Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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House Crashing: Cozy & Full Of Character

Who’s in the mood for some snooping? When Lori and her husband Greg (and their sweet son Owen) invited us over to crash their charming Richmond home, we jumped at the chance. Isn’t that little tin roof over the door awesome? I also love that the front steps are tiered on three sides instead of being closed in on the ends. Bet someone could DIY that…

Lori 1 Outside

Lori and Greg are actually veterans of the House Crashing experience. They had us over their first home back in 2010 (when both Lori and I were both prego). We loved that house so much that we couldn’t wait to see where they lived now…

Lori Last House Crash

… especially since in the time that we last crashed them they’ve had a son and were just on the cusp of having a daughter! Ellie actually came a little while ago, but Lori was still pregnant when we crashed her house. Apparently we only invade her home her while she’s with child.

Lori 1 5 Lori Out Front

The small world story is that they had a son named Owen just a few months after I had Clara and we hadn’t seen them for a few years. But now, by coincidence, Owen and Clara are preschool classmates. Seriously, we walked into school the first day and said “no way! how are you?!”

So while our kids were in school one morning, Lori had us over to check out their new has-room-for-two-kiddos home (we wanted to squeeze the house crash in before she had a newborn to work around). So here’s a shot of their pretty formal living room in the front of the house. The tall ceilings with thick detailed molding were awesome. Nearly all of Lori’s furniture is secondhand (hailing from Craigslist and thrift stores alike) which is always a really cool layered look – and of course it’s a nice budget-friendly method. She also loves to get accessories from places like HomeGoods and flash sale sites (the starburst mirror was scored at a deep discount from One King’s Lane).

Lori 2 Living Room

My favorite spot in the whole house was the more casual family room in the back of the house right off of the kitchen. See these built-ins? Lori and Greg hired a local handyman to build them to fit between those two windows and provide a ton of kid-friendly storage. So smart. You wouldn’t believe all the toys, games, movies and other clutter they’ve wisely hidden in those drawers & cabinets. I especially liked that they chose doors that are flush with the frame (it had a really clean look). And for anyone looking for a handyman, Lori said she found him through her realtor’s recommendation, so that method can actually work out.

Lori 3 Family Room

So even if you’re not able to build a giant TV cabinet yourself, it’s amazing how much input you can have by hiring someone local to make it (and it can often be cheaper than getting one made by a larger company, like KraftMaid or even buying a giant unit at Pottery Barn and paying a hefty shipping fee). You also get to pick the cubby sizes, the type of doors, the hardware, the paint color, the placement, etc – so it’s a great way to be involved and end up with something super functional and fitted to your home. Oh and see that coffee table? Lori got it at The Dump (the same local furniture outlet where we got our dining room table). The funny thing is that now stores like West Elm are selling tables like it, but she got it a while ago from a furniture discounter! I love that.

The kitchen is really open to the casual living room, so picture us taking this shot with our backs to the built-ins from the photo above. We loved that it had wood cabinets since so many of you guys request that we share house crashings beyond white kitchens (we share whatever we get invited to crash! haha!).

Lori 4 Kitchen

They had a nice dark granite to work with the cabinets (and dark hardware on the wood cabinets to tie it in) and the giant window over the sink was amazing. This shot does it no justice, but it’s a gorgeous wooded lot so Lori can basically watch birds and deer and pretend she’s Snow White while she washes dishes.

This little nook in the kitchen, to the left of the white table above, was one of my favorite little “moments” in the whole house. That gorgeous painting was by a local artist that Lori and Greg picked up a few months ago at the “READ Art Show” (held annually at the New Community School here in Richmond). I love the bright colors with the thin frame around it.

Lori 5 Cool Art

In person it’s about 100 times prettier. And those two skinny cork lamps were so cool and unusual on that pretty mid-century cabinet that Lori found on Craigslist and updated with new knobs.

Wanna see the cork lamps a little closer? They’re from another local furniture outlet called The Decorating Outlet (which is where we’ve found a lot of the lights in our house too, like the pendants in our kitchen and the capiz chandelier in Clara’s nursery).

