I think I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. One of the greatest benefits of having a blog is having an excuse to tour other people homes for the purpose of featuring them here.
There are so many people out there that have the most amazing homes, but they’ve never been in a magazine or featured on a home tour. They are just regular people like you and me and they just have a knack for decorating. I love being able to share them with you!
Amy is a fellow Reclaiming Beautiful vendor. Earlier this year she mentioned to me that she really does it up for Christmas, so I asked if she’d let me feature her home here on q is for quandie for the holidays and she agreed. I’m so glad she did! The Reclaiming Beautiful owners asked if I’d feature Amy’s home over on their blog as well, so I’m splitting the post between the two. The first two posts will be here today and tomorrow, and the final post over there on Friday. But I’ll be sure to include links between the two blogs so that you can be sure you see it all!
My sister Debbie came along as my ‘assistant’ again this time, and as we were approaching Amy’s house we were in a neighborhood full of new and very beautiful homes, but somehow I just hadn’t pictured Amy living in a newer home. As it turns out, I was right. Amy, much like myself I might add, lives in the original 1936 farmhouse for what was once the Amundsen dairy farm. The land around it has since been developed with newer homes.
As soon as we pulled up I knew I was in the right place! Christmas tree in an old wringer washing machine? Old sleds with vintage skates hanging from them. Yep, this had to be the right house.
The fact that last Sunday, when I took these photos, was the perfect snowy winter day just added to the overall ambiance.
And by the way, if you haven’t thought to put a small tree and some ice skates inside a bird cage outside your door, get on it. It’s fantastic.
As soon as I walked in Amy’s door I knew I was with a kindred spirit. I missed getting a photo of the vintage lockers in her mud room, but here’s what you see upon entering the home proper.
If you look closely at the photo above you can spy Amy’s adorable dog, Birdie. See him? Seriously, he’s so cute he almost looks like a stuffed animal (he’s on the sofa on the right in case you still can’t find him). Amy also shares her house with with her husband Zach and her four kids, Lucy, Gus, Alex and Greta.
Just beside me to the left of where I am standing for the above photo is Amy’s dining room.
I love her collection of ‘yard-long’ photos, don’t you? And I’m really not sure what the original purpose was of that thing she has sitting on top of her radiator filled with books, but I love the way she’s using it.
Amy purchased her pair of matching sofas for a rock bottom price off Craigslist and then had them reupholstered in drop cloth material.
For any of you who know me well, it probably goes without saying that I thoroughly approve of Amy’s aqua blue walls. She’s added lots of red plaid for Christmas, as well as some snow shoes and skis.
And I love this adorable little red camper on her coffee table.
Amy had a really unique spot for her TV on these chippy old metal factory shelves. If I was a true professional I would have taken the time to hide all of those cords behind the TV, but I never think of that stuff in the moment. Plus, I’m so busy admiring all of the incredible stuff that I don’t even notice things like cords until I seem them in the photos. I hope you’re ignoring them too!
She says that thing weighs about 600 lbs and she and a friend lugged it into this spot themselves.
Look at the row of vintage radios under the TV …
Keeping a collection like this in one color family is a great idea!
And look what I spied tucked under one of the sofa’s end tables …
Do you recognize it? It’s my old Structo truck! Amy purchased it from me at my Carriage House sale. It’s really fun for me to see it in its new home.
Everywhere you look in her house there is something awesome to see, like this mid-century TV ornament. Check out the tiny Christmas scene inside.
I think I may have gotten a little drool on the this Christmas tree and the scale it is sitting on. I joked with Amy that I was going to have my sister distract her while I tucked that thing under my coat.
And just above that scale is this fabulous old cubby on the wall.
According to Amy this cubby started out at twice this height. It stood on the floor and she had it in this same spot, but it sat in front of the radiator. Her husband finally put his foot down and said they needed to cut it down and mount it on the wall and quit blocking the heat (here in Minnesota function pretty much has to take priority over form when it comes to heating). So Amy gave in and agreed, and now realizes she loves it even more mounted on the wall this way!
Before we conclude today’s portion of our tour we really need to talk about the elephant in the room. The gorgeous Christmas tree.
Amy is a firm proponent of placing your tree in a unique container and in this case she’s used an old metal crate.
So creative!
I hope you’ve enjoyed day no. 1 of our tour of Amy’s home. Be sure to check back tomorrow for part 2. And hey, if you have a minute, leave a comment about your favorite detail in Amy’s living room. I challenge you to pick just one!
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