Let us take a tour together of Heidi Kenney  of  My Paper Crane’s  home for  A Peek Inside: indie home tours. Heidi’s plushes are just so delightful and her home won’t disappoint either—it’s colorful, fun & just the right amount of quirky for my taste.

1. How would you describe your designing style?

Hodge-podge…my husband and are I big collectors. Whenever we see something we like, we add it to the house without worrying about it fitting any sort of design style.

2. Tell us about your home. Is it an apartment or house. Is it newer or a refurbished older home? Did you completely redo it or just add some new paint?

It is a single family home, and is over 100 years old. It was completely redone before we bought it. At one time it was even split into two apartments. It was redone the year before we bought it and changed back to a single family house. The two brothers who sold it have fixed up quite a number of the houses in our area for resale and they really did an excellent job. It was like buying a new house inside an old house. All the appliances, fixtures, etc were new, but our beautiful old hardwood is all original and has even been repaired in ares with more original wood which was removed when they made the laundry room (tile floor). We have mostly just added paint to the walls and that is about it.

3. Pick a few of your treasures and share what’s the special about them to you.

We have a set of red school lockers that we bought at a local flea marker type shop. They are super heavy, but actual school lockers and we have them set up in our mud room so they really come in handy.

I also really love our Pez collection which is in our dining room. We get comments on it all the time, the case is one our friend made for his own Pez collection and when he out grew it, he sold it to us. We actually need a second case now.

4. What was your favorite project in decorating and designing your house? What would you do differently?

My favorite would probably our bedroom, because when we originally had the largest room in the house and decided to switch after a year so that our teenage son could have the big room. Well when we moved into the smaller room it was really crazy, nothing fit right, the walls were not painted. It had a tiny closet that you couldn’t even fit a hanger in…but we were determined to make it work. We bought a new bed with drawers underneath, got rid of our tall shelves, took the closet door off and wall papered it. My husband then made shelves for the closet so we could use it for books we were currently reading, and we painted the room. Now its really one of our favorite rooms in the whole house.
I think if I could change one thing it would have been to paint all the rooms before we moved in. We moved in December and were really eager to get somewhat settled before Christmas. It is also the first house we ever owned. So we did paint almost the entire downstairs before moving in, but the second floor has been really slow going (we’ve lived here two years now) and so far just the three bedrooms have been painted. It just makes it such a pain when you’ve got things in place, or hanging on the walls.

5. What’s your favorite room and why?

My most favorite room of the house is the studio on the 3rd floor. My husband has an area for his desk and supplies and then I have a huge space for everything I make. It’s really nice that its on the 3rd floor, so I never have to worry over it being clean even if people are coming over. Plus it’s just wonderful to have a whole space where things can stay out as you are making them.

6. Any current or upcoming home projects?

Now that both our kids are in school full time this year we really want to paint and tile the upstairs bathroom. We want to make a few small minor changes to it as far as places for towels etc goes.

I have such a treat for you today’s edition of  A Peek Inside: indie home tours….Vanessa Valencia of {A Fanciful Twist} has opened up her homes for an exclusive tour just for Indie Fixx readers. Vanessa is an artist (etsy shop) & blogger who regularly shares little peeks of her homes on her blog, but never before has she thrown open the doors for a full-fledged tour…until now.  The observant among you may have noticed that I wrote homes and that was not a typo.  Vanessa has two homes—she is both a city & a country mouse—and she is sharing both with us.

Vanessa’s style is not easy to pin down, it’s one part New Victorian (as described in the Dec/Jan House Beautiful), one part whimsy, one part magical, one part bohemian, one part museum and another part amusement park, a little bit dark, lots of romance sprinkled about, a soupcon of art deco & with plenty of diy all throughout. I won’t waste too much time in trying to describe Vanessa’s style, as it will be much more enjoyable for you to come up with your own description after reading my interview with her as well as drooling over all the  images.

So, take a look, read the interview and share your thoughts. Personally, Vanessa’s country house just may well be my dream home!

City house bedroom

1. How would you describe your designing style?

I would have to say that it is definitely an eclectic and collected design style - which seemingly combines all the design phases I have gone through since I started living alone at 18 to now. At the city house, there is a tinge of modernism left from my large scale abstract painting days, and collected pieces infused with a bit of wackiness and bright color flair. I went through a phase where I painted every piece of furniture I owned, including my piano and kitchen curio cabinet at the city house. So a bit of that remains, but I think my love of vintage and antiques have really taken over in the last few years giving my style a more vintage flair, especially in the country…

City house living

Country house bedroom in the spring

2. Tell us about your homes. How the city house/country house living evolve? Where do you spend most of your time?

I moved to Tucson in 1994 to attend the University of Arizona, at which point I moved into the city house. I lived there full time until I was 25 years old and had graduated from the University and started a career, where I met Mister Lovee (significant other). He had purchased this old property that needed work a few years before I met him. It had several canning and gardening facilities because there are many fruit trees, and the previous owners grew and raised all of their own food on the property for 30+ years.

