House of the Week: Missouri Craftsman

I love a good fixer-upper. Nothing makes me happier than to see something with a history of its own be given a second life. I am pretty much staunchly anti-newly constructed homes in general. I don’t see what the point is of making a house where there was nothing when our current environment is so full of ample opportunities for repurposing. I’m not even just talking about renovating old homes, but creating homes out of spaces that weren’t originally intended as domiciles. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out this tiny but very creative home created from an old grain silo here. Brittany and Justin Kingery know a thing or two about fixer-uppers. Brittany’s blog, which once detailed the entire process of renovating their first bungalow in Missouri, is now detailing the same process for their second home…which is where we get our House of the Week. Recently featured on DesignSponge, the Kingery’s 1920’s craftsman bungalow in Springfield, Missouri has been artfully renovated. Maybe what I like most about the Kingery’s home is that they clearly did the renovating themselves. Brittany describes her four home decoration beliefs as the following:

It should tell a story: This means a few things things to me. One, I have an older home and lots of vintage furniture, so I like to imagine the lives my stuff lived before it got to me. Second, I like to shop garage sales, flea markets, estate sales, etc, so I have a story for how I found most everything in my home. Each piece holds the memory of a small adventure, the joy of a bargain, a rare find, or the perfect detail. Finally, home style tells the story of who you are, where you’ve been, and what you love.

It should be affordable: Let’s face it, life has lots of unavoidable expenses that make it hard to find spare cash you can commit to spending on furniture or decor you may not really need (at least not in, say, a Maslow’s hierarchy kind of way). My home style is about the kind of decorating real people can afford and about strategies to recycle or resell to get from the look you have to the look you want to have.

It should be personal: The style of your house should please you and no one but you. My aesthetic is colorful and classic with strong mid-century influences. But whether you dig wall-to-wall concrete or legit ’70s shag carpeting, I support you.

It should be timeless: Participating in decorating trends can be a fun way change things up and keep your home feeling current. That said, looking mostly for timeless pieces (in your preferred style, of course) will save you money in the long haul and make it easier to sell whenever you decide to upgrade a piece

Each piece of furniture is something Brittany handpicked from a flea market or online auction at a reasonable price. In other words, you won’t find a $3,500 faux-distressed “farm table” built by Brooklyn hipsters selected by a Dutch interior decorator who thought it had character in this house. Even though mid-century style isn’t always my first choice, the bold yet savvy choices accompanied by hardwork and sentiment earns the Kingery’s second fixer-upper The Taste Maven Stamp of Approval.

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To take a look at Brittany’s blog, where you can find more before and after pictures of both Kingery houses, click here.