In the world of vintage and in general, the world of simply beautiful things, there are select individuals that have the ability to make you appreciate this world and the inventions it has conceived much more than you might have previously. We like to share these people with you.

We are the typical tourists in much more than travel. We walk super slow in any store, taking in what it has to show us and starving ourselves because we just can’t rush in case we miss something. We are the nerd faces taking photos at the most inopportune time and pissing off the real tourists. And we like to learn more about the people we treasure and adore.

Well, we adore Kim. You might know her as ethanollie of the superb and eclectic vintage store Trampoline.

And we’re going on a tour. A virtual vintage tour of Kim’s gorgeous home, where she will be our tour guide, sharing room by room her lovely vintage finds and her current home renovation.

Now please, as we walk through her lovely home, please be considerate and leave your shoes at the entry and all beverages and secret stash bon bons in your bag. Now onto you Kim…

Hi there!  I’m Kim, aka ethanollie, from the Etsy shop Trampoline. Today I’d like to take you on a little tour through my home…proof positive that not everything makes it onto the shop after a buying spree.  I’ve always had a thing for antiques and vintage, even as far back as my teenage years.  While my friends were busy spending their cash at the movies, I was leafing through shelter mags and saving up for cool furniture to decorate my room.  Twenty years later I’m still searching for that perfect piece…

Our home is a sort of mutt…part cape, part bungalow.  It was built in the 1920′s and the architecture is simple and homey…’good bones’ as they say.  It has been in a constant state of renovation since we moved in five years ago…so any ‘decorating’ has really been limited.  In fact, we still don’t have much up on our walls.  But, after I started the shop, our home suddenly became this revolving door of great finds, coming in and then going out again.  Only the things that really speak to me (or that my six year old falls in love with) have stayed.

When you walk in our front door, you walk smack into the Dining Room.  It’s not a very formal space at all… it’s where we gather for everything from meals to homework.  If an art project is happening, it’s at the big wobbly farm table.  It also serves as a library and impromptu office space for paying bills and incoming mail.  I have a bit of a chair fetish, and when a new one comes in, it usually spends some time here.  The one here is danish modern from a not-so-thrifty thrift shop….I usually buy what I like despite the price.

Walk to the right and you are in the Living Room. It’s a nice big space where we have our comfy couch and a fireplace and yes, a tv and video games.  There is a small bit of an extensive art collection which is propped up on top of a shelf and our mantle which my son likes to help decorate.  One of my favorite corners is this little area where I’ve put an antique spindle back chair to catch all the backpacks, bags, hats and baseball gloves that get left by the door.  I think I found it at a flea market for about 15 dollars.

At the far end of the Living Room there is a set of drafty old french doors that lead to my most favorite place…the porch.  It’s where we spend all our mornings, afternoons and evenings as soon as the temperatures are warm enough to be outside.  It’s tiny, but its big enough to hold a small loveseat and table and chairs, some plants and tons of candles in mason jars.  It’s mostly been furnished with hand me downs and second hand (though not vintage) furniture.  This year I think I’ll be bringing a little vintage rocking settee and table out here.

Towards the back of the house is a room we use as a playroom (though not much playing gets done here).  There is a piano there too that was handed down from my grandmother.  It’s the sunniest room in the house and I dream of making it the kitchen some day and knocking down walls to open it up.  But for now, reality calls, and it remains an underused, but pretty room that gets the best light in the house (sigh).  I like to stash all the cool things in here before they hit the shop…an orange, mid century thrift shop chair, vintage desk, and lots of plants.

Cross the hallway and you reach the kitchen.  It’s been untouched since the seventies and it is a fine example of how vintage is not always good.  I have no pictures of this space…I can’t seem to record it for posterity.   But for those of you who must know…it is dark, has alot of brown (except for the blue countertops!), and red walls. blood. red. In a nutshell…ugly.  Okay let’s move on….

The first floor bathroom, which we recently renovated.  We worked around a gold tub and tile and turned it into something pretty.  For now, I am still working on bringing more vintage in here, but for now it’s little touches…an antique shaving cup, a jar with vintage hotel soaps.

Outside the bathroom is the stairway to go upstairs…we are in the final stages of finishing this space….picking paint for the stairs.  What was formerly a dark hallway is now brightening up….I can’t wait to find a nice vintage kilim for the floor and hang some art.  That there is a vintage Laurel pendant which I put there for the time being but may change.

Upstairs are the bedrooms…my son E’s and mine, and a large portion devoted to my studio and storage areas.  My son’s room is filled with vintage goodies…he loves it as much as I do, but everything must pass his ‘test’. The map was an ebay find, the dresser from the thrift and all his little dodads we pick up while thrifting or hitting the yard sales in spring.

My bedroom is like my little cave.  I rarely come in here other than to sleep…but I love to sleep…and it is nice and peaceful.  The bed is vintage 70′s (a craigslist find that we refurbished), and the lamps are 50′s teak tripods from ebay.

Lastly my studio space…It’s really utilitarian.  Since it is usually overflowing with vintage stuff for the shop it can get really visually chaotic, so I keep it spare and ‘undecorated’.  One thing I do have though is this board with pretty things tacked up, photo styling ideas and general inspiration.  The lamp is a huge vintage Luxo and indispensible for my work space.

Thanks for stopping by…I hope this inspires you all to live and decorate with vintage.

Muchas gracias Kim! btw…make sure and check out her store and Flickr where you gaze upon many more scrumptious photos and vintage finds…