It is finally week 8, and time for the One Room Challenge and time for final reveals! Here’s how our summer camp themed dock came out! Let’s focus on the JOY of right now!

I am SO in love with how the #PaddleHouse came out! So much of this fresh, one of a kind space is actually vintage. A TON! The elements range in age from 0-400 years old and barely ANY of them match in era.

By keeping the good pieces that came with this nearly 100 year old house, and sourcing cool vintage pieces from all over for the rest, I was able to control the budget and get a look that really can’t be replicated.

Use Vintage to:

1. Get a one of a kind look that can’t be replicated.
2. Capture the feel of something collected over time but still unified, like most of the rooms in magazines and show homes
3. Reduce waste in the world
4. To have better pieces at a better value!

_{We were so fortunate that most of the structure stayed intact in the fire and floods. The burn scar mud comes running down the mountains with no root system after a wildfire, so flooding will continue. In every decision I made for the project, this was a factor considered!}

Slide to see which vintage pieces came with the cottage when we bought it.

It’s unusual to mix a 1960 modernist fiberglass sofa with a 100 year old Buckaroo Style set, but it’s not unusual for my work. Theme-y furnishing palettes can read cheesy, and date badly. For designers, furnishing is like making a collage. Things are curated here by the fact that I like them, and that’s it.

All the interiors you see in the top magazines tend to include high end vintage and antique pieces, rugs, lamps, art, textiles- there are lots of ways to work in vintage and antique in your spaces.

Get ready for a doozy of a fact! THIS metal Kitchen Kraft cabinet was the ONLY kitchen cabinet in the entire home when we bought it!

These metal cabinets were made in the 1920s to be “vermin proof”. A pretty nice feature for your weekend cottage outside Los Angeles!

I chose this Sunflower yellow because it’s so happy, and because it’s the number 1 emerging trend I saw in my design travels in 2019.

Andrew set up a paint station for me and even with the expert set up, I did a sub par job on this cabinet. I am a terrible painter and live by the credo of DON’T IY. I have no patience and should spend my time working at my own job so I can hire actual professionals!

The paddles here are painted to reflect history of the area, which features it’s own nationally registered sailboat style. The sailing club logo is similar to the design on these paddles. I did love painting these because I wanted that “summer camp” kind of feeling, I went to Cape Cod Sea Camps and LOVED it, painting everything on the dock gave me a reason to spend hours and hours outside, chatting with neighbors as they boated by.

So because the Buckaroo style set is so special (Los Angeles made antiques are in short supply) I couldn’t just paint them myself, I would ruin them! I had those professionally done and used a paint color that unified them to the fiberglass sofa. The cushions and throw pillows reinforce the match. The cushions are Sunbrella and I’ve had them for a long time. The throw pillows are new for this project. The turf area rug is actual golf course grade turf from Syn Lawn and it’s about 12 years old!

Here’s how to think about your role in reducing waste in your outdoor projects.

If you do not enjoy replacing decor: Invest in top quality outdoor cushions, frames and decor from a local designer. Sunbrella or Perrenials for the fabric and please ensure you get top quality, higher density, quick dry, thick foam. The price will give you sticker shock, but the pieces will last a good long time if you give them basic care.

If you enjoy replacing decor: Invest in a good umbrella frame and a neutral or classic set of higher end furniture cushions to reduce your impact on the environment. Then change up the throw pillow covers and umbrella canopy every once in a while. 9′ is a common umbrella size. Do make sure you are buying fair trade products that are not off gassing carcinogens. This method is not waste-free, but it is better than buying new cushions year after year.

ONE OF A KIND LOOK

If you are pulling together any space, think of how to make it special and uniquely yours. In our case, we usually spend summers in New England. We are missing them and our annual trip during this pandemic, and after the damage, the relic from my family’s lake house (some window frames) disappeared. We needed a little New England reference again.

I remembered a pile of Lobster Pot Buoys from an antique store in Essex, MA. Howards Flying Dragon. I called and Cathy was happy to work with me on shipping 25 of the most colorful buoys for a colorful chandelier!

Andrew helped me pull this thing together, and it gave us a reason to repair the dock electrical, which led to replacing the sconces, which led to getting new switches and plugs. Such a joyful looking excuse to take care of a lingering repair project. And it helped a little with the homesickness.

Each family paints their buoys to indicate their pots, and some carve initials in!

Check out how the One of a Kind Adaptive Reuse Buoy Chandelier project turned out…

Throw in a salvaged life ring from a film prop yard sale and you’ve got yourself a #PaddleHouse!

BUDGET REVEAL

Thank you #oneroomchallenge and #betterhomesandgardens

Outdoor entertaining of a few guests has been such a cure for the quarantine blues, and I am so appreciative of the @oneroomchallenge for providing the impetus to repair this space after the partial fire damage and flooding. It’s a joy to have this special spot and to live in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in this historic, connected and loving community. It is a joy to be a professional interior designer working with the kindest and most genuine clients making the most interesting fun and connected spaces with discernment and a pool of incredibly talented crafts people. I am filled with gratitude.

I hope you use this post to create your own one of a kind, waste reducing, value preserving collected look space incorporating vintage!

A note on the Photographer

Michael P Kelley is a world renowned architectural photographer who I was lucky enough to hitch my interior design company’s wagon to in 2013. He gets embarrassed when clients say things like “world renowned” but it’s literal, and it’s because he’s RIDICULOUSLY TALENTED and totally in love with taking photos. Shooting this dock was just about the most joyful experience we’ve had around here in several months, and I just wanted to take a minute to embarrass the man, and express my profound gratitude. You can read more about him and see his books on his incredible website or insta. He generates a ton of educational content for photographers and loves to photograph aviation. The slideshow below is his photos of my work over the years. Beginning with his COVID art project, Shelter in Place. Thank you, Mike!

Be sure and visit the other participants in this bi-annual online event! https://www.oneroomchallenge.com/