When Courtney of Little Glass Box sent us photos of her amazing 105 year old row house in Baltimore, we knew we had to house crash the heck out of her, so here we go. First lets meet the fam (there’s Courtney, her son Olly, and her hubby Ryan):
How funny is that photo? You can already tell their house is going to playful and charming, right? Here’s the dining room, full of geometric pattern and rustic elegance thanks to the mix of the stenciled wall (Ryan did it himself) and the reclaimed wood table (Ryan built it himself). Notice a theme here? Ryan is handy. And guess who’s obsessed with the big wood horse on the table and the white deer head from ZGallerie on the wall? Hint: me.
Here’s the lovely kitchen that overlooks the dining room. The island was scored at Target (for just $75, down from $300!) and the chandelier was from Home Depot (they tweaked it by adding a gray shade). Their counters are concrete to continue Courtney’s love of gray.
And here’s the living room, complete with a fun photo collage flanked by sconces…
… and a pretty vanity (which used to be her mom’s) that Courtney revived and repurposed as a desk. Oh and the curtains are from West Elm (scored on sale).
Their master bedroom is gorgeous too, with more fun patterns and colors coming into play (note: not only is Ryan handy, he’s down with pink and florals – what a guy). The curtains are actually shower curtains and the pink dresser was $50 from craigslist (Courtney painted it Coral Gables from Sherwin Williams). And I have two words about the gold rhino head on the wall: I die.
But easily the most playful and graphic room of the bunch is little Olly’s nursery. See that amazing geometric wall on the right? It’s actually another…
… stencil! Yup, they DIYed that whole thing a stencil and some paint over two months of on and off labor (clarification: Courtney wasn’t in labor for two months, the wall stenciling process was two months of manual labor).
Look how amazing that is! It looks so sweet with their painted four poster crib (how elegant is that by the way- they found it on craigslist) which happens to have a little homemade no-sew crib skirt just like Clara’s. Oh and as for the crib decor, the pillows are removed before bed and the garland has since been relocated (safety first).
Here’s another angle of Olly’s room complete with giant horse art and a big white resin rhino head (from ZGallerie). Yes, I am also obsessed with those. And Courtney found that amazing yellow mantel for just $50 (marked down from $200) so she knew it was perfect for the room.
And because sometimes the details do it for me, I thought I’d leave you with this pretty little tablescape from the kitchen. How sweet is that cheese cutter? Courtney found it at a store in DC called Trohv. Love it.
So a huge thanks goes out to Courtney, Ryan, and Olly for letting us share their gorgeous and oh so creative home. You can check out Courtney’s blog for more photos and info, but first lets play the what’s-your-favorite-part game. I’m obsessed with the wall stencils in the dining room and Olly’s room along with the huge rustic wooden horse on the dining room table. Yes please. Oh and that gold rhino in the bedroom? Saweeeet. And John loves the rustic dining table that Ryan built along with that hilarious cheese cutter. And he wants to know why we don’t have a mustached family photo of our own. Good question indeed.
Psst- Check out all the other houses that we’ve crashed right here.
what a totally ADORABLE house, and the master bedroom and nursery are just so bold and fun! (PS- handy hubbys are the best!!!) Off to check out their blog. Looks too fun to pass up!
I love the yellow “mantle” shelf in the nursey. What a great idea! Who says you need a fireplace to have a bold mantle like that:) I want to do that in my living room, I never know where to hang our stockings.
Wow what a fun house! Love all the colors and especially love the stencil walls as have been wanting to try that myself.
There is so much to love in this house. . .The shiny rhino is great!
Not to be a bummer, as someone who is in the process of setting up her own nursery (with a heavy dose of mom-to-be paranoia and progesterone brain pickling)– is that older crib safe? I’ve been reading dire warnings on older cribs . . I’d like to know as I’ve been weighing my own options on new vs old cribs with character.
I’m not trying to criticize– and I’m sure you did all your research on safety so I’m eager to hear what you learned. I’m honestly trying to figure out whether all these warnings on the internet are “for real” or are merely overly protective/legally/commercially motivated. If you read long enough, everything seems to be dangerous. . .
And one more question– can you tell us more about the cool mobile things in Ollie’s room? They are gorgeous!
Thanks for sharing your home!
In love with that nursery and the stencil work, impressive! Do you happen to know if the Zgallerie deer head in their dining room is the $50 or $250 version? I’m wanting to order one, but can’t decide size-wise which would work best in our room.
OH MY! How cute are they?! I absolutely LOVE the attention to detail and their clear patience! I would DIE to have stenciled walls! What a great idea to do the whole wall and make it look like wallpaper! I am so impressed!!! Also–LOVING the animals horse deer and rhino– ZGallery is FANTASTIC!