Over time we realized there were spaces with potential for me to have my own room, studio, office and gallery, separate from the main house (which I don’t share in the photos in order to give Mister Lovee some privacy). Mister Lovee was very open to converting an Arizona room into my own girlie bedroom, a canning room into my studio, a canning facility into my office (most recent), and a canning and gardening house into a gallery for local shows and appointments. We dreamed about it for a few years, and then started to work on each space until it came to fruition.

I commuted between the city and the country house for years (spending most of my time in the country), and then made the country home my main residence about 4 years ago. I quit my business related job at which point I started spending all my time at the country house so I could create in my studio and run a little business selling my art. We own the country property together, and have high hopes of seeing it flourish even more. There are a few things we would like to do, and are open to and excited about future projects.

Country house bedroom

The interview continues after the jump

(Continued)

I follow Wende Oates Larsen on Twitter, that’s where I catch her weekly Best of Etsy on Wednesdays, which she also shares on her Mireio Designs Blog (she also blogs at Evidently). It was also from Twitter that I also discovered Mireio, her store where she sells her cottage terrific home decor goodies.  I may have even made a purchase from said shop…

Wende usually shares pics of her home on Evidently and earlier this fall I asked her if she would send me some and answer some questions for A Peek Inside: indie home tours.  Let’s take a tour together!

1. How would you describe your designing style?

I’d say we’re pretty eclectic. I believe in surrounding yourself with things you love and can use. Very little in my home is solely decorative. We’re a fun mix of vintage, antiques, thrifted, and handmade. Our style has evolved over the years, but I think we’ve struck a good mix of each of us.

Color plays a huge role in our home. The north coast of Oregon has a lot of grey days, and all that color keeps us sane during the rainy months. I have these fantasies of pale walls and even paler furniture, but with a kid and dog and cat and living on the coast of Oregon. . . it’s just that, a fantasy. Although after 4 years of living in lots of yellow, my husband is contemplating a complete reworking of our color scheme. And I keep saying, “Not before we finish the yard!”

2. Where did you get all those gorgeous pre-loved furniture pieces (especially love the deco ones)? Are they family pieces or flea market scores?

A few came into our marriage 19 years ago! The rest we collected through the years. We are fortunate to have lived in a few places with amazing consignment and antique stores. With exception to our couches, none of our furniture is new! It’s either been a vintage piece or something we found in a thrift or consignment store. I’m not sure I’d know how to walk into a real furniture store and shop!

3. Share a favorite treasure(s) and tell us the story behind it.

I have a red tin tray that sits on our ottoman in our living room that I found at a garage sale in Seattle in 1992. At that time, it held an honored spot on the wall of my very Parisian blue kitchen. However, when we moved cross-country in 1997 the movers didn’t pack it. And after weeks of waiting for my things, and then another few weeks of unpacking, I discovered it hadn’t made it in the move. I was so crushed.

Spring forward to 2004. I’m walking in downtown San Anselmo, California, where I was living as a poor graduate student at the time. I just happened to walk past an antique store when something through the doorway caught my attention. Propped up against the counter, deep in the store, was a tray. Turns out, it was my tray!(mine had a distinct flaw that marked it!)

I bought it on the spot! I’m not sure how, years later and 2 states south, but clearly it was meant to find me again. And when I moved to this house 2 years later, the tray came in the car with me.

4. Lovely flowers, are they from your own garden or do you go out to them farmers’ market for them?

I’m blessed to have so many flowers in my yard. And I keep planting more! However, the dahlias are one of the amazing perks to living in this town. In the later summer, early fall you can’t drive more than a few miles without finding a roadside flower stand. I have two stands in my neighborhood! So, while in season, I keep our house filled with bunches of dahlias. They’re absolutely gorgeous and so hard to resist!

5. What’s your favorite room and why?

I’m such a fan of our porch! I had very few “must have” items on my list when we started looking for a home. A porch was at the top of that list. So, you can imagine what I thought when I discovered this house not only had a porch, but a porch with a view. I think I was sold before I ever walked inside the house.

