Houzz Tours
My Houzz: Warm DIY Charm in an Updated 1919 Missouri Home
A Kansas City family’s inviting home features hand-stenciled walls, an airy kitchen remodel and a tree-filled courtyard
“A normal day in our home runs the full spectrum of crazy-hectic to quiet and relaxing. We feel like this house meets all of those needs,” Courtney says.
The couple wanted to move from Louisiana to the Brookside neighborhood of Kansas City as Courtney’s parents also live nearby. The family loves their dog-friendly neighborhood and that there are shops and restaurants within walking distance. The Trolley Track Trail also runs directly through the neighborhood and is a great paved path for walking, running or biking.
“It has been a pleasure watching this house transform into the perfect space for our family. We are a pretty active bunch with two young kids and an energetic puppy. We have been able to add space, storage and personality to this home,” Courtney says.
The couple wanted to move from Louisiana to the Brookside neighborhood of Kansas City as Courtney’s parents also live nearby. The family loves their dog-friendly neighborhood and that there are shops and restaurants within walking distance. The Trolley Track Trail also runs directly through the neighborhood and is a great paved path for walking, running or biking.
“It has been a pleasure watching this house transform into the perfect space for our family. We are a pretty active bunch with two young kids and an energetic puppy. We have been able to add space, storage and personality to this home,” Courtney says.
Courtney draws decorating inspiration from local boutiques like Golden & Pine, which she admires for their aesthetic and curated pieces. She also enjoys reading and browsing local magazines like Kansas City Spaces and the Instagram pages of interior decorators such as Gwen Hefner’s The Makerista and Justina Blakeney’s Jungalow. “My Houzz app is full of ideabooks,” she says.
Sofa: Candice Olson, Briggs & Co., Shreveport, Louisiana; pillows: Golden & Pine; curtains; Etsy
How to Make and Use Houzz Ideabooks
Sofa: Candice Olson, Briggs & Co., Shreveport, Louisiana; pillows: Golden & Pine; curtains; Etsy
How to Make and Use Houzz Ideabooks
Subtle touches of nature are seen throughout as part of the decor, including a potted Sansevieria on the painted brick hearth, a collection of birch logs in the fireplace and autumn leaves scattered on the mantel next to a vignette of felt pumpkins.
This vintage chair was reupholstered with new fabric.
This vintage chair was reupholstered with new fabric.
Courtney and Dylan spent around $80,000 on all of the house updates. This number includes all the renovation projects including refinishing the floors and installing new carpet, electrical and plumbing work, some new appliances, a new deck railing, exterior house trim paint, new light fixtures, a new garage door opener and many gallons of paint. Dylan’s brother Scott Payne, of Farmer Payne Architects, is an architect and was a great resource in helping update their home. “Scott offered suggestions from topics ranging from design all the way to light fixtures and paint,” Courtney says.
The couple saved a lot of money by doing all of the interior painting, clearing and cleaning up the yard and installing quarter-round molding throughout the house themselves.
How to Bring Out Your Home’s Character With Trim
The couple saved a lot of money by doing all of the interior painting, clearing and cleaning up the yard and installing quarter-round molding throughout the house themselves.
How to Bring Out Your Home’s Character With Trim
Rug: Pottery Barn; leather chairs: Jäppling, Ikea; lamp: HomeGoods; Fela Tassel chandelier, Jungalow
The library is their daughter’s favorite room in the house. “I like the decor and windows, and I can move the chairs around,” she says.
“No place in our home is off-limits to play, which we love about the house. It is full of fun and energy,” Courtney adds.
“However, when everyone quiets down there are great spaces to unwind, such as the ‘clubby wood feel’ of the library.”
Console table: Pottery Barn; lamp: HomeGoods; wall color: Edgecomb Gray, Benjamin Moore
Find starburst mirrors
“No place in our home is off-limits to play, which we love about the house. It is full of fun and energy,” Courtney adds.
“However, when everyone quiets down there are great spaces to unwind, such as the ‘clubby wood feel’ of the library.”