Hey Diane, here is a link to a little more info on the nursery stencil feel free to ask any questions ;.)
http://www.alittleglassbox.com/2011/04/for-better-or-worse.html
& Frances I used to have my own professional organizing company so my policy on toys and kids clutter is monitoring how much comes into the house ;.) Something new comes in out goes something old ;.) But we try to find cute little baskets to house things in or the desk drawer in my living room is filled with diapers so we don’t have to go up and down stairs too much so we try to look at things on a storage potential scale when buying them. I hope this helps a little. If you have more questions feel free to contact me alittleglassbox.com
Love this house it’s so fun and the stencils are gorgeous. I’ve been loving oversized art lately and recently added one to our living room:
http://www.mysocalledhome.com/2011/05/thrifty-weekend-finds.html
I love how well she mixed vintage and modern! That is a balance I’m always striving for (and can’t seem to get – always a little too modern).
Beautiful, fun home! Thanks for crashing and sharing!
Obsessed w/the stencil in the dining room. I wonder what the other walls of the dining room are — are they solid? Painted the foreground or background of the stencil?
Also FYI Sherry, it’s “mustachioed.” Why, I do not know.
Bwahahaha. I love mustachioed! Sounds so faaancy!
xo,
s
I love all of the painted furniture they have in their house. I’m usually of the too-scared-to-paint-good-wood group, but I love the coral dresser in the master, yellow dresser in the baby’s room, etc. Also love the book ends in the baby’s room.
Love this house!! I really like the mixture of traditional and whimsical. Very unique and beautiful! :)
Well, I know how I’m spending the rest of my day: going through all of their old posts looking for even more pictures (especially of the outside). I love seeing how others attack the obstacles/opportunities present in rowhomes.
Angella, It is the more expensive larger head in the dining room ;.)
The dining room color is called Broom by Ralph Lauren with the stencil painted in white over it ;.)
Snowlet, no worries his crib we purchased from Craigslist for $80 buckaroos but it was only a 2 year old crib. We just painted it a funky color. The yarn ball garlands I made (more how to info on the blog) andif you were talking about the “flying lightbulbs” mobile in his room we were give that by the folks at Trohv & they had used it for a Baltimore photoshoot ;.) Julie in Texas, I am from Texas too!!! Also thanks Manda, the horse heads were a cheap-o find from Homegoods but so ugly I just sprayed them white ;.)
Thanks for all those answers for everyone Courtney!
xo,
s
Thank you so much for replying to my question Courtney! Your site is my latest bookmark. :)
I love that nursery! I’m still in my first trimester, but I can’t get the thought of a dark gray nursery out of my head… I wonder if I could pull off some stenciling…. hmmmm.
Love how creative these spaces are!! They are very inspirational to someone like me who doesn’t like things matchy-matchy but has a hard time blending styles on her own! Thanks for sharing! I wonder where they found those great, graphic stencils… After searching, I’m convinced GOOD stencils and wallpaper are sort of hard to find. Any suggestions??
Here’s hoping Courtney drops back in to answer all of the questions you guys have for her! So glad you’re enjoying her home – we couldn’t wait to share it!
xo,
s
Loooove! Her blog is also equally pleasing. Thank you for sharing!
Thrifty and creative. I loved the house. I used to live in Baltimore and am very familiar with row homes:) I wish I had their creativity. Oh well, I just copy what I love….their pink(coral) dresser is my favorite along with that yellow mantel………………..susan
i love that nursery! we just painted our spare room (and possible future nursery) peacock blue, and when it was done, i felt sad that i would have to paint over it someday for soft nursery-ish colors…now i feel like i can make it work! :) oh, and i love all of that stenciling, and the fact that they did it over time…thanks for sharing this!
I can’t believe they did all that stenciling– much cheaper than wallpaper any day, but I would have gone mad after only a short while. It looks fabulous!
So fun. Can anyone tell me what color the nursery bureau was painted? Sorry if I missed it above!
Courtney, I am officially in LOVE with your chandelier over the island in the kitchen. I saw that Sherry said you found it at Home Depot but I have scoured their chandelier page and can’t find it. Can you tell us who makes it/did you buy it recently/how did you attach the shade to it/anything? I love it!!!
