our house was built in the ’20s, so the garage is waay too small for a modern car. We use it as storage instead and it has gotten out of control recently — once it cools down, we need to go in there and just toss a bunch of stuff out!

Proudest DIY: There is A LOT of DIY in our house, so I have quite a few! The silly makeover I gave to the AC unit in our living room (he has yet to be named), the palm tree mural in the living room (inspired by another print we have hanging in the same room called ‘Night Palm’ by Ruth Adler), our “TV” I painted in the living room, the Target desk I gave a complete makeover to in our living room, the painted “frames” in our bedroom (an idea I borrowed from the decor in Fred 62 in Los Feliz), the removable wallpaper I put up in our hallway and kitchen, and the curtains I sewed in our kitchen that were actually tablecloths at our wedding first(!).

Biggest Indulgence: Special vintage pieces of furniture, like our coffee table in the living room and the table in our kitchen nook! The coffee table I found on eBay and it came from Arizona — the seller told me that it belonged to her parents, who loved Hollywood and always dreamed of visiting Los Angeles but never did! She was so happy to know it was coming out here. Our yellow Formica kitchen table we found on Craigslist, and the seller ended up being a fellow vintage lover who had amazing vintage cars and loved men’s suits from the ’40s! We talked to him outside his home for awhile when we went to pick the table up. The price of each of these items was so worth it for the stories alone, and a big reason why we love vintage so much.

Best Advice: If you have the time and the patience, I highly recommend taking on some DIY projects! As a full-time vintage seller, I would literally settle for being a thousandaire at this point, so my budget is always a little tighter than I’d like it to be! But I have never let that get in my way of achieving a specific look or vibe that I want. I WILL USE COUPONS AND NOT BE ASHAMED. There are so many different tutorials online to help you through various projects, and inspiration is everywhere! It just takes a little creativity and resourcefulness.

Dream Sources: Flea markets, thrift stores, estate sales, Land of Nod, Target, Etsy

LIVING ROOM
Sofa – IKEA (discontinued)
“Train track” pillows – IKEA
Squiggle pillow – Dusen Dusen (older collection)
Hand pillow – Etsy
“I like you this much” pillow – My Name Is Not Darren
Naked lady pillow – Alex Steele
Eyes + Leaf pillow – Aelfie (older collection)
Cat pillow – Hartland Brooklyn (a sweet custom wedding gift! She does not sell or make these)
Yellow pillow – IKEA
Shelving unit – IKEA (we hacked this unit with a spray-painted peg board upgrade at the back to hide the hanging wires from our electronics!)
Writing desk – Target (custom DIY with spray paint and contact paper from Home Depot!)
Rug – Marimekko for Target (limited collection from 2016)
Lamps – IKEA
Leaf Curtains – IKEA

Fringe banner – Fun Cult (This was a commissioned banner for our wedding! I walked down the aisle to the song “You and Me” by Penny & the Quarters 🙂

Letter vases – Oh Joy! for Target (These were also at our wedding! I love Joy’s whole collection for Target; it’s so playful and affordable!)

Surfers mobile – Jikits on Etsy (My favorite mobile artist, you can tell she has so much fun doing what she does!)

Paint splattered vases – Tactile Matter (We commissioned these for our wedding — each acted as the centerpiece to a table!)

Aura photographs – Radiant Human (These sessions were gifted to me by a good friend for my birthday! We sat individually and together — it was fascinating to see the differences and similarities in our auras!)

Orange plant stand – Target (I found this one on its own at my local Target and it was a little dinged up so they gave me a discount! It reminds me of a low-budget Eric Trine piece, which I love)

Framed wedding print – photo by Jenn Emerling weddings

HALLWAY
Removable wallpaper on linen closet – Kate Zaremba
Paint splattered vase – Tactile Matter (Commissioned for our wedding!)
Rug – Target

Custom portrait – Emmie Bean Custom Portraits (This was a wedding gift from two very sweet friends based on an engagement photo of ours! Sadie’s eye for detail is incredible — we love this piece so much!)

