Young House Love

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House Crashing: Joyful & Happy Go Lucky

Can you believe it has been a month since our last house crashing adventure? And while February’s house tour was from across the pond, this one was local, so we got to stop by and soak up all of the details in person.

Meet Becky and Brian (and their dog Fergie). They live just outside of Richmond with their two daughters and this charming red door. It’s Heritage Red by Benjamin Moore – and she got that charming “Hello” decal here.

Beck and Brian At Red Front Door With Wreath and Hello Decal

When you walk inside, there’s a room to your right that they call the music room. Let’s just say that the yellow piano, which Becky painted herself, had my heart immediately. It was Brian’s grandma’s piano that was passed down to their family (here’s a link to Becky’s post about painting it). Becky also found the swivel stool at an antique store and made the slipcover herself. It was such a fun house to walk through because so many things had a secondhand story or a handmade touch.

Bright Yellow Painted Piano in Music Room With Guitar On Wall

Her dresser-turned-bathroom-vanity was another example of Becky and Brian putting their stamp on their home. She got it at a local secondhand shop, painted it and distressed it, and then her dad and Brian cut out the middle and added a recycled sink basin (picked up from the Habitat For Humanity ReStore). Becky also loves to collect old mirrors to hang in groupings on the wall, so she always has an eye out for them at thrift & antique shops.

Farmhouse Green Bathroom Vanity With Collage of Mirrors On Wall

There’s a first floor guest room which had such a cheerful vibe, even with those moody walls (they’re Gravel Gray by Benjamin Moore). The playful rooster art was a $30 find at the Yankee Candle Store in Williamsburg.

Fun Bedroom With Paisley Bedspread and Yellow Dresser

The pretty bedding is a Bed Bath & Beyond find, and the dresser is another secondhand score that Becky painted herself. She also distressed it with a palm sander and filled in the distressed areas with Walnut oil or glaze – and added those cute numbers for each drawer (found at a craft store).

Yellow Dresser DIY With Numbers Down Drawers

Becky worked in some more personal touches in the kitchen, like a panel of chalkboard paint on the pantry door, and by painting the stools that she got from Ikea red with a homemade chalk paint recipe that she found online.

Kitchen With Wood Cabinets And Corner Pantry With Chalkboard Door

The main bedroom was a really soft and sweet space. The floral coverlet on their bed is a $20 Rosebowl Flea market purchase from Pasadena, CA. I loved that Brian didn’t mind pink in the bedroom, and the mixture of the wooden bed (from Pier 1) and the pine bench at the foot of the bed (from HomeGoods) was interesting to me (instead of pairing it with painted or distressed wood). Becky doesn’t remember the color on the walls, but Palladian Blue or Quiet Moments by Benjamin Moore might be close.

Large Bed With Funky Pillows And String Lights On Headboard

This homemade jewelry rack is another example of Becky’s ability to see something and reimagine it. She got it at the Junk Bonanza Flea Market in Shakopee, Minnesota as an old crib railing, initially thinking that she’d hang magazines or blankets from it, but it turned out to be perfect for her jewelry.

Jewelry Display Rack In Bedroom With Vintage Chair and Art

Her daughter’s room has more feminine touches and the sweetest secondhand hutch that Becky also found in Minnesota. It even came that color so she didn’t do a thing to it.

Vintage Desk In Kids Room With Hanging Pictures

But possibly the coolest spot in the whole house is Becky’s basement studio. She runs an Etsy shop called Farmgirl Paints, where she sells stamped leather cuffs made from secondhand belts (no wonder she has so many thrift store finds, right? She’s always patrolling for belts) – and everything happens down in her basement studio.

Leather Jewelry Cuffs On Display Racks

The green wall along the back of the studio is chalkboard paint that Becky had mixed up at Lowe’s in “Spring Green” and she got the shop sign made by American Vintage Inc (she sent her an inspiration picture with reclaimed wood, metal sides, and frosted bulbs and this is the end result).

