This Michigan Victorian House Built in 1886 Is Utterly Stunning After a Modern Reno

“My one grandmother lived on a farm in the country, while the other preferred a traditional, classic style. Where these two women converged was over their art of the find. Each of these women helped shape the thrifter I am today. They were scouring barns one weekend while picking up Victorian furniture from the alleyways downtown the next,” she continues.

The home she shares with her family in Traverse City, Michigan, is a large Victorian house originally built in 1886, and Marissa says the house was allegedly the home of the first doctor that lived in the area. “The beautiful double lot and location make you feel like you are in the country, yet you can easily walk to the water or downtown,” she explains of the house’s location. “Each room in the house tells a story itself. Some of the bedrooms upstairs have closets with false backs that can be opened to reveal secret forts and tunnels into other rooms. The boys often use the secret tunnel to sneak into my room at night and sleep in bed with me.”

The entire house captures Marissa’s design style, and she says the home often becomes a backdrop or staging area for the goodies she sells in her shop. “I often have stacks of Moroccan rugs in a corner or a stash of hand-blown glass from Paris in the kitchen,” she admits. But the kitchen is a particularly magnificent space, was a “bit of a pit” until Marissa recently renovated it with the help of a designer Kelsey Duda. “Replacing the ’80s remodel with cabinetry that fits the scale complemented and highlighted what was already there,” Marissa explains of the Wolf Wood Co. kitchen cabinets. “I had the colors for my kitchen and countertop decided before anything else. I knew I wanted to use as many vintage lights as I had in the house. Beyond that, it was a blank slate.”

• Kitchen cabinets — Farrow & Ball “Dead Salmon”
• Kitchen walls — Farrow & Ball “London Clay”
• Library — Farrow & Ball “Green Smoke”

• Womb Chair — Design Within Reach
• Rug — Au Sable
• Light — Noguchi
• Light Fixtures — Moroccan Pendant (From Au Sable)
• Black cowhide Chairs — B&B Italia
• Coffee Table (Metal Drum Table) — Design within reach
• Lights — Visual Comfort
• Baskets with Mattresses — Au Sable
• Ceramic Sculpture — Re Jin Lee
• Couch — Vintage Italian
• Rug — Au Sable from Morocco

• Dining Table — Noguchi Vintage
• Dining Chairs – Platner — Design Within Reach
• Artwork — Johny Abrahams – Library Street Collective
• Light fixtures — vintage
• Cassina — Pleated Lampshade standing Lamp (Vintage Estate Sale Find)
• Overhead Lighting — Vintage
• Shelf Lighting — Visual Comfort
• Wood Cabinetry — Wolf Wood
• Refrigerator — Fisher & Paykel
• Stove — Bertazzoni
• Coffee Maker — Brevol
• Faucets — Devol
• Pulls — Devol
• Flowers — Sjvena Maitland
• White Le Creuset Goop Edition
• Vases — AuSable
• Salt & Pepper Mills — AuSable
• Trivets — AuSable
• Gingham Napkins — AuSable

• Side Tables — European Custom Order
• Lights — Noguchi Pendant
• Curtains — Linen Tails
• Bed — Restoration Hardware
• Chair — Vintage
• Bedside Lamps — Flos
• Books — AuSable
• Linens — Linen Tales (From Au Sable)
• Rug — Stoffer Home
• Artwork — Beverly Fishman

• Curtains — West Elm
• Bed — IKEA
• Light — Stoffer Home
• Desk — Vintage (From Au Sable)
• Curtains — West Elm
• Linens — Au Sable Sourced from Mexico
• Bedside Lamp — Flos
• Butterflies — Vintage
• Wall Paint Color — Farrow & Ball’s “White Duck”
• Built-ins Paint Color — Farrow & Ball’s “Green Smoke”

• Bed — Lumineer in Chicago
• Desk, Chair, Bedside Table — Vintage Design Within Reach
• Light Fixture — Noguchi
• Bedside Lights — Vintage Artemide
• Bedside Table — Design Within Reach
• Frog — Au Sable
• Quilt — August Shop
• Rug — Au Sable

• Light — Flos
• Rug — Au Sable
• Prints — Vintage
• Shower Curtains — Target
• Plant — Darling Botanical

• Standing Light Fixture — Visual Comfort
• Pendent Fixture — Designed by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Flos
• Books — Vintage
• Record Player — Shinola
• Bench — Nelson
• Eames Lounge Chair
• Eames Walnut Stool
• Pottery — Antiques from travels near and far
• Rug — Stoffer Home

Thanks Marissa!

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