Console table: Pottery Barn; lamp: HomeGoods; wall color: Edgecomb Gray, Benjamin Moore
Find starburst mirrors
Dylan’s favorite area is the TV room. “The windows surrounding three sides of the room make you feel like you are outside, yet it is still cozy with the vaulted wood ceiling bringing a warmth to the space,” he says. They added a new HVAC here when they moved in.
Floor lamp: Target; chair: World Market; wall color: Decorator’s White, Benjamin Moore
Floor lamp: Target; chair: World Market; wall color: Decorator’s White, Benjamin Moore
The china cabinet in this small space between the TV room and the dining room is an antique from Courtney’s family. The chair is also a vintage piece from her grandparents, which she reupholstered. Courtney also created the art piece on the wall.
Lamp: HomeGoods; find turquoise ceramic table lamps
Lamp: HomeGoods; find turquoise ceramic table lamps
The dining table features a delicate touch of fall decor with this festive horn of plenty.
Dining table: Pottery Barn; window seat pillows: Target; round pizza board: Golden & Pine
Dining table: Pottery Barn; window seat pillows: Target; round pizza board: Golden & Pine
For their kitchen renovation, Courtney and Dylan worked with Travis Brungardt and Joe Cook of Catalyst Construction. They added a subway tile backsplash, a single-vessel kitchen sink and a new faucet. They also put in a gas line, which allowed them to add a new gas range, and updated the cabinets. “We had cabinetry built around our refrigerator that had been ‘floating’ on one wall of the kitchen and had all of the existing cabinetry refaced in a Shaker style and added all new hardware,” Courtney explains.
Table: Docksta, Ikea; chairs: Hobby Lobby; wall paint: Edgecomb Gray, Benjamin Moore; cabinet paint: Decorator’s White, Benjamin Moore; rug: Company C from J’Adore Home and Garden; towel: Golden & Pine; faucet: Hansgrohe; subway tile: Home Depot; more white subway tile
Table: Docksta, Ikea; chairs: Hobby Lobby; wall paint: Edgecomb Gray, Benjamin Moore; cabinet paint: Decorator’s White, Benjamin Moore; rug: Company C from J’Adore Home and Garden; towel: Golden & Pine; faucet: Hansgrohe; subway tile: Home Depot; more white subway tile
“We love how bright and serene [the kitchen] is,” Courtney says. “I love sitting in the kitchen in the morning with my coffee and looking across the dining room out the beveled windows into the courtyard.
“There is an olive tree out the window that blooms with little white flowers in the spring, and it is a very peaceful view.”
“There is an olive tree out the window that blooms with little white flowers in the spring, and it is a very peaceful view.”
The existing butcher-block countertops were replaced with new, light birch butcher-block from Menards.
White dishes: Pottery Barn
White dishes: Pottery Barn
The mudroom includes tidy shelves and a small seat.
Baskets: HomeGoods; milk jug basket: vintage; pillow: Target; shelf paint color: Decorator’s White, Benjamin Moore; wall paint: Edgecomb Gray, Benjamin Moore
Baskets: HomeGoods; milk jug basket: vintage; pillow: Target; shelf paint color: Decorator’s White, Benjamin Moore; wall paint: Edgecomb Gray, Benjamin Moore
Courtney added a herringbone pattern to the back of her mudroom shelves with a black permanent marker.
Two flowering dogwood trees outside the daughter’s bedroom bloom pink and white in the spring. “It seriously looks like a painting outside her windows,” Courtney says. The curtains were a DIY project by Courtney, who added pink pom-poms to the edge of white curtains from Ikea.
The antique iron bed is more than 100 years old and came from Dylan’s family in Louisiana.
Rug: Pottery Barn Kids; wall colors: Decorator’s White and Soft Pink, Benjamin Moore
7 Spectacular and Practical Spring-Flowering Trees
The antique iron bed is more than 100 years old and came from Dylan’s family in Louisiana.
Rug: Pottery Barn Kids; wall colors: Decorator’s White and Soft Pink, Benjamin Moore
7 Spectacular and Practical Spring-Flowering Trees
This chair was a gift from a friend and serves as a reading spot. Courtney painted the bird artwork.