We repainted a few years ago, and the painter wasn’t too convinced about the color choices for the porch. Especially the porch floor, he called it, “tangy”. But you know, I was having my very traditional farmhouse painted a very traditional gray with white trim, I wanted some color!

The “tangy” label stuck. And we have lots of parties and dinners on our tangy porch. The view is breath taking. It never gets old. And it’s the one place in the house where I go “over the board girly.” Loads of flowers, and pretty china, and vintage floral tablecloths-I ‘m always setting the table differently. Both my husband and son play along-sipping tea from dainty china. I think they secretly enjoy my grown-up attempt at playing “tea party!” Especially when scones are involved!

6. Are those homemade scones I spy? Yum…do you have a recipe you can share?

Sure! Scones are such a big part of our life. I’m constantly making them and they’re so easy to do!

Raspberry Scones

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar (we use Truvia!)
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt (we omit)

Whisk these ingredients. Then cut in with a pastry knife:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Cut in until it is a mix of pea sized and bread crumbs. Whisk together in a separate bowl:

¾ cup of Almond Milk
½ cup of half and half (You can use 1 and ¼ cup of half/half or even heavy whipping cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon orange zest (optional

Mix wet ingredients into the dry-just until incorporated. Don’t over mix!

Using a large cookie scoop (or spoon!) drop 3″ balls of dough onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Parchment paper works too! Using the back of the cookie scoop press an indent into the top of each scone. Then press raspberries into the “nest” of each scone.

Sprinkle tops with just a touch of sugar before baking.

Bake in a 425 degree oven for 10 minutes.

7. Where does everyone seem to congregate? Is it out on that sweet porch, around the dining room table, in the kitchen? It’s always the kitchen in my house.

I think we all love the porch! We eat as many meals and take as many breaks on it as we can. I once found my, then 9 year old, up at the crack of dawn watching the sunrise over the mighty Columbia from our porch. And we savor those rare warm nights, where we can sit out on and listen to the ship traffic, sip wine, and dream a little. Even in the winter, we find ways of inhabiting this space. It’s the go-to spot for almost every party and where we run amok with holiday decorations!

8. What’s one home decor project that you are particularly proud of?

I adore our bedroom. It’s such a tranquil space and really romantic without being overly feminine. We wanted our bedroom to be a lovely retreat and I think we accomplished that goal. Like the rest of the house, it’s mix of vintage, antiques, and thrifted items. We had a lot of fun treasure hunting together, and Jack is responsible for finding the gorgeous vintage Japanese hutches that act as our bedside tables. The room really reflects both of us and I think my husband enjoys our bedroom just as much as I do. And that’s a very good thing!

Today for A Peek Inside: indie home tours, I am sharing Marisa Haedike of Creative Thursday’s home with you. I’m pretty sure most of you know who Marisa is and are as enamored with her work as I am, but for those don’t know Marissa is an artist & writer. She share her paintings, prints and other goodies in her Etsy Shop, Blogs, has written a couple of children’s books, podcasts, and teaches art courses plus plenty of other stuff too!

Marisa has shared little spinets of her home before, some on her blog and on flickr, just enough to pique my interest and make me wish for more though.  So, I asked for a tour!

1. How would you describe your designing style?

Eclectic with a European influence and a splash of color! Much of my family lives in Germany and as a child I would visit there every summer. Those trips to Europe really influenced my early sense of style. Then having worked 5 years as an interior designer greatly influenced my appreciation of color and an eclectic style. My favorite homes have always been the ones where you really have to take in all the pieces, one at a time to learn the story of how they came to be.

2. Tell us about your home. Is it an apartment or house. Is it newer or a refurbished older home? Did you completely redo it or just add some new paint?

The house we live in was built in the 1940’s. While located, literally in the middle of Los Angeles, it is one of the quietest, most beautiful little tree-lined neighborhoods in the city. It belongs to the man who was raised in it since he was 2 years old so it is a very special home. We knew it the minute we walked through the doors. You know how homes just have “a feeling”? Well this one was happy and peaceful. Since we are renting we’ve done no upgrades or painting, which as a former designer ~ it is very hard not to want to start renovating something. This is probably why we’ve been re-arranging, re-organizing and seriously de-cluttering these days instead.

3. Pick a few of your treasures and share what’s the special to you. Like your fave pillow or that 22 cup?

One of my favorite pieces is the chair in my bedroom. I bought it when I was just beginning to work in interior design. It is one of those first antique pieces I bought as a young adult developing a sense of my own style. In all my many moves and clearing out, it continues to stand the test of time and I love it to this day.
And my fave pillow! Well that’s a relatively new acquisition. It is a pillow from Urban Outiftters by the wonderful illustrator Nate Williams. You know how I love animals in art? I adore the design and the colors. It inspires me every time I look at it.

