House Tour-Vanessa

Name: Vanessa Ryerse
Location: Northwest Arkansas
Square Footage: 2400
Years Lived in: one
Rent or own: own
Describe your style: Modern Farmhouse Eclectic
Blog/Website/Twitter: www.vintagebutterfly94.etsy.com

What's your favorite free/found item?
My piano. My husband surprised me with it on Christmas morning. He and a group of friends sneaked it into the house in the middle of the night while I was sleeping and I never heard a thing. And we lived in Michigan at the time, so there was more than a foot of snow while they did it.


What's your favorite purchased item?
The painting of orange zinnias in a blue and white crock that hangs in my bedroom. It cost ten dollars and we were very poor at the time, but it makes me happy every morning when I look at it because it reminds me of a painting my mother made when she was young.

What has been your biggest obstacle in decorating/design?
In the past, we lived in houses that were old and had a lot of character. We bought this house to be close to a good school for my kids and it is only five years old. I find the house to be rather soul-less and prissy. I don't think I was meant to live in suburbia. I'd like to rip out the granite counter-tops for concrete ones and take all the cupboard doors off.


Is your design style organic or planned?
Organic for sure. I am always buying to stock my store, but some pieces find their way into the house and just stay forever because we grow to love them.

What is your favorite spot in the house? 
Without a doubt, I love the corner of my bedroom that I see when I wake up. I almost never sit on the couch there, but it's the one spot in the house that I am completely satisfied with.


How has your style changed in the past 5 years? 
I'm learning to be confident enough to just like what I like and not care what the trends are. I'd love to say that I'm getting better at editing, but maybe in another five years.....

What is your favorite resource or store? 
I have a circuit of thrift stores that know me by name. I rarely go to garage sales, but I always go to the local estate sales...I look for things I would want to pass on to my kids. Sometimes I have to remind myself when I am looking for a particular thing that SOME people actually go to stores to buy these things. Once in a while, we make a five hour drive to the closest IKEA.


What is your biggest decorating/design pet peeve? 
Ooooh...I HATE it when people hang their pictures too high; anything that is too matchy-matchy. And store-bought art.

What has been your favorite design trend? 
I love that people are awakening to the practicality of recycling, upcycling and re-purposing. It's not trashy, it's practical and financially responsible.


What is the biggest influence on your design/decorating style?
My own practicality. I don't think I've spent more than 200 dollars on any one thing in this whole house. With three kids and two dogs, I see no point in owning anything too precious.

What in your home dictates how you design/decorate?
Those three kids and two dogs dictate a lot. It's really important that the house just be really comfortable for my family and our friends.


What is the simplest thing you have done that has made the biggest impact?
I painted the front and back door a bright earthy olive green. It makes me happy whenever I see a glimpse of the doors, inside and out.

all photos courtesy of homeowner. If you would like to have your home featured please send me an email or submit pictures of your home to the flickr group.