I LOVE this house! The stencils are so adorable and I love how they upped the ante by putting a shade over that chandelier! I want to move in now
PS. this is my firt comment I’ve ever left and I just wanted to tell you guys that you’re the FIRST blog I ever read and you guys opened up a whole other world for me! Thanks :)
I’d say their house is quirky in a super awesome way. I made a curtain for my girls’ room out of a Tinkerbell shower curtain from Target – I love how it turned out. ~Ethne http://www.wom-mom.com/2011/01/tinkerbell-curtain.html
This house is my favorite! ~Tracy
I love their home. It’s like not perfect but perfect. We have the same exact sofa, love that. My fave part has to be Olly’s room. I’ve always been undecided about a little boys nursery but I have been sold on this design.
Rebekah…We actually made our nursery stencil and I purchased the dining room one from Hobby Lobby with a coupon of course ;.) However I am IN LOVE with Olive Leaf Stencils, check em out http://www.etsy.com/shop/OliveLeafStencils
Monique, the dresser color is yellow Banana Pepper from Glidden
Susan feel free to copy away ;.)
Christy, we bought it two years ago, but in the store they still have some that look just like it. I have never looked for it online ;.) I will be posting a future “shade over chandy” how-to on the blog so stay tuned ;.)
Thanks for dropping in with more info Courtney!
xo,
s
Loving this house crash. I REALLY would love to know what paint color that is on the mantel and dresser. That shade of yellow is perfection!
Am I the only one that finds the chandelier – lamp shade thing kinda odd?
i love all the dressers painted in fab colors and that white desk.
i can never find things like that on craigslist!
that is a reallllllly cool house but there is one negative. a mouse trap cheese cutter is just gross:)
I so agree with you on the mousetrap! I can hardly look at it!
I love the yellow mantel! Can you let me know where you found such a cool addition to your home?
Great house! You did a gorgeous job!
I seriously love that house. So me. Ecclectic. Perfect. I want that horse too!
I love the dining table. It is *exactly* what I’m looking for for my new place! Perhaps I’ll get my dad to build me one. :)
Such a fun home! Any idea where the shower curtain turned window curtains in the master bedroom came from?
Thanks for sharing this! I, too, live in an old rowhome in Baltimore and love seeing how others place furniture in these tiny little homes. I love how cheerful everything is and can’t wait to read Courtney’s blog. Great job, hon! :)
Yeah! I can see your pictures again!
So glad! Don’t know what it was but glad it’s over!
xo,
s
Hi, I am a huge fan of this blog and I love this featured home! Courtney, I was wondering if you could tell me where the giant horse art came from in your son’s room? It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for – thank you!
Love the stencil work. What a beautiful home. Thanks for sharing with us.
Hey Rachel, we used the shade to help to tone down some of the harsh light in the kitchen but I totally get how it’s not everyone’s style ;.)
*we thought the mouse trap cheese cutter was funny…it goes with our Calf & half cream holder hahah ;.)
The paint colors for the mantel and dresser are Glidden Yellow Banana pepper and we bought the mantel at Trohv.
Yay Trohv ;.)
Thanks so much Abbey the giant horse art was also purchased at Trohv’s baltimore shop. you might be able to order it from them and have it shipped. Tell em’ Courtney sent you ;.) Thanks Jen D!
I too love this house!! The rooms make me want to create some happy stenciled walls in my own home.
I died a little from happiness when I saw the master bedroom. Swoon.
Courtney,
What is the name of the paint color used for Olly’s crib? I couldn’t seem to find it on your blog. Sorry if I overlooked it.
Tiffany,
I am so sorry! Glacier was the color we were debating about before we painted. The color of the crib is actually “Frosty Glade” by Behr, available at The Home Depot. I had the hubs double check, Hope this helps. Good Luck!
I’m in love with the dining room too! That stencil must have taken for-ev-ah but it really paid off!
I LOVE THE TABLE!!
…ok now that I’m done screaming, I also want the pillow on the chair in her bedroom… and the china cabinet… and the little man standing on her desk.
also… the baby mustache picture. With the hat. Ohhh my heart.
Courtney, everything looks so pretty and I know you and your sweet hubby have worked so hard to accomplish this mission. I am so proud that you are my talented, sweet grandaughter. I love it when you come to my house asnd re-do. Good luck in your new challenge.
Mimi
I’ve been lurking around your site for about a month now, and I just wanted to say how much I’m enjoying it! As for my favorite part, I totally loved the coral dresser in the master bedroom. I’m trying to get the guts to paint a couple pieces of wood furniture myself, but I think I’ll start with a color that’s a little safer, like cream. Baby steps.
Tiffany,
I believe the color is called Glacier from Behr at Home depot ;.)
Ooh, I want to live in their bedroom. Not with them. I wish I could make mine look so sweet and lovely. Someday…I don’t know how you guys have these amazing houses and babies!
Very cool and different style. Very creative and innovative.
Beautiful master bedroom…i think it takes a really good eye to put that together!