The 22 cup is also a new acquisition. From Anthropologie of course. Who among us does not love going in that store? Everything is so thoughtfully and beautifully designed down to every last detail. 2 has always been my favorite number, so well 22 is double my favorite number. Whenever I see the number 22 I get this sensation that all is well and I’m right where I need to be, so I when I saw that 22 was a number on one of these cups, I knew I had to have it as a gentle reminder every day that all is truly well. Not to mention I’m a big fan of lattes and a good cup of tea served in inspiring cups, of course!

I couldn’t complete answering this question without saying how much I treasure my growing art collection, including my own pieces. Having art, especially original art in my home is so meaningful to me and has become even more so since I started making my living as an artist. Every time I look at a piece that I bought I know that in some small way I contributed to someone else’s dream of living a creative life and doing work that they love.

4. What was your favorite project in decorating and designing your house? What would you do differently?

My favorite part of decorating is coming into a new space and making it yours. This home is the first one of all the homes I’ve lived in where I have and actual “studio” space to call my own. It is a little sun room, just off our dining room. My only wish is for it to have a door I could close sometimes, on those days when I really need some quiet and uninterrupted time to focus.

5. Color seems really important to you, was that planned or did it just happen?

When I was working as an interior designer, my first boss introduced me to the designer Tricia Guild. And that was it, I was hooked. European design style with color!

6. What’s your favorite room and why?

Since I tend to rotate around to almost every room in this house, it varies from day to day. Probably my consistent favorite is my studio because it’s where I create the most and it’s just such a cozy little space.

7. Any current or upcoming home projects?

Our current project, is our newest obsession with clearing out clutter. We are contemplating a move in the future and want to be ready. We want to be lighter going forward and you just don’t realize how many “things” are weighing you down until you start letting them go. We’ve been working on this little by little over the last two months and I can’t even begin to tell you how incredible it feels. Although I’ve tried to put into words in a recent, very long, blog post I wrote about “choosing a simpler life”.  Not a new concept, I’ve known for years how simplifying and de-cluttering is so beneficial, yet for so long I’ve avoided it. For some reason, this time, I’m taking it to a whole new level and my life, how I want to live it, and the direction I’m now headed has a clarity like never before. Amazing what a little re-organizing will do!

You are in for a real treat today for A Peek Inside: indie home tours—Amanda Blake Soule of the blog Soule Mama opens up her home for us to take a peek at.  Amanda is a writer and a mama who blends the two on her blog and in her crafty books, the latest of which is Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures (see my review here).

Amanda regularly shares her home on her blog, but she put together a collection of special images just for us and answered some questions about her home and designing style. I for one just love Amanda’s style, it’s very practical and homey, but with delicate little touches. I also love how she manages to make her home inviting for both big and little people.

See for yourself below!

1. How would you describe your designing style?

Oh, that’s hard! There’s a lot of handmade in our home, many textiles and lots of history. I love vintage goodness, and am especially drawn to things from the 1930’s and 1940’s. But there are no strict rules about that – whatever we like and whatever works for our space gets added to the mix!

2. Tell us about your home. Is it an apartment or house? Is it newer or a refurbished older home? Did you completely redo it or just add some new paint?

We live in a 1920s three bedroom colonial house. We’re renters, but we’ve been here for eight years now and have really tried to make it our home in that time. We haven’t done any huge remodeling, but we do a lot of the repairs and we’ve painted many times over. I think fresh paint is magic, especially for renters.

3. How about that pile of quilts in one of your pics. Are they family hand me downs, finds at yard sales, homemade by you or a mixture of all three?

A few are family treasures and many I find at yard sales and antique shops. All the newer quilts that I’ve made are in active use – they’re a bit more able to handle the wear and tear of daily kid use than the old vintage treasures.

4. Share a favorite treasure and tell us the story behind it.

Our art cabinet is a big favorite, mostly because of all the magic that comes out of using the things inside it! But that it was a free roadside find, and that it’s now covered in a much-loved vintage fabric all adds to the love, certainly.

5. Your home is so lovely and yet still kid-friendly. I love how you make spaces that both appeal to kids and adults. Do you have any advice for people wanting to do the same in their own homes?

Thank you! I think my one piece of advice for that would be to choose carefully the toys you bring into your home. For lots of reasons, ‘less’ is more. It’s better for children’s imaginations, better for creating a peaceful family environment, and it’s much easier on the space in a house. I also think ‘beauty’ is an important factor to consider when bringing a toy into your home. Shouldn’t children’s toys and surroundings be beautiful, too? I think so.

