My Houzz: A Toddler-Friendly Take on Recycled Decor
Upcycled thrifted finds and DIY art come together in this Kansas family’s ‘dumpster chic’ style
A painting from The Royal Relic is showcased in the living room. A pair of reproduction chairs bought on sale from At Home create a little seating nook.
Taylor is always rearranging and redecorating her home with cheap finds and upcycled thrifted finds. “My house will look completely different in six months,” she says. She finds that this approach enables her to keep a fresh perspective and a constant new energy in the home. “Sometimes I sell or donate something. It keeps things out of landfills, gives back, and as long as you don’t spend too much on anything, you don’t hold on to something just because you overpaid for it back it 2001.”
Taylor is always rearranging and redecorating her home with cheap finds and upcycled thrifted finds. “My house will look completely different in six months,” she says. She finds that this approach enables her to keep a fresh perspective and a constant new energy in the home. “Sometimes I sell or donate something. It keeps things out of landfills, gives back, and as long as you don’t spend too much on anything, you don’t hold on to something just because you overpaid for it back it 2001.”
Taylor is a blues singer and bass player. A five-string banjo doubles as wall art and is a fun instrument for the whole family to sing along to. The cowhide rug is from the “as-is” area at Ikea. Haren picked out the tufted midcentury-style couch; it’s one of his favorite pieces in the house.
Sofa: Moda Strathmore in Bennet Prailine, Nebraska Furniture Mart
Sofa: Moda Strathmore in Bennet Prailine, Nebraska Furniture Mart
The duck was from one of Haren’s hunting trips a few years ago. The trout basket on the opposite wall is a sentimental piece that belonged to Haren’s grandfather.
Dining table: Docksta, Ikea; cowhide: Sutherlands
Dining table: Docksta, Ikea; cowhide: Sutherlands
The decor in son Woods’ room is nature-inspired. “The floor mattress is a developmental idea from the Montessori school of thought,” Taylor says. The bedspread was discounted at Target, and the blanket, which is actually a rug, was a cheap estate sale find that they bought and had cleaned.
Throw pillow cover: Little Owl, Society6
Throw pillow cover: Little Owl, Society6
Taylor hand-painted the mountain scene in her son’s bedroom with blue paint she and Haren found at Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore for $9. They mixed it with white to get an ombré palette. The mountain mural design was inspired by a design by Rebecca Zajac of Design by Numbers Taylor saw in a story on Houzz.
Taylor made the twig-and-pine cone hanging from materials found on one of her nature walks with Woods.
Blue paint: Studio Blue Green, Sherwin-Williams
Taylor made the twig-and-pine cone hanging from materials found on one of her nature walks with Woods.
Blue paint: Studio Blue Green, Sherwin-Williams
This play horse was a recent garage sale find. Taylor plans to paint it and make it into a unicorn for her son.
Taylor uses wall-mounted lime-green Ikea tubs and a dresser with toddler-accessible toy bins in Woods’ room to allow him to explore safely and independently.
Toy storage: Krokig, Ikea
Toy storage: Krokig, Ikea
The master bedroom receives the best natural light in the house.
This soft blush mermaid quilt was bought on discount from Ross. Taylor found the headboard at ReStore and gave it a fresh coat of paint.
The master bedroom dresser came from Nebraska Furniture Mart. Taylor found the vintage French postal bag at an estate sale.
“My pet rabbit chewed holes through my Louis Vuitton, and I just couldn’t part with it,” Taylor says. So she cut a swatch of the only undamaged part and framed it as a way to still enjoy the handbag.
This vintage painting is a DIY art project. It hangs above the vintage desk repurposed as a TV stand. “We found it next to the dumpster, but it needed a little something, so we decided to draw on it,” Taylor says.
Taylor collects silhouettes and finds them at garage sales, estates sales and vintage shops. She waits for deals because “they can get really expensive.”
Haren was able to swap out almost all the light fixtures in the house. Most of them came from Nebraska Furniture Mart. “It’s a cheap and easy way to change the vibe of a room,” he says.
The basement was already finished when the couple moved in. The space functions as a nice play area for Woods. Haren made the swing from his old rock-climbing rope, a piece of found wood and a Pendleton children’s blanket.
Tepee: Amazon
Tepee: Amazon
Here, Woods is free to play, dress up, make music and swing.
Taylor, left, and Haren are pictured with their son on their back patio. The patio includes a play area and a sand box, a gift from Haren’s parents. “We use the space a lot,” Taylor says. There’s enough room for the whole family to burn some energy.
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.
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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
Who lives here: Cassie Taylor, Chuck Haren and their 2-year-old son, Woods
Location: Overland Park, Kansas
Size: Four bedrooms, two bathrooms
Cassie Taylor and Chuck Haren moved into their 1956 house in the historic district in Overland Park, Kansas, in April 2017. In less than two months, they created a cozy and inviting home for their family of three. “The first thing we did was hang art on the walls,” Taylor says.
A musician and vintage buyer, Taylor describes her collection of old and new gems as “dumpster chic.” Going to estate sales while growing up helped train her eye for finding deals on nice things.
Taylor grew up with an art dealer father, and many things in her childhood home were off-limits, She’s taking a different approach, especially with a spunky, energetic toddler. “We aren’t going to have a funeral for anything in this house,” she says. “And when you spend little or nothing on things, it’s easier to let go of them.”
Taylor and Haren encourage their son to interact with the antiques and art in the home. “He loves examining the still life and playing with the antique typewriter intentionally placed at his eye level. Nothing in this room cost more than $40, “so it’s not a big deal if something gets ruined,” Taylor says.
The oil portraits were found at Top Hat Mercantile, in the West Bottoms district of Kansas City, Missouri, and the still life is from The Royal Relic, in Harrisonville, Missouri. The retro green children’s chair was a $20 flea market find. The coffee table was a $5 thrift store buy and is a Lane midcentury piece that someone spray-painted black. Haren plans to sand and restore it back to its original glory.