Large Downstairs Workshop With Vintage Stage Letters Light Up

There were so many creative details in this basement to document. Like this cool twine Farmgirl Paints sign that Becky made – and even posted a little flipagram tutorial on Instagram.

Farmgirl Paints String Art Above Desk

There were a lot of work stations for various shop jobs (making the leather bands, stamping the metal disks that go on them, adding snaps, billing, packing, etc). It was such a fun work environment thanks to all of the color and the playful wall decor. How cool is that old “humble” sign Becky found?

Home Office Craft Room Workspace With Map And Vintage Arrow

She also mixed in some big box finds, but the funny thing is that I assumed everything was thrifted or homemade due to all of her other pieces. So it shocked the heck out of me when she said this numbered wall cubby was from Target a while back.

Small Wood Display Shelf In Home Office Craft Room

There’s also a room that’s tucked away in the very back of the basement that Becky calls her art studio. To make the desk, she and her husband dug through an awesome old salvage yard here in Richmond called Govenor’s Antiques. The owner helped them pick out the perfect doors (there are two of them, joined in the middle, braced along the back wall, and further supported by two legs that they made out of spindles on each end). It’s 13′ long and full of crafting supplies. I was like a kid in a candy store.

Large Chalkboard Wall With Desk In Front

That green lamp has a great story too. Becky was antiquing in Charlottesville, Virginia and I fell in love with that HUGE barn light, which was hanging right over the checkout counter in a small shop. So she sweet talked the owner into selling it to her.

Chalkboard Wall With Vintage Light In Home Workspace

Possibly my favorite organizational coup of all was this old school display case made of wire that Becky picked up at The Screen Door antique shop in Asheville, North Carolina. She bought it without having any clue what she’d do with it, but soon realized that all of her little tubes of craft paint fit perfectly. And how cute is the chalkboard camper that Becky drew on the chalkboard wall behind it?

Tabletop Paint Display On Desk Made Out Of Old Door

We want to send a HUGE thanks to Becky and Brian for so graciously inviting us into their joy-filled home and allowing us to snap photos to share with the interwebs. You can read more about her life/shop/house over on her blog, but first I’d love to hear what your favorite parts were, or what has you inspired (her whole house made me want to thrift like crazy). Between the decal on that shiny red front door, the yellow piano, and her tricked out basement studio, it’s hard to even pick a favorite.

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Click Here To Check Out Nearly 50 Other Homes We Crashed

Comments

  1. Diane says

    My favorite thing was the vanity made from the dresser with the mirror still attached. At first I didn’t notice the sink and thought it was storage. Very cool idea!

    Reply

  2. Debbie w says

    I knew some thing was up when I saw all those leather cuffs on the crib rail! Aha! Love her work! I have been trying to win one of those babies for a while now!

    Reply

  4. Flower Patch Farmgirl says

    Wooo hoooooo! This was so much fun to read. Becky is the real deal. Her and her little ladies once drove to our farm in IN and stayed a few days. It was the craziest and best time! Her home is such a reflection of her heart.

    Thanks for the tour, guys! Keep on trucking! And if you’re ever in IN, you should totally come over for salsa! There’s so much unexpected inspiration here on the “wrong side of the tracks”. :)

    Reply

  8. Susan says

    It’s silly, but I loved that piano stool! Makes me want to something like that with my bar stools. What a colorful house.

    Reply

  9. Sandy says

    I was surprised that there were no pictures of the living room or dining room and only one limited view of the kitchen and music room but multiple photos of the shop room and art room. It was a cute house but I really wanted to look around a little more!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      A lot of times we’re shooting at a certain time when light is great in some rooms, and difficult in others (for example, giant sun streaks across the living room that blow out half of the room). We also have homeowners who ask us to focus on certain spots and keep others offline (like a dining room full of kids backpacks and homework), so it’s definitely a balance of respecting peoples’ privacy and sharing the shots that do their home justice.

      xo
      s

    • Becky @ Farmgirl Paints says

      Hi Sandy you’re welcome to pop over to my blog. I think I have pics of every room either in the “house tour” tab at the top of my blog or in the Virginia house tab on the sidebar:)

  10. Valerie J. says

    Loving that yellow piano!!! I’ve been wanting to try Annie Sloan Chalk Paint so it got my gears turning.