6. What’s your favorite room and why?

I think that might be our dining room. The room in which we all gather each and every day to share stories and meals. That’s such an important time for our family. And during the day, the very same table is where lots of art, and writing, and making happens. It’s a busy spot – I love it.

7. Is that homemade bread and jam I spy? Yum…do you have a recipe you can share?

It is! It’s strawberry-rhubarb jam, which I shared a recipe for on the blog last year:

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

5 cups strawberries, hulled and quartered
3 cups rhubarb, sliced 1/2″
juice of 1.5 lemon
1 TBSP grated lemon zest
1.5 cups sweetener (I use turbinado sugar or honey)
1 oz pectin (I love Pomona’s Universal Pectin)

Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl (except the pectin), cover with wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

Drain juice from berries and rhubarb, and put in a large pot. Add half of the berry/rhubarb mix, and the pectin powder. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until it starts to thicken a bit. Puree, and then return to pot.

Add remaining berry/rhubarb mix. Bring to another boil, and then lower heat to a simmer for 20 -30 minutes, or until the jam thickens to your liking.

Pour into prepared jars, filling to within 1/2″ of the rim, and place lids on. These could be eaten immediately, refrigerated, or preserved with your favorite method.

8. Do you consider your home ‘finished’ or is it more a work in progress?

A work in progress, for sure. Our home is such a reflection of our lives and the way our days are spent – which are naturally always evolving and changing. I can’t imagine ever ‘finishing’ a house.

9. What’s one home decor project that you are particularly proud of?

Oddly, that might be the bookshelves in our dining room, and perhaps mostly because of their story. We were in need of really big bookshelves for that space. And as I’m sure lots of other people struggle with, finding furniture that we like the looks of, that fits, that is made humanely and sold ethically, AND is affordable – is a mighty tall task. So we found ourselves in a big box store about to make a purchase, when we both turned to each other and said, ‘what are we doing? Surely we can find a way to make it.”. And we did, even though carpentry skills aren’t exactly our forte. We found an old armoire in our basement, took it apart and used it for boards, and with just enough wooden vintage milk crates (from my grandparents dairy farm!), we put the shelves together. And in the end, they feel so much like ‘us’ that we can’t imagine having anything else there.

I was so delighted when Lisbon blogger and crafter Constança Cabral (or Concha) agreed to open up her home for A Peek Inside: indie home tours. I’ve long been a reader of Concha’s Blog and I just knew that her home would be totally lovely and I wasn’t wrong. I’ve also longed desired to visit Portugal and her blog confirms that I definitely need to make that happen at some point in my life.

So, onto my interview and Concha’s home.  After reading, make sure to visit her Etsy Shop where she always comes up with the most amazing prints for her totally adorable accessories.

1. How would you describe your designing style?

White is my background, my canvas. It’s so peaceful and I love how it makes other colours pop. I’m all for a limited colour scheme, but not too matchy-matchy. My style is very organic: I just keep adding layers to my home: a handmade cushion here, some prints there.

2. Tell us about your home. Is it an apartment or house. Is it newer or a refurbished older home? Did you completely redo it or just add some new paint?

My home is an apartment from 1972 which was is pretty bad shape when we bought it. We had it completely redone before we moved in. You can see how it was before here.

3. You seem to like red and blue a lot. Was that deliberate or did it just ‘happen’?

I guess it just happened. This is my first home but I’ve been reading books and magazines on interior decoration since I was a little girl. So I suppose I had all these ideas inside my head, and when I had an opportunity to put them into practice, this is what happened.

4. Share a favorite treasure and tell us the story behind it.

The white cupboard in my sewing room/dining room/office. Originally it lived in my grandfather’s entryway, full of coats and hats; then my father inherited it and placed it in my bedroom when I was still single and living at my father’s; some months ago, my husband and I painted it white and put it in our home. The back of the cupboard is so large that it didn’t fit our car, so we had to carry it on foot from my father’s home to ours! Don’t worry, it’s just 1 km…

5. What was your favorite project in decorating and designing your house? What would you do differently?

I must say it has been painting everything white. The flat looks so much bigger and cleaner with white walls, white doors and white furniture! The thing I would change would be the floors: we really couldn’t afford hard wood floors, but if I had the money… oh, I wouldn’t think twice!

6. What’s your favorite room and why?

I love the spare room that triples as sewing room, dining room and office. I spend my days over there, sewing and writing my blog. It holds all my fabrics and sewing supplies… all my treasures really!