Console Detail

This shot is what you see if you step about five steps to the left of the photo above, and it’s the hallway that leads from the front door to the kitchen. We loved the old industrial stool (a craigslist find!) and that huge cow painting (from a local shop called The Wild Orchid). And doesn’t that black door frame in the background look awesome?

Lori 6 Kitchen Cow Art

If you step further into the hallway you can see a little entryway table and a casual striped rug (which is another flash sale site find from One King’s Lane). The touches of black in the door, the letter on the wall, and the stripes in the rug were really pretty and understated I thought. Lori has this way of decorating that sort of screams “oh I just tossed this together” – especially in person. It really gives off an awesome not-too-fussy vibe. After all, two kids under two and a half live here, so it has to be functional and work for the family.

Lori 7 Hallway

Here’s a shot of their bedroom upstairs, continuing with the not-too-fussy theme. Doesn’t everything from the small sunburst mirror (another secondhand find) to those cool dark sconces and that orange pillow just feel warm and inviting without feeling extra frou-frou? The whole house has a very “we actually live here” vibe, which is awesome and comfortable. And those sconces also hail from The Decorating Outlet here in Richmond.

Lori 8 Master Bedroom

This pretty side chair on the other side of their bedroom was a secondhand score (Lori recovered the seat with some new fabric from a local fabric outlet called U-Fab). I love how those ikat-ish stripes in the fabric pick up on the darker elements in the room like the dark frames, the dark sconces above the bed, the dresser, etc. Just like in her hallway (two shots back) Lori has a way with using hits of dark colors just so (it never feels dark or brooding, just crisp and interesting).

Lori 9 Master Bedroom Chair

Here’s their bathroom and although they inherited a tub in the middle of the room set on a diagonal, Lori decided to work with what she had and just added a ton of function. So she had the same handyman who built that awesome media cabinet in her family room build the cabinets under those two windows on the back wall and she brought in that pretty dresser with the mirror above it for even more storage.

Lori 10 Master Bathroom

This is actually where she bathes her kids, so it’s nice to have that dark-drawered dresser (another thifty find from an old antique shop) to fill with kid-bath-stuff, while the white cabinets under the windows are used for seating and even more storage for her and her husband’s stuff. And going back to the dark hits of color thing that Lori does so well, see how she picked a dark-framed mirror and that dark-fronted cabinet to balance the dark vanities on the other side of the room? Love that.

Bathroom 2

Ellie’s room is awesome. This is how it looked before she was born – all floofed for the camera (of course the pillows and stuffed animals are out of the crib now that she’s here). And see that pretty crib? It’s from Pottery Barn – but she got it on Craigslist! Awesome right? She didn’t even need to paint it, it came that color.

Ellies Room1

The bunny art above the crib is something Lori found at a local store called Strawberry Fields, but the cool thing is that it’s actually by a local artist that John and I met at the craft fair last year. It’s a small world, eh? We love her stuff (Clara has the same bunny in the hall). And how cute is that felt mobile? It was an Etsy find.

Ellies Room2

Lori also got these cute book shelves on Etsy. I love the hot pink color and the way they play with the side table that Lori painted with a hot pink top. And that plush rocker below them is also a Craigslist find.

Ellies Room3

Owen’s room is awesome too. We were especially into this giant piece of art over his crib, which was actually a large piece of fabric that Lori stretched over a canvas and stapled around the back. It totally looks like a giant painting, right? The fabric is Marimekko for anyone wondering (it’s out of stock, but hopefully that link and the name might help you track it down on ebay or from another fabric wholesaler if you’re interested?).

Owensroom

There are sets of pretty pocket doors in a few places, like this one that looks into the guest room.

Lori 12 Guest Bedroom

Here’s that room a little closer. I love the old metal bed and the placement of it under the window with the peaked ceilings on either side of it. The cool thing about that bed is that it was Lori’s from childhood. Yup, she’s had it for nearly 30 years!