    On a side note: I was looking at the Target hardware collection and read some of the reviews…they made me LOL!! “It’s not a real doorknob.” Still laughing about that…

    Reply

  12. LeAnne says

    I love that house- there are a lot of similarities to my own home. : )
    (But we have no awesome basement). I agree, I truly can’t pick a favorite thing- far too many to choose from!
    That rooster picture is like the Mona Lisa. It is staring at you from both angles. Ha ha.

    Reply

  14. Norma Neeson says

    here is the home of a woman with tremendous heart and soul………I loved it and I want a cuff bracelet!!!!

    Reply

  15. Holly says

    OH MAH GAWD BECKY. Look at your studio. It’s so… awesome. Too early for Sir Mix A lot reference? Butt (ha. I can’t stop)seriously, so much awesome occurring in that house. Can’t. even. process.

    Reply

  16. Kat S says

    Love that house – I want her chalk paint red chair recipe – it makes me want to paint our chairs!!! Also, that target cubby is still available at our local target, so if you love it, check out yours!

    Reply

  17. Faith says

    Love the house crash today…
    Rogue question?
    What program or software do you use when you make your lists, with the bullet points and the line crossing out ability…?
    Thanks

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We write our blog posts in wordpress, so those are just type features (we click bullets or the cross out button to do that). I think they have them in microsoft word too though!

      xo
      s

  18. Kelly Cach says

    Okay, first of all…this makes me gulp back tears!!! I LOVE Becky and her sweet family! I was one of the fortunate few that just got to meet her a short week and a half ago. I flew across the United States all the way from Idaho! It was an ig meet up for a surprise party for beautiful Tamara. And…I SLEPT IN BECKY’s OFFICE!!! That cute red futon? Yeah, that was my bed. So that and the orange metal paint brush holder are my favorite….because I went antiquing with her when she found it!!!

    Isn’t her home so HAPPY?! My friend (who also got to be part of the meet up) and I vowed to come home and add a pop of cheerful color to our homes every day from now until eternity ….hahaha! We were so inspired by her colorful world.

    Love her, love them, love that sweet little Fergie :). And ecstatic she introduced me to your blog! Blessings to you!

    Reply

  22. Eilene says

    I love to see so much personality in a home. My view on decorating, pre-YHL, was that everything had to be new and professionally decorated. Now, it’s really become a mission of mine to add creativity and even at times a sense of humor to my home. Oh and let me tell you about my new love of second hand items, and colorful paint! I love your blog, and truly do appreciate what you do. xo

    Reply

  25. Pixie says

    We just painted our bedroom BM Tranquility. Its so beautiful and looks very similar to their bedroom color.It has grey/green tones and just calms the mind ;)

    Reply

  26. Amber says

    What a darling house! So fun and creative(exactly my style)! My husband and I are moving to Richmond next month, and now I know where to finds some amazing thrifted goods!

    Reply

  27. Quilter says

    I just want to say, as you enter these last few days/weeks of pregnancy, I wish you a very safe and healthy delivery and baby. I can only imagine how you must be feeling after your first birth story and I hope you are more excited than nervous at this point. I wish you and your family the best.

    Reply

  28. Carla says

    I love seeing homes like this one that aren’t packed full of mid-century modern furniture. It’s warm and cozy and very refreshing. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  30. Susan says

    Great house! BUT NEVER, EVER PAINT A PIANO. THE PIANO IS RUINED NOW. It deadens the sound which is why pianos are NEVER manufactured with paint.

    This post is not meant to shame the lovely couple of this house; it’s meant to stop DYI destruction…paint furniture, NEVER PAINT ANY MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. Musical instruments are NOT part of interior design; their function is music, period!

