Houzz Tours
My Houzz: Country Charm in an Artist’s Northern California Home
This resourceful couple update a 1950s ranch by injecting character that’s both classic and relaxed
Before. The couple took the living room wall with the fireplace down to the original plywood panels. The renovation took about two years of long hours and hard work, done mainly on weekends. “The inspiration was to bring a bit of class to a standard ranch, then fill it with vintage and reclaimed furnishings to keep it casual,” Susan says.
“After having worked on three other fixer-uppers, we committed ourselves to finishing the renovations so we could relax and enjoy the house,” says Susan, pictured here in their covered porch with Doug.
The living room has an open feel to it, partially because of the half wall that looks into the hall. To keep the living room feeling cozy, Susan hung old metal baskets and a vintage soda bottle crate below the “window” to hold plants and other objects.
Painting in hallway: Richard Merchán; coffee table: Stars Antiques Malls; sofa: Maxwell Collection, RH
Painting in hallway: Richard Merchán; coffee table: Stars Antiques Malls; sofa: Maxwell Collection, RH
After years of visiting flea markets and shopping for secondhand items, Doug and Susan chose key pieces that they both loved to decorate each room. Susan found the red chair at a flea market 25 years ago and had it reupholstered.
Cabinet: Vintage Style Antiques; hanging sculpture: Susan Taylor
Cabinet: Vintage Style Antiques; hanging sculpture: Susan Taylor
Susan cleverly displays postcards collected from various art museums using the brush end of a push broom found at the Alameda Flea Market. The small brass object is an heirloom jeweler’s magnifying glass.
To keep the room bright, Susan chose off-white dining room furniture and a mirror to capture the light from outside.
Dining table and sideboard: Estates Consignment; round wood mirror: Pottery Barn; find round wood mirrors
Dining table and sideboard: Estates Consignment; round wood mirror: Pottery Barn; find round wood mirrors
Because the house is relatively small, Susan created a reading nook in the dining room. “The space is perfect for conversation and morning coffee,” she says. Doug found the corner cabinet at a secondhand store. “It’s a really old bank safe that was pulled out of someone’s garage,” Susan says.
1920s Parisian leather club chairs: RH; mosaic painting: Thomas Christopher Haag; abstract painting: Gina Papen; cabinet with drawers: Vintage Style Antiques
1920s Parisian leather club chairs: RH; mosaic painting: Thomas Christopher Haag; abstract painting: Gina Papen; cabinet with drawers: Vintage Style Antiques
After. In keeping with the themes of classic and relaxed, Susan and Doug decided on floor tiles in a black-and-white checkerboard pattern, schoolhouse light fixtures and white walls. A cabinetmaker designed and installed the custom cabinets. Susan found the vintage hutch, which was reclaimed from a 1920s Berkeley home, at an eclectic antiques store.
Gilmore drawer pulls: RH; antique hutch: Sundance Antiques
Gilmore drawer pulls: RH; antique hutch: Sundance Antiques
Susan had the cabinetmaker add a small open shelf next to the range hood for plants and small decorative objects.
Floor tile: Tile Town
Floor tile: Tile Town
Small stools elevate objects for visual interest. The clown cookie jar is from an antiques mall in Connecticut.
Small stools, vintage tins and metal clown bank: Alameda Flea Market
Small stools, vintage tins and metal clown bank: Alameda Flea Market
A vintage industrial spool provides two-tiered storage.
Industrial spool: Alameda Point Antiques Faire; frying pan painting: Barb Nechiporenko
Industrial spool: Alameda Point Antiques Faire; frying pan painting: Barb Nechiporenko
Susan refinished the hutch with a mix of white paint and black chalk paint to match the kitchen cabinets and countertops. She removed the doors from the upper cabinet to expose the shelves, which display various decorative objects bought from flea markets and vintage fairs.
The vintage metal chair is a family heirloom. “It was originally my father’s highchair when he was a baby,” Susan says. “Notches, which are still visible, were made in the arms to attach a homemade tray.” Susan’s grandfather later used the chair in his workshop, where he repaired clocks and watches.
Hutch: Olde Towne Antiques Mall; blue metal bin: The Spotted Cow
The vintage metal chair is a family heirloom. “It was originally my father’s highchair when he was a baby,” Susan says. “Notches, which are still visible, were made in the arms to attach a homemade tray.” Susan’s grandfather later used the chair in his workshop, where he repaired clocks and watches.
Hutch: Olde Towne Antiques Mall; blue metal bin: The Spotted Cow
“The master bedroom is very small, so to create a dressing area I placed the dresser at the foot of the bed and put a long mirror next to the closet,” Susan says.