“We Shall Overcome” Print – Kate Zaremba (This was a limited print she made during the time of the Women’s March taking place — I love the message and powerful illustration)

BEDROOM
Toothbrush pillow – IKEA
Painted shapes pot – Kristina Bing
“Love” light – Target
Silk screened Leaf Tree print – Erin Flett on Etsy
Los Angeles print – Capricorn Press

Lady blanket on bed – BFGF (I coveted this blanket for so long, and then Adam bought it for me for Christmas! Our cats have scratched at it and pulls the fibers, which makes the lady look hairy — it’s perfect.)

Dresser – Vintage (This is such a cool piece from the ’50s that we found on Craigslist and went to Burbank to pick up! The woman selling it said she had tons of offers on it, but it was buried under other furniture and we had to shift her whole store around to get it out!)

Squiggle lamp – Vintage (We found this in our old apartment building on moving day! We couldn’t believe that it was free and that it worked — such a score)

OFFICE
Desk – IKEA
Naked lady print – Francine Dressler
Silk scarf – Ban.do
Thank you, Have a Nice Day bag planter – Hello Happy Plants on Etsy
Mobile – Jikits on Etsy
Virginia Woolf print – Capricorn Press
Fake grass rug – Home Depot

Bubblegum pink chair – Craigslist (The couple who sold this to us was SO NICE, and only charged us $20! We bought it on the way to an event I was selling at with Coast to Coast, so we had the trailer with us and the chair barely just fit through the door!)
Horseshoe – Marley & Alfie

Right on top of that, Rose ribbon – Etsy (I wish I could remember who I bought this from, but it is genius and I love Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead so much)

Palm tree light – Vintage (This is a DIY project of mine! It’s a tupperware container that I drilled holes in the back to mount to the wall and put battery powered LED twinkle lights in!)

KITCHEN
Green shelf unit – IKEA (discontinued color)
“Too Blessed To Be Stressed” print – Will Bryant
Marge Simpson as Frida Kahlo print – Noah Sturm
Cat mugs – Leah Goren (A wedding gift from friends! We really do love cats)
Ceramic hand holder – Tactile Matter
Splatter paint vases – Tactile Matter (commissioned for our wedding!)
Little ceramic lady – Tactile Matter
Letter vases – Oh Joy! for Target
Face mug – Tactile Matter (past collection)
Curtains – IKEA (these were originally the tablecloths at our wedding and then I sewed them into curtains!)
Yellow kitchen table – Vintage

Leaf chairs – Vintage (My dad bought these for us as a housewarming gift when he came out to visit and we took him to Joshua Tree! These are from an antique mall in Yucca Valley and are real deal desert patio chairs that are made to withstand the desert winds!)

Custom pet portraits – Megan Weaver (These were a gift from a very good friend for our wedding! The artist captured their silly expressions so well.)

Living room print – Will Bryant (past artwork)

Tiny stuffed alpaca – FEED (A birthday gift from a good friend who works for their company — he’s so soft!)

Orange ceramic mugs – Tactile Matter (past collection)

Marquee light – Vintage (we were at one of our favorite Pasadena spots, which has sadly since closed, and the woman ringing us out brought this to us because she thought it seemed like our style!)

Removable wallpaper – Kate Zaremba (This wallpaper is truly the grounding piece of our whole aesthetic! It was the first thing that went up and set the tone for the whole house.)

BATHROOM
Shower curtain – IKEA
Rug – Target
Face vase – Elizabeth Graeber on Etsy
Cacti vase – Tactile Matter (past collection)
Wooden waves – Imagination Kids Toys on Etsy
Dolly Parton print – Libby VanderPloeg
Ceramic face – Tactile Matter (past collection)
Wooden Rainbow – Imagination Kids on Etsy

Orange wire shelf stand – Vintage (We bought this from a neighboring vendor at the Melrose Trading Post to use in the shop! Now it lives in our home and fits perfectly in our bathroom)

Painted plant pots – Kristina Bing instagram (custom painted to match our shower curtain! She is so talented)

Naked lady salt and pepper shaker – Vintage (from the same vintage spot where we bought our marquee light! That place was amazing; I’m so sad it’s gone)

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