Bookcase: Kallax, Ikea
Bookcase: Kallax, Ikea
Courtney also painted the side table from her grandparents’ home a bright blue to provide some unexpected color.
Lamp and name banner: Pottery Barn Kids
Lamp and name banner: Pottery Barn Kids
On the floor in a corner of the bedroom is what her daughter calls her “hiding spot.” The cozy reading nook includes a Cynthia Rowley floor cushion that is actually a dog bed.
Bear pillow: Pottery Barn Kids
Bear pillow: Pottery Barn Kids
This chest of drawers from a former neighbor was painted white. Courtney also mounted the round mirror to an original painting.
Outside their son’s bedroom is a Japanese maple tree that produces a bright blaze of red. “You get a real sense that the yard was intentionally designed to maximize views from the windows throughout the house,” Courtney says. “Although we are in a more urban-feeling neighborhood, we have wonderful nature all around our home.“
Twin bed: Malm, Ikea; pillows: Ikea; Twin Little Prints quilt, The Land of Nod
Twin bed: Malm, Ikea; pillows: Ikea; Twin Little Prints quilt, The Land of Nod
The bedside table was a Craigslist find that Courtney painted white.
Lamp: metal tapered table lamp, Target
Lamp: metal tapered table lamp, Target
The two framed string art pieces were a DIY project by Courtney.
Ceiling light: Hangin’ Around ceiling lamp: The Land of Nod; chair: Poang, Ikea; step stool: HomeGoods; brass lamp: vintage from Courtney’s grandparents
Ceiling light: Hangin’ Around ceiling lamp: The Land of Nod; chair: Poang, Ikea; step stool: HomeGoods; brass lamp: vintage from Courtney’s grandparents
A circus-inspired pop-up tent provides a place for imaginative play.
Rug: The Land of Nod; tent: Cirkustält, Ikea; large Batman: antiques store find
Rug: The Land of Nod; tent: Cirkustält, Ikea; large Batman: antiques store find
An “S” for their son’s first initial sits on the bookcase along with a collection of books.
Bookcase: Ikea; mirror, metal S and superhero frame: Hobby Lobby
Bookcase: Ikea; mirror, metal S and superhero frame: Hobby Lobby
In a second round of renovations, the couple changed the layout of their second floor to add a master bedroom and bath. “The original master bedroom consisted of two rooms connected by French doors. One room was for the bed; the other was a closet,” Courtney says. They closed up the wall between the two rooms and turned the room where the bed went into their son’s new bedroom. This room lacked a closet, but they were able to steal some space from a toy closet in the bedroom next door.”
The white writing desk next to the bed originally belonged to Courtney’s great-grandmother and came from her family farm in northern Missouri.
Bed: Toast Linen Greir upholstered bed, Cost Plus World Market; quilt: pick-stitch handcrafted quilt, Pottery Barn; euro pillows: Ikea; lumbar pillow: Golden & Pine; lamps: Target; Henley rug, Pottery Barn; browse more area rugs
The white writing desk next to the bed originally belonged to Courtney’s great-grandmother and came from her family farm in northern Missouri.
Bed: Toast Linen Greir upholstered bed, Cost Plus World Market; quilt: pick-stitch handcrafted quilt, Pottery Barn; euro pillows: Ikea; lumbar pillow: Golden & Pine; lamps: Target; Henley rug, Pottery Barn; browse more area rugs
“The entire back side of our house was a long room or sun porch that we dubbed ‘the runway’ because of the pretty terrible set of eight globe light fixtures on the ceiling. It looked like it was lit for a plane takeoff,” Courtney says. “We removed the wall in this room, creating a large master bedroom on the back side of the house. We also added a large walk-in master closet. This renovation changed our home from a three-bedroom to a four-bedroom house.”
The midcentury dresser is a $45 Craigslist find that Courtney painted a slate gray. She also restored the shine of the original hardware.
Wall art: made by Courtney; tray and decorative bowl: West Elm
The midcentury dresser is a $45 Craigslist find that Courtney painted a slate gray. She also restored the shine of the original hardware.
