This Sears Kit House Has All of Its Original Vintage Charm, and Was Delightfully Decorated on a Budget

Name: Andrea, husband, son, and one dog, and two cats
Location: Vickery Place Conservation District — Dallas, Texas
Type of home: Craftsman style home
Size: 1894 square feet
Years lived in: 1 year, owned

Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: Our home was built in 1920. It’s a craftsman style bungalow built from a Sears & Roebuck kit. Believe it or not, Sears used to sell house plans. We were drawn to the house because of the craftsman style architecture. We love the wrap-around porch and the charm that’s built into older homes. The house was one of a few in our neighborhood that wasn’t torn down or added on to. Our house still has much of its 100-year-old character, including original wood floors, coffered ceilings, and the original windows. I’ve been spending my weekends DIYing and decorating a little at a time. I am excited to have my weekends for house projects since I have them free at last; I recently sold the bed and breakfast that I ran for 13 years, Bailey’s Uptown Inn.

Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Comfortable classic modern vintage

How long have you lived here? We have lived in this house for one year and in that time we’ve had to focus most of our budget on structural things like the foundation and the garage. I’ve been working on decorating the interior one small step at a time.

What is your favorite room and why? My favorite room is the kitchen because it gets lots of natural light; most of the original footprint is intact. The room has black soapstone counters, white wainscoting all around, and old fashioned latch hardware. The previous owners added three doors that open out onto the patio and pool, which let in lots of light.

If you could magically change something about your home, what would it be? I would make original hardwood floors less creaky. I love the character of the floors, but in the winter we joke that it’s like living in a ninja palace. Ninjas used to have “nightingale floors” to protect themselves from intruders. They were made to creak loud enough that they warn you when someone is approaching. The upside of this is that I’ve purchased some really lush rugs to quiet the floors. It’s taught me a lot about buying rugs. A large wool rug can really transform a room.

What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? Since we had to spend most of our budget on structural things, I’ve had to save where I could on the interior. Most of what I found was recycled, on sale, or from Etsy (which has unbelievable bargains). First, I bought a large Kazak, hand knotted oriental with lots of blues and reds for the living room from Rugland. I loved that one so much I went back for more wool by purchasing a large denim blue geometric patterned, tufted rug. These have both been worth their weight in gold. We had no real dining area in our last house, so I had to find a breakfast table and a new dining table ASAP.

The breakfast table is from France & Son (purchased used) and I was able to recover my existing dining chairs to use with it. The table in the dining room is from Ballard Designs; it’s the Chianni Trestle Dining Table in black. I had more leftover chairs that I paired with it. We have no real entry so I purchased a red hall tree for the kitchen from a thrift store. We had lots of built-in shelving before, so I found a vintage buffet from Etsy for the TV. There are some great furniture bargains on Etsy and they are one of a kind; this seller has great quality. The Calvin Arc Floor Lamp is from Ballard Designs. I’ve purchased lots of original artwork on Etsy; the prices for oil paintings can’t be beat.

For artwork in the living room I found these cool bicycle patent posters from Etsy (my husband is a cyclist). I purchased simple IKEA Dalfred bar stools for the kitchen because they fit with my black and red colors. I like to pair drapes with shades. I purchased simple IKEA Lenda Curtains and removed the tabs to hang them on rings. The shades I found on Amazon. I found this a large clock for the kitchen at IKEA. I replaced the ceiling fan in the kitchen with a Schoolhouse Scout Chandelier. Lastly, our third bedroom is very tiny, so I found a smaller scale daybed, Jenny Lind White Daybed from Crate and Barrel.

Any advice for creating a home you love? My advice is not to stress over paint colors. I painted the entire house in a cool neutral before we moved in to cover up some pretty funky colors. I didn’t know what I would do with the interior, but furniture, art, drapes, and rugs can really define your style so much more than wall color. The one exception was my son’s room, which we painted blue to cover up purple. I have a lot of blue throughout my home.

I also recommend choosing a color palette that can work throughout your home instead of choosing different colors for each room. It makes your home feel more comfortable and cohesive. Each room can have a slightly different color palette, but they complement each other. This is especially true when you can see from one room into another. I like to choose one piece in each room to help me narrow down the color palette, which for me is usually a rug.

This submission’s responses were edited for length and clarity.