If you ask Kelley where she found a particular mirror or chair or table, you won't hear a short answer. Her living-room lamps? They started off as kerosene jugs from eBay, but then she rewired them and added linen shades. The guest bath's charmingly distressed sink console used to be a desk. Even seemingly straightforward new furnishings boast a backstory, about the transformative power of paint or how unusual upholstery can alter a piece. Says the interior designer: "I've always been drawn to one-of-a-kind items."
In this photo: Sconces by Schoolhouse Electric flank a 1910 medicine cabinet, fitted with a new mirror.
Bright idea: With the help of a marble top and a Kraus sink set, a weathered table became a washstand.
Though the Motschenbachers honored the house's original footprint, they did add a 1,500-square-foot back porch (not pictured). "It's a simple American rancher, and we kept it that way," says Kelley. "We didn't want a Tuscan McMansion. Just someplace where we could relax after working in the yard."
In this photo: The front porch's wooden gliders date to the 1930s.
When the Motschenbachers first purchased their new home, the grounds were so derelict that the couple spent six months clearing away brambles and restoring a fruit orchard before touching the house itself. "We had to act fast," Kelley remembers. "All of the 300-year-old oak trees had been neglected for decades, and the citrus trees were such a mess that they couldn't even bear fruit."
In this photo: Kelley paired 1940s café chairs with a table she's owned for years. Decomposed granite covers the ground of the entertaining area.
Bright idea: Apple trees serve as living room walls for an outdoor dining room.
More Home Decoration Tips: If you want to know more about home decoration tips, please refer to Bedding Talks Blog to get more ideas.
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