Wall art: made by Courtney; tray and decorative bowl: West Elm
“Niching out a space for the new bath in our bedroom required the design to be as functional yet stylish as possible. We also did not want to lose either of the two existing windows in the space, which made fixture placement a little more of a challenge,” Courtney says.
Catalyst Construction helped navigate some of the design decisions throughout the renovation process. “In building our master closet and bath we had original windows that we had to contend with when designing the layout,” Courtney says. “The most obvious way to use the space effectively was to lose a window or two, and that was reflected in the original design. However, the idea of losing natural light was pretty much unbearable to me, so Travis and Joe found another way that allowed us to keep the windows.“
Rug: Hobby Lobby; side table: Target; decorative bowl: The (New) Dime Store; chair: antique; dog portrait: Courtney Payne
Catalyst Construction helped navigate some of the design decisions throughout the renovation process. “In building our master closet and bath we had original windows that we had to contend with when designing the layout,” Courtney says. “The most obvious way to use the space effectively was to lose a window or two, and that was reflected in the original design. However, the idea of losing natural light was pretty much unbearable to me, so Travis and Joe found another way that allowed us to keep the windows.“
Rug: Hobby Lobby; side table: Target; decorative bowl: The (New) Dime Store; chair: antique; dog portrait: Courtney Payne
“A previous owner, several years back, was a Master Gardener so we have many beautiful and unique trees and shrubs on the property. You can tell that there was a definite plan in place in landscaping the home,” Courtney says.
The couple painted the existing maroon deck a dark brown. They also removed the deck railing that was made of 6-foot-high wrought iron panels that made the deck feel, in Courtney’s words, “cage-like and closed in” and replaced them with cable rail.
“The cable rail provided a contemporary look but, most importantly, gave us an unobstructed view of our yard and Trolley Trail to which our property backs,” she says. “The kids have great outdoor space to play, and with the backyard opening on to the Trolley Trail they have even more room to run and ride bikes.”
“The cable rail provided a contemporary look but, most importantly, gave us an unobstructed view of our yard and Trolley Trail to which our property backs,” she says. “The kids have great outdoor space to play, and with the backyard opening on to the Trolley Trail they have even more room to run and ride bikes.”
A shady courtyard surrounded by trees on the side of their home gives what Courtney describes as “a little bit of that Louisiana charm,” and reminds the family of their time living there before moving to Kansas City.
Photo by Kristina Carlson Photography
Courtney’s sister and brother-in-law, Lindsey and David Marts, used the courtyard for their wedding ceremony in the fall of 2014. A total of 13 guests plus the bride and groom were there for the intimate celebration.
Courtney’s sister and brother-in-law, Lindsey and David Marts, used the courtyard for their wedding ceremony in the fall of 2014. A total of 13 guests plus the bride and groom were there for the intimate celebration.
“We have lived in three different homes in three different states. We loved them all, but this home is our favorite because we have worked so hard to make it reflect us as a family,” Courtney says. On the front steps is a collection of seasonal pumpkins and hanging on the door that Courtney painted lime green is a festive fall wreath.
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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.
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See more photos of this home
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: Dylan and Courtney Payne, two kids and a 4-month-old silver Labrador
Location: Brookside neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri
Size: 2,900 square feet (269 square meters); four bedrooms, three bathrooms
Courtney and Dylan Payne’s 1919 home was in good condition when they bought it, but over the years they have added their own touches, refreshing the interior and layout to meet their family’s needs. Before the family moved in, they refinished all the original hardwood floors and laid new carpet on the stairs, TV room and third-floor office and guest room. “When the flooring was finished, we moved in and got to work. Every single room in the house got a fresh coat of paint by me, to save money,” Courtney says.
The first round of renovations consisted of opening up the kitchen to the dining room, “which added so much light and space to the kitchen that had previously been very closed off,” she says. “It also gave a line of sight through the house, which, as parents of two little ones, was a welcome change that allowed us to keep a closer eye on them.” A second round of renovations changed the layout of the second floor to add a master bedroom and bath.
Media console: Ikea PS 2014; planter: Ikea; coffee table: West Elm; lacquer tray, West Elm