St. James 11-drawer dresser: RH
St. James 11-drawer dresser: RH
Susan uses a vintage-inspired coat rack to display jewelry and her childhood ballet slippers.
Susan cut out bed springs from an antique single mattress and repurposed them to display collected vintage postcards. The postcards are attached using antique clothespins.
Springs: Grenouille French Antiques
Springs: Grenouille French Antiques
The master bath includes a tiled shower. The clean whitewashed walls, fixtures and furniture complement the honeycomb tile floor. The homeowners found their antique mirror in a thrift shop.
BE Zinc letters, Anthropologie; pedestal sink: Orchard Supply Hardware; floor tile: Tile Town
BE Zinc letters, Anthropologie; pedestal sink: Orchard Supply Hardware; floor tile: Tile Town
Susan and Doug repurposed reclaimed wooden boxes, wire baskets and old dresser drawers as display and storage space in the bathroom.
The bottom one, painted with chalkboard paint, adds a little creative fun as the place where Doug and Susan leave each other messages.
Wooden drawers: Alameda Point Antiques Fair; wire basket used as a shelf: The Spotted Cow
The bottom one, painted with chalkboard paint, adds a little creative fun as the place where Doug and Susan leave each other messages.
Wooden drawers: Alameda Point Antiques Fair; wire basket used as a shelf: The Spotted Cow
The guest room is small and bright, infused with vintage linens and collected artwork. Stacked stools serve as both a nightstand and a small bookcase.
Recycled silk throw: Kismet
Recycled silk throw: Kismet
The couple turned the closet in the guest room into a spot for a small desk, a good place to do paperwork. Doug built the custom desk, and the chair is from the Alameda Flea Market.
Susan found the dresser at a thrift store, and the handles are bakelite. The metal cabinet on top of the dresser is an old strip of postal boxes laid on its side to create height, interest and secret storage.
Two collages by Katie McCann; metal cabinets (old postal lockers): The Bloom Space
Two collages by Katie McCann; metal cabinets (old postal lockers): The Bloom Space
Artwork fills one corner of the guest bedroom. The metal candle sconce is a vintage piece.
Drawer sculpture: Susan Taylor; both paintings: Juliet Mevi
Drawer sculpture: Susan Taylor; both paintings: Juliet Mevi
The couple display a collection of art created by friends as well as various found objects on a wall of their guest bedroom.
Collage by Heather Sandler; sepulcher: Mirto Golino; textile cat: Deb Shattil
Collage by Heather Sandler; sepulcher: Mirto Golino; textile cat: Deb Shattil
The homeowners converted one of the spare bedrooms into a home office for Doug. It’s also a place for him to play his guitars. The wooden chair is a family heirloom.
Vinyl tufted chair: Vintage Style Antiques
Vinyl tufted chair: Vintage Style Antiques
A distressed dresser fits perfectly beside one of the closets.
Blue dresser: Vintage Style Antiques
Blue dresser: Vintage Style Antiques
Susan and Doug carefully selected each of the vintage-style pieces in the guest bathroom to fit in with the rest of the house.
Linen hutch, mirror, pedestal sink and glass shelf: RH
Linen hutch, mirror, pedestal sink and glass shelf: RH
The guest bathroom includes a pedestal sink and a claw-foot tub that is more than 100 years old.
Bathtub: Ohmega Salvage
Bathtub: Ohmega Salvage
The couple turned their garage into a workspace. Part of it is an art studio for Susan, pictured, with long tables and plenty of storage. The other half contains a workbench and Doug’s construction tools.
The back porch had an overhang but no walls. The homeowners built the walls and added windows reclaimed from an old fort in Washington state that friends gave them for the project.
Vintage farm table: Stars Antiques Malls
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 home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
Vintage farm table: Stars Antiques Malls
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 home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
Who lives here: Doug and Susan Taylor
Location: Clayton, California
Size: 1,530 square feet (145 square meters); three bedrooms, two bathrooms
Year built: 1956
Year purchased: 2004
“We didn’t want to purchase a fixer-upper, but we could see the potential in this house,” artist Susan Taylor says about her Clayton, California, home. The ranch-style house she and her husband, Doug, bought had not been renovated since it was built in the 1950s. “It was in really rough shape, but the town and neighborhood were desirable and quiet,” Susan says.
Doug, who works in the oil and gas industry, and Susan had renovated a few of their previous homes, and together they transformed this tired house into an updated and charming home. “We gutted the kitchen and two bathrooms, pulled up carpet and restored the beautiful hardwood floors hiding below,” Susan says. “We installed all new windows and doors, added baseboards and crown molding and painted inside and out.”
The couple updated a living room wall with built-in cabinets to store their electronics and media equipment.
Table: Alameda Point Antiques Faire