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • Musician says

      Agreed! As a musician myself, instruments are not meant to be decor items to match the room. They are to be admired for their sound and natural beauty. Any adjustment to an instrument should be made by a professional.

  31. Jason says

    Great House! My Mom did the dresser/vanity thing several years back and it really is so nice! I love the color they chose.

    I believe Humble was an oil company, several family/friends were in the gas/oil business so I always love that stuff!

    Reply

  32. vol25 says

    So excited to see this live! Such a creative unique style you have Becky! Good job dancing (or decorating) to the beat of your own drum. Super refreshing! :)

    Reply

  33. Lori says

    What I love most about Becky’s house is that it looks so warm and inviting. I call her the queen of colour ~ everything she does is fun and bright. So happy for her and love this feature you did ~ she is the sweetest.

    Reply

  34. Polly says

    WOW! I live in New Zealand but I’ve decided to move in with these people in their GORGEOUS home. Please let them know I’m on my way. Just got to find my suitcase ;-)

    Reply

  37. Bella Daylight says

    Amazing House absolutely love it!!

    I have been wondering:
    I live in a tiny but beautiful studio apartment (376 sq ft to be exact) in Vienna, Austria. I have been wondering lately if you would perhaps be interested in doing a virtual house crashing? (I own and know how to operate a canon 1100d dslr camera) I would be very happy to share it because I love my space so do most of my guests :)

    Reply

  38. Jenny Wenzel says

    Love all the colors in this house! Fun fact though…the Humble sign is a reproduction sign from the wholesaler Creative Co-op…my parents have one…super cute!

    Reply

  39. Donna says

    Back in 1958, my parents had a small ranch house built for us. Daddy had just graduated (with highest honors) from art school, and they had little money, but lots of creativity, and really showed it off in our family room/his studio. A highlight was the used upright piano they bought so my mother could teach piano. They painted it yellow! The rest of the room featured a deep orange wall, two small bookcases painted a deep bright blue and green respectively, and hand-made toy boxes painted with red and white geometric designs filled with the scrap ends of the 2X4s used to build the house.

    Reply

  41. Kelsey says

    I love this house thanks for sharing. Its funny, i have an idea of what my house looks like in my head then i see it on here and I’m like ya my house looks nothing like that…..one day? Absolutely Beautiful!

    Reply

  42. Misty says

    What a fantastic fun house! I love all the personalized interesting touches! I’m feeling jipped, our thrift stores here in SWFL never have anything this exciting! Great house!

    Reply

  43. Julie says

    Thanks for inviting us in for a peek at your fun home! We have that same whimsical rooster print and we get compliments on it all the time. We also have a cow print from the same artist. Love it!

    Reply

  44. Becca Krzmarzick says

    I love the bathroom vanity! I didn’t know you could connect the plumbing through old furniture and a reused sink… but, it totally makes sense now that I see it. The jewelry and paint organizers are things I want to do right away.

    Reply

  46. Lori H says

    As a fellow Richmonder, I have followed YHL and Farmgirl Paints for quite a while and it is so fun to see them come together! I have been reading through the comments and am so excited for all the love you are getting, Becky! Well-deserved praise. I may have to order that “hello” for my front door, and I am racking my brains trying to figure out where that antique place is in Charlottesville because I am always bopping back and forth between RVA and Cville to visit my parents.
    Congrats!!

    Reply

  49. Jes K says

    How do you keep your personal style strong while staying part of the DIY/home improvement blogosphere?

    I think I have a strong sense of what I like, but sometimes I worry that my personal style is muted by looking at too much inspiration. This house is so amazing and different.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That’s a good question! I think we sort of flex back and forth, like we go for bright stuff and then we go for soft tones and so on. In the end it’s usually just a “buy what you really love” thing, so if something jumps out and we both love it and have a spot for it (and the money for it) that helps us know when to pull the trigger.

      xo
      s

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