Guest Room

The same goes for the dresser, it’s from her room as a child and she didn’t even paint it (or the bed) – this is them in their original 30-years-old glory. Don’t you love the casual cottage-y feeling they add to the room? And of course I’m awkwardly obsessed with that glass based lamp (another secondhand find of Lori’s).

Guest Room Dresser

Looking through the other side of those pocket doors you can see a chill little office/playroom/sitting room.

Lori 13 Guest Bedroom Sitting Room

I loved these cool blue cube tables that Lori paired together (they’re from Home Decorators), along with framing a National Geographic map that she cut into nine parts on the back wall.

Office

So that’s Lori, Greg, Owen, and Ellie’s awesome home. We’re so grateful they invited us over to shoot some pics to share with you – and we hope you guys got a kick out of touring their home from the comforts of your chair/sofa. Want to play the favorite part game? I loved the pocket doors, the colorful art in the kitchen, and the awesome family room built-ins. Meanwhile John dug that clever fabric-made-into-art over Owen’s crib, the fact that most furnishings were secondhand finds, and also called those living room built-ins right along with me. Ok, your turn.

Psst- Let’s keep snooping! Click here to virtually walk around over 45 homes that we’ve crashed.

Comments

  4. Jess @ Little House. Big Heart. says

    Wow. Her living room is gorgeous!! And I love the art over the little console table. I’d never get away with that much pink, er, coral!

    Oh to have a home that House Crash-able! Maybe that should be our new goal at the Little House: to be YHL House Crash Material!

    Reply

  5. Renee says

    Great house crashing! I would love to know where she got that lamp that is in their entryway. I love the contrast of the black shade and white base.

    Reply

    • Lori says

      Hi, it’s Lori. Thanks for the nice words! The lamp is a few years old and was from HomeGoods. I switched out the shade with one I had on hand. Hope that helps!

  8. Ali Miller says

    I love House Crashings like this one, they really make me feel relaxed about putting my home together. It’s nice to be reminded that everything does not have to be matchy-matchy or new and shiny. So sweet and comfortable looking. Love it.

    Reply

  16. Kara says

    I NEED to know where she got the cow print from. I saw one on HGTV not long ago and found out who it was, but it was just a little too pricey for me to buy. For some reason, I am obsessed with them now. :-)

    Reply

  17. Jessica says

    Her approach at mixing mid century furniture with a more country feel type back round is so effortless. If I tried that it would look like Goodwill threw up in my home.

    Reply

  18. kelly says

    wow that is gorgeous. i have a similar exterior home and i would love to get it painted a bright yellow and put up dark black/bronze accents.

    Can you ask Lori/or do you know what paint color is in her master bath and formal living room?

    Reply

    • Lori says

      Hi! It’s Lori – thanks so much! We actually didn’t do any painting besides in the family room (the house was remodeled just before we bought it, and we really liked their colors), so I’m not sure. Wish I could help!

    • Keeley says

      It looks to me like most rooms might be the same buttery yellow? Would also LOVE to know the color.

  20. Jamie says

    I love the idea of cutting the map and framing it. That would be really neat in our home office. Love, Love, Love their bathroom!!!!!

    Reply

  21. Ethne @ Wom-Mom says

    I like how she works hot pink in around the house in a way that doesn’t make it look too feminine since around the corner she has a giant cow! Her hubby and son totally fit in fine.

    Reply

  22. Christen says

    Wow! I love all the built-ins! Lori, if you do drop in, can you share your handy man’s info? I live in Richmond and would love to use him!

    Reply

  25. Anja says

    So pretty! There are so many great details about their house that I admire, for example her choice of colors. It really shows that you can achieve a very sophisticated look with second hand furniture, too.
    I guess it’s just hard to find someone to build beautiful furniture like Lori’s built-ins, but I’m still dreaming of a window seat with storage.

    Reply

  27. Kristi - SimplePrettyThings says

    I love this house! I can’t even begin to tell you the weirdness that just happened to me. The other day I pinned a room from an Annette Tatum collection and that Marimekko Karkuteillä art was hanging over the crib but it didn’t have the description of where it was from. I have been looking for DAYS trying to find out who makes it and viola! Thank you YHL & Lori you totally made my day. I may just break down and paint my own but now I know who makes it! SOOO happy!

