Tour a Chic Craftsman Full of Vintage Finds and Modern Designs

Back when Abby Luskie and her husband, Clayton, first saw this Houston home, they knew it was meant to be … sort of. “The windows were rotting, the kitchen was awkwardly laid out and the ‘updated’ finishes done by the previous homeowners were straight out of the ’90s,” she says. “My parents are veteran fixer-uppers, so I grew up around that. But at 121 years old, this was the most ancient house I’d come across!” The interior had clean, simple, Craftsman-style lines, embraced in the early 1900s as a rejection of Victorian ornateness.

Room by room, the couple worked with designer Barbara Sweetser on upgrades. They chose a serene blue and creamy white palette, blended vintage and modern finds, and revitalized the pine and oak floors and other character-rich details. Relics of the past remind Abby that there’s been a lot of life lived here: “They make a home feel like it has a soul.” In the entryway, the first floor’s ceilings are nearly 12 feet high. Plus, there’s detailed woodwork all around the home.

Abby and Clayton sit on their front porch with (from left) Ben, 8, Sarah, 10, and Sam, 5. Baby Lily has since joined the family.

Classics like a mid-century sideboard mingle seamlessly with modern punches like the brass-leg buffalo check armchair from Anthropologie and poppy pillows by Piper.