My Houzz: Moody Wall Treatments and Eclectic Style
Heirlooms, flea market finds and collectibles mix with modern touches in this stylist’s family home in Austin, Texas
Julie Sheer
January 17, 2019
Houzz Contributor; journalist with more than two decades of experience as a graphics editor and writer at the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune; outdoor guidebook author; lover of all things outdoors, nature and wildlife. Follow me at https://westcentric.wordpress.com/
Houzz Contributor; journalist with more than two decades of experience as a graphics... More
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Scott and Kristin Laing and their daughter, Fiona, 9, and two Ragdoll cats
Location: Austin, Texas
Size: 2,800 square feet (260 square meters); four bedrooms, three bathrooms
As an interior stylist and photographer, Kristin Laing loves using heirlooms, thrift store purchases and flea market finds to create eclectic spaces for clients. She recently brought that passion into her own home in Austin, Texas, where she and husband Scott and daughter Fiona have lived for the past 6½ years.
The 1988 house is in a subdivision of traditional brick homes, and the couple have been gradually remodeling parts of it to modernize it and inject their own personality. Inspired by British design, antiques and Victorian homes, Laing isn’t afraid of mixing patterns and says she relishes multigenerational homes with family relics “from a time when quality was more important.”
The home’s public spaces tend to be small and the private spaces large, which proved to be a design challenge. The living room, seen here, was particularly vexing. “The real challenge with this room is the size and angled fireplace, which takes up a ton of room,” Laing says. The transparent lucite coffee table makes the rug more visible and “visually doesn’t take up any weight in the room,” she says.
Trim and fireplace paint: White Dove, Benjamin Moore
Who lives here: Scott and Kristin Laing and their daughter, Fiona, 9, and two Ragdoll cats
Location: Austin, Texas
Size: 2,800 square feet (260 square meters); four bedrooms, three bathrooms
As an interior stylist and photographer, Kristin Laing loves using heirlooms, thrift store purchases and flea market finds to create eclectic spaces for clients. She recently brought that passion into her own home in Austin, Texas, where she and husband Scott and daughter Fiona have lived for the past 6½ years.
The 1988 house is in a subdivision of traditional brick homes, and the couple have been gradually remodeling parts of it to modernize it and inject their own personality. Inspired by British design, antiques and Victorian homes, Laing isn’t afraid of mixing patterns and says she relishes multigenerational homes with family relics “from a time when quality was more important.”
The home’s public spaces tend to be small and the private spaces large, which proved to be a design challenge. The living room, seen here, was particularly vexing. “The real challenge with this room is the size and angled fireplace, which takes up a ton of room,” Laing says. The transparent lucite coffee table makes the rug more visible and “visually doesn’t take up any weight in the room,” she says.
Trim and fireplace paint: White Dove, Benjamin Moore
Laing loves collecting paintings and other artwork, from skilled makers and amateur artists alike. “I love anything with personality and soul, and to bring that into a home,” she says. Laing, shown here with her husband and daughter, worked with natural light and paint to create a bit of drama. “It’s kind of fun to have different moods as you go through the house,” she says.
Laing believes a home needs to be lived in for a while before you settle on a decor scheme. “I don’t feel like you can design a room in 30 days,” she says. “You need to live in it and make changes. You need it to breathe and have a life of its own.”
Laing believes a home needs to be lived in for a while before you settle on a decor scheme. “I don’t feel like you can design a room in 30 days,” she says. “You need to live in it and make changes. You need it to breathe and have a life of its own.”
The natural-light-filled sitting room, located next to the living room, is a place for people to sit and chat. Laing added color and a mix of imported and flea market textiles to the space, which used to be the dining room. The lion needlepoint pillow was originally framed as wall art; the coffee table and rug are vintage. The Brazilian teak floor was installed by previous owners.
Wall paint: Albescent, Benjamin Moore
Find a local interior designer on Houzz
Wall paint: Albescent, Benjamin Moore
Find a local interior designer on Houzz
The home’s entry is also a combination of old and new. Laing bought the traditional bench at a flea market and had it chalk-painted, then modernized it with a fun fur throw. The gallery wall is a mix of vintage finds.
An Insider’s Guide to Creating the Perfect Gallery Wall
An Insider’s Guide to Creating the Perfect Gallery Wall
Across from the entry, a nook in the living room has an accent wall painted to match the front door.
Front door and accent wall paint: Inchyra Blue, Farrow & Ball
Find a painting or wallcovering professional near you
Front door and accent wall paint: Inchyra Blue, Farrow & Ball
Find a painting or wallcovering professional near you
Next to the entry, the stairway got a major makeover. Laing replaced the carpeted steps with wood that she wallpapered. She used a custom-cut temporary peel-and-stick paper on the risers.
7 Ways to Make Your Stairs Stand Out
7 Ways to Make Your Stairs Stand Out
Before: Here’s how the kitchen looked before the Laings remodeled it. It had oak cabinets, awkward lighting and inefficient use of space, and the couple knew they wanted to update the room with modern, bright finishes.
Find a local kitchen designer
Find a local kitchen designer
After: The kitchen’s footprint didn’t change, but the Laings removed all the upper cabinets (on the left side of the photo) and put in a floating shelf and range hood that Scott built. The hood is trimmed with brass and walnut stained dark to complement the black appliances.