    Reply

  28. Kathy says

    Hi Sherry
    Can you please find out the name of the local artist of the gorgeous painting from the READ artshow? I love it!
    Hope the artist has a website or other paintings for purchase. Gorgeous home!

    Many thanks,
    -Kathy

    Reply

  29. Donna says

    Hello. Lovely home! Any idea as to the source of their wonderful hardwood flooring, or is it original to the home? I’m looking for a nice light/medium brown wood engineered floor at a bargain cost.

    Reply

  30. Eileen says

    I love everything about this house!! We’re in the process of decorating our new home and I think I found my new style inspiration…second to you guys of course :D

    Thanks for finding awesome houses like this to crash and share with us!

    Reply

  32. Eileen says

    What a beautiful home! I am in love with the yellow paint used in the living rooms and kitchen! Is there any chance you know the name of the paint color?

    Reply

  33. Ana says

    I never comment, but I just loved this house, like woah! Someone called it up above: approachable. Exactly. This kind of house is so inspiring for me. Sometimes, while I enjoy the eye candy of other house crashings, they kind of make me a little anxious. Like how! Will I ever! Make my house! Look this perfect! This house is so relaxed and just softly states, “You can totally do this. There there.” (Gentle back rub) Your commentary really helps, too, Sherry! I guess some of us weren’t born with the decorating gene, but we’re learning. :)

    Reply

  35. Tiffany S. says

    So well done.

    This just makes me wonder if small(er) town Craigslist is different from city Craigslist because no one I know has had any success and ends up getting stalked or fearing for their life. The one and only time we gave away a box spring for free, the interested party’s second email address (I’d already sent our home address to her first email address before she then had to email us from her boyfriend’s computer) was HellfireAmerica, and I’m 100% certain our boxspring is in a seedy motel on a highway (it is, she mentioned her daughter was the new manager).

    I might give it a few more tries as we move from one house to another here in Seattle, but you’re so lucky that it works out so well.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, I know that’s called dentil molding, but I just broadly described it as detailed molding since it has all those groves and things (added details)!

      xo
      s

  40. Pamela says

    Lucky finding a handyman who would build cabinets with inset doors and drawers. The people who did my kitchen refused to even consider such things.

    I’m sure Lori did her homework carefully, but just a note to anyone thinking of obtaining a secondhand crib. It is now illegal to sell, or even give away, a crib that does not meet current federal safety standards, including no drop-sides and more durable slats, mattress support, and hardware.

    Reply

  41. Cindy says

    I pinned the living daylights out of this post. Nice job! My favorite is the understated pops of black in every room. It pulls the house together. TOTALLY stealing that idea.

    Reply

  43. Megan @ Moxie Design Studio says

    You guys do such a great job with photography, it makes every house look great. Some days, I think it might even make my house look designer-y enough to be be crash-worthy. If you ever get lost in Iowa (ha ha, probably on your way somewhere else), I’ll hook you up!

    Reply

  44. katalina says

    is it weird that when I saw the rabbit art I thought– that looks like the same art you have!

    do you have a link to the artist that works?

    thanks!

    Reply

  50. Jayme @ Keeping Up With Myself says

    I love this house! I love how the starburst mirrors are all different but kind of unify all the rooms. And how cool that she put light wood chairs at the white dining room table and white bar chairs at the wood island! Unexpected and understated but it still makes a big impression.

    Question: Is it a commonly known rule to turn on lights even when shooting in daytime? Does it help with white balance or picture quality? I know next to nothing about photography so I always wonder about stuff like that. If I do that when taking pictures with my lil old digital camera will it help?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It really varies, sometimes we put on a lot of lights and those photos look better and sometimes we just use natural light and don’t turn anything on and it’s great! We basically just try it all and take a million pics and upload them and choose the ones we like best. It’s not uncommon for us to take 200+ photos at each crash and then we just pick the best ones :)

      xo
      s

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