My Houzz: Cozy and Eclectic Updates in Salt Lake City
First-time homeowners personalize their space with DIY touches and midcentury modern style
Lucy Call
March 29, 2017
Houzz contributor. I have been working as a freelance photographer for 5 years. I specialize in architecture and food. You can check out my work at www.lucycall.com and follow me on instagram: @lucycall
Houzz contributor. I have been working as a freelance photographer for 5 years. I... More
“We are still working on it, and it will probably always be a work in progress,” Katie Schiffgen says of her first home shared with husband Steven. The couple’s two-story house has a great layout but was in need of cosmetic updates when they bought it. Katie, a yoga teacher, and Steven, who works in 3-D printing, added their own handy, budget-friendly touches throughout the interior of their Salt Lake City home by painting the walls and kitchen cabinets and adding open shelving.
“I love midcentury modern, but I’m also very eclectic and a little kitschy in my style,” Katie says. “I feel like my style is a combination of those three things.” Thoughtful purchases and patience have helped the couple in their design process. “Sometimes I wait months to buy stuff because I just can’t find the perfect fit, or sometimes I see something right away and snag it,” Katie says. “There are still little things that I want to change, but I haven’t found the right thing yet. Doing things on a budget doesn’t always mean having everything perfect now.”
“I love midcentury modern, but I’m also very eclectic and a little kitschy in my style,” Katie says. “I feel like my style is a combination of those three things.” Thoughtful purchases and patience have helped the couple in their design process. “Sometimes I wait months to buy stuff because I just can’t find the perfect fit, or sometimes I see something right away and snag it,” Katie says. “There are still little things that I want to change, but I haven’t found the right thing yet. Doing things on a budget doesn’t always mean having everything perfect now.”
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Steven and Katie Schiffgen, with labradoodle Penny and terrier-poodle mix Ruby
Location: Cottonwood Heights area of Salt Lake City, Utah
Size: 3,000 square feet (279 square meters); three bedrooms, two bathrooms
Year built: 1983
When the couple first moved in, they painted the living room walls a robin’s egg blue. They also painted all the molding white. They worked with friend Samantha Knipp of Brooke & Bree Designs to redesign the living room after they had been living in the home for about two years.
“She completely changed the way it feels and made it a ton more open,” Katie says. “It literally felt like the room grew after she finished decorating. She took my love for midcentury design and mixed it with both mine and my husband’s personalities to also create a more eclectic feel.
“She also helped us do it on a budget! She helped me realize what was worth spending money on and what we could be more thrifty on.” Now this space is Katie’s favorite place in the house.
Wall paint: Island Shores by Glidden mixed at 50%
Who lives here: Steven and Katie Schiffgen, with labradoodle Penny and terrier-poodle mix Ruby
Location: Cottonwood Heights area of Salt Lake City, Utah
Size: 3,000 square feet (279 square meters); three bedrooms, two bathrooms
Year built: 1983
When the couple first moved in, they painted the living room walls a robin’s egg blue. They also painted all the molding white. They worked with friend Samantha Knipp of Brooke & Bree Designs to redesign the living room after they had been living in the home for about two years.
“She completely changed the way it feels and made it a ton more open,” Katie says. “It literally felt like the room grew after she finished decorating. She took my love for midcentury design and mixed it with both mine and my husband’s personalities to also create a more eclectic feel.
“She also helped us do it on a budget! She helped me realize what was worth spending money on and what we could be more thrifty on.” Now this space is Katie’s favorite place in the house.
Wall paint: Island Shores by Glidden mixed at 50%
There are still a few things Katie would like to change in the living room, like the rug in this sitting area. “To stay within our budget, sometimes I had to make it look good enough, and then in time make it exactly how I want, like when the right piece comes along or when we’ve saved a little more money,” Katie says.
“I love [the living room] because I think it fits our personalities so well, but it still looks hip and stylish. It’s super cozy and a good place to hang with friends as well,” she says.
“I love [the living room] because I think it fits our personalities so well, but it still looks hip and stylish. It’s super cozy and a good place to hang with friends as well,” she says.
The couple built these shelves, keeping the overall cost around $100. “We used a lot of stuff we already had in other parts of our house to put on the shelves, but then bought a few more expensive things that made it look cute and complete,” Katie says.
Katie decided to spend more on accent pieces like rugs, chairs and artwork. “I splurged on the artwork over the fireplace, which I love,” she says.
Artwork: (left) Red Rock and Sky by Compass Rose Photography; (right) Blue Cactus by Wilder California
Artwork: (left) Red Rock and Sky by Compass Rose Photography; (right) Blue Cactus by Wilder California
Katie enjoyed working with Knipp because the designer knows the couple’s personalities. “She knows I love yoga, plants and art,” Katie says. The shelves feature a variety of small plants and cool garage sale finds.
Knipp designed a sleeping area for the couple’s dogs. Katie is seen here with Ruby, a terrier-poodle mix the couple rescued. Knipp elevated a simple dog bed by adding a mini tepee.
The family room is connected to the kitchen and is decorated with things the couple love. They arranged framed artwork, some of it by Katie, to personalize the space while still keeping it simple. The open space is an ideal place for Katie to practice her yoga.
Black mirror: Ung Drill, Ikea
Black mirror: Ung Drill, Ikea
The couple added a grandfather clock decal from Ikea as a fun and kitschy detail. The dogs love hanging out in this room.
The kitchen needed the most work. “Our kitchen cabinets were so ugly, but they were good-quality, solid wood and would have been super expensive to replace. We ended up painting them ourselves,” Katie says. The couple removed some upper cabinets to open up the space and added pendant lights.
They also added beadboard above the cabinets and around the peninsula to give the cabinetry a more elegant and finished look. And they updated the counters, which they considered a worthwhile investment. Other improvements include a new sink, a new hood above the range and recessed lighting.
Katie wanted to give their bedroom a little more character while still keeping within their budget. She used two decorative wooden headboards from Ikea and attached one on top of the other. She filled the shelves with plants and photos to brighten the room. She loves how it turned out and how affordable it was.
In the basement, the couple created a movie room based around Steven’s love of Star Wars. “It makes for a good room to hang out in,” Katie says. “And someday when we have kids I know they’ll love it. I painted the front wall like the Millennium Falcon and we have Star Wars pictures all around the room.” Steven turned the deep windowsill into a little bar area, complete with movie theater candy.
“We found this house and loved so much about it — the area, the layout, the care that had been taken by previous owners, the three-car garage,” says Katie, seen here with Steven. “We asked if they’d be willing to do rent-to-own and to our surprise, they said yes! So we rented for about six months until we could get a loan to buy.”
The couple say it’s satisfying to have done almost all the work themselves. “I’m proud of how we took things we were given by family because they didn’t want them anymore and used as much as we could, while still buying or creating things on our own, so that it feels like us,” Katie says. “For the most part, we did most everything ourselves with a very limited budget and we are really happy with it so far.”
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.
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
The couple say it’s satisfying to have done almost all the work themselves. “I’m proud of how we took things we were given by family because they didn’t want them anymore and used as much as we could, while still buying or creating things on our own, so that it feels like us,” Katie says. “For the most part, we did most everything ourselves with a very limited budget and we are really happy with it so far.”
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.
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
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Knick knacks is a colloquial term, as is tchotchke, as is trinkets and trifles ^_~.
I hope those cute dog models are given their proper talent fees? Beautiful showcase of artistry and good lighting fixture choices.
Love the blue color.