On the opposite side, they removed a double oven and installed tall cabinets. An appliance garage keeps the coffee maker, microwave and other small appliances out of view. Laing loves the visual interest of the new wood-grained floor tile placed in a herringbone pattern. During the remodel, the couple had LED can lights installed and the pendant light relocated.
Cabinets: Semihandmade; wall paint: Linen White, Benjamin Moore; dark antique brass and matte black pendant: Feiss; quartz undermount sink: Elkay
On the opposite side, they removed a double oven and installed tall cabinets. An appliance garage keeps the coffee maker, microwave and other small appliances out of view. Laing loves the visual interest of the new wood-grained floor tile placed in a herringbone pattern. During the remodel, the couple had LED can lights installed and the pendant light relocated.
Cabinets: Semihandmade; wall paint: Linen White, Benjamin Moore; dark antique brass and matte black pendant: Feiss; quartz undermount sink: Elkay
The couple installed an L-shaped banquette in the kitchen’s dining area; its seat flips up to reveal storage. A new modern tulip table, brass chairs and lots of colorful pillows sit under a capiz shell chandelier.
Lippa square table: LexMod
Lippa square table: LexMod
Just up the stairs from the main level, the media room has a dark wall, rich textures and jewel tones. The paneled wall behind the television was originally a glossy stained honey oak, which the Laings painted white. After Scott bought, in Kristin’s words, “the biggest TV he could find,” she repainted the wall a charcoal color to make it blend in. “The TV looked enormous before and now it’s kind of camouflaged,” she says. Sconces provide backlighting when the family watches TV.
Browse black-and-white area rugs
Browse black-and-white area rugs
Before: The master bedroom had good lighting and was spacious, but it was a sea of tan and had no focal point.
After: The eye-catching wallpaper behind the bed is where the redesign of the master began, Laing says. She’s a fan of French panoramic wallpaper and was thrilled to find a company in Sweden called Rebel Walls that makes wallpaper murals.
She added a pink velvet bedspread to keep the room from being too monochromatic and is slowly adding more color to the space. This is one of Laing’s favorite rooms in the house. Even though the wallpaper was a splurge, she says, it was worth it. “It worked out so well. It’s a showstopper when you walk in.”
Wool shag area rug: NuLoom
Browse popular wallpapers on Houzz
She added a pink velvet bedspread to keep the room from being too monochromatic and is slowly adding more color to the space. This is one of Laing’s favorite rooms in the house. Even though the wallpaper was a splurge, she says, it was worth it. “It worked out so well. It’s a showstopper when you walk in.”
Wool shag area rug: NuLoom
Browse popular wallpapers on Houzz
The master bathroom is the first space the couple remodeled. “It was true 1980s ugly brass,” Laing says. “I love brass a lot, but it wasn’t good, so we ripped that out first thing. We built that into the budget when buying the house.” She collected bathroom photos on Houzz for ideas on relocating the linen closet. “It was wonderful to see what others have done.”
Wall paint: White Dove, Benjamin Moore
Wall paint: White Dove, Benjamin Moore
A freestanding tub from Signature Hardware now stands where a much larger garden tub used to be. The couple had the space retiled and installed board-and-batten molding throughout the room. Two brass hexagon-shaped mirrors hang vertically for visual interest. The new hexagonal floor tile was inspired by Laing’s parents’ 1930s home, which had the same tile.
Hire a local bathroom remodeling professional
Hire a local bathroom remodeling professional
The design of 9-year-old Fiona’s bedroom was an exercise in compromise between the tween and her parents. Fiona got her favorite colors of mustard and aqua and very little of the pinks and purples popular with many girls. “She’s very opinionated and has her own style; we both had to bend to come to things that we agreed on,” Laing says.
The cloud-patterned wallpaper from Rebel Walls is custom, with just the right shade of aqua sky.
Browse thousands of popular kids room photos
The cloud-patterned wallpaper from Rebel Walls is custom, with just the right shade of aqua sky.
Browse thousands of popular kids room photos
The couple turned a previously dark bedroom into this office, installing a tube-style skylight to brighten it up. “The original design was just a white wall; it was way too much white,” Laing says. Once the skylight was added it was almost too bright, so they toned it down with dark wallpaper on one wall. “It was amazing to see the difference between what we started with and have now,” Laing says.
The custom desk with two workstations was made from a countertop screwed onto three dressers. The wood in the chairs complements the faux-wood vinyl flooring, which replaced carpet.
The custom desk with two workstations was made from a countertop screwed onto three dressers. The wood in the chairs complements the faux-wood vinyl flooring, which replaced carpet.
The guest bedroom is next to the office and had the same lighting issues. Laing went with a midtone paint and used colors and textiles in the furnishings to match the rest of the house. The chandelier is secondhand, and she found the circa 1896 painting at a thrift store. Although the room is rarely used, Laing often makes changes to its decor. “I change up textiles often because I enjoy it,” she says.
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
More on Houzz
10 Times to Hire an Interior Designer
Find a local interior designer
Shop for wallpaper
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
More on Houzz
10 Times to Hire an Interior Designer
Find a local interior designer
Shop for wallpaper
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