Tour the Cheeky, Stylish Home of a Seattle Actress and Mayoral Assistant

Kindle Shaw's busy 9-to-5 keeps her coloring between the lines, but at home, her renovation doubles as a part-time creative outlet. "I’m a mayoral assistant for the City of Seattle," Kindle explains. "However, that’s my day job. I’m also a part-time actor [with] a theatre degree. My high-energy, sometimes stressful, never boring day job has influenced my quest for levity and calm in our home."

From the first steps inside, an immediately playful feeling sets in, completely on purpose. "The entry cabinet is from DENY, a piece by Eric Fan, officially titled 'Big Smoke,'" Kindle says. "I have since renamed him 'Puff Daddy' — I tend to name art, plants, eagles..." A home filled with art and fun continues in every renovated space.

Amazing natural light floods Kindle's cozy, chic living space specifically designed to allow her guests to shrug off stress. "The living room is easily my favorite room," Kindle explains. "It's calm, has a comfy couch, no TV, muted, easy colors, amazing light, great views of the water and soft textures."

Her cozy, contemporary living space pairs soft, touchable textures with warm hues like purple and gray. "I hope [guests] feel welcomed and calm, but I guess slightly curious would be good, too," Kindle says.

"Plus the Steve McQueen print adds to the allure of the space for me." The framed black-and-white film photo kicks off a repeated trend in Kindle's home that nods to McQueen's real-life quote: "My influences come from real life."

You can't leave Kindle's living room without discussing "Louie," the larger-than-life, powdered wig figure standing in the corner. "He’s kind of a litmus test," Kindle jokes. "I can learn so much from people in how they react or don’t react to 'Louie.'" As noted earlier, Kindle likes to name her art.

"I love dancing and I love a good campy disco night," Kindle says. "About 12 years ago, I decided we needed a large disco ball for the living room, but not hung from the ceiling, just on the floor like a ruin from a wild party." The disco ball rests beside an Italian marble credenza — one of Kindle's favorite pieces.

It's easy for most to overlook the little things in any remodel, but not for Kindle. "I changed out the evil white and off-white plastic light switch and outlet plates," Kindle says. "As soon as we paint a room, the cheapy plates are replaced. I like stainless or mirror finishes ... I love the way light bounces off them."

Step inside Kindle's bold, blue dining room and be greeted by an eclectic grouping of accessories, art and DIY'd furniture.

"I love the familiar, but if I see a cool piece of art or fall in love with a color, I won’t hesitate to switch things up," Kindle explains. "I shudder at having one of those museum homes where everything is set for life."

In fact, the two medieval dining chairs have a bit of a back story. One-of-a-kind furniture is sometimes just a thrift store away. "... I spotted some 'Game of Thrones' looking chairs in the donation area," Kindle explains. "I paid $25 a piece and then promptly put them into the attic of our former house. The down time during the pandemic was perfect for a chair project. I used Lenny Kravitz as my inspiration — I was going for hipster, sexy cool. I stripped the old finish off, painted the chairs a shiny black, then used a multicolor faux fur for the seat cover."

Kindle and her husband aren't the only ones who enjoy those medieval chairs. "Our dogs are Shih Tzu mixes, Vincent 'Vinny' Vega and Mia Wallace — they were named after 'Pulp Fiction' characters," Kindle says. "They have saved whatever sanity we have left in this pandemic and make it essential to get out of bed every day and we’re eternally grateful."

Speaking of "Pulp Fiction," Kindle revels in all things pop culture and loves to combine framed cinema snapshots with bold, stylish designs. "I think it’s the actor, art/film lover, storyteller, people watcher, freak magnet in me that has influenced what I find 'comforting' and 'calm,'" Kindle says. "I can’t imagine living in a beige or neutral space. Color brings me joy and feels familiar and homey."

Kindle's favorite piece in the space isn't the rad wall art or tufted blue sectional. She says it's the inverted table TV stand. "I adore POLaRT furniture," Kindle explains. "I was able to choose the fun inside color for the stand and the bespoke feel just makes the piece look even cooler to me. It’s fun to own."

The TV room explodes with blue textures, tones and nostalgic tchotchkes. File this one under coolest repurpose ever: Kindle uses a retro glass ashtray to hold reading glasses and remotes.

One of Kindle's proudest moments might just be the smallest room in her house. "I wanted the tiny bathroom to pop and be a fun rest stop," Kindle explains. "However, I wrestled with that [temporary] wallpaper like I was training a rhino."

"I got cocky thinking [the wallpaper] would be a breeze to hang since the temporary paper in the kitchen was hella easy to hang," Kindle says. "I didn’t take into account how tight the bathroom space is [when] trying to move the ladder in the space and staggering the letters in the paper. It was real work."

The latest project on Kindle's reno punch list is the kitchen — and she's got some guidance for anyone in the same boat. "I have advice but I don’t think I’ve ever fully taken this advice: plan and budget carefully," she says. "Perhaps I can give that advice because not doing those two things has cost me good money. For example, I ordered new cabinet hardware for the kitchen cabinets online — 26 pulls — and I measured incorrectly, just slightly too short."

Kindle's current kitchen features two things she says are her absolute must-haves. "The splurges are lighting and appliances," Kindle says. "Cheap lighting and cheap appliances are hard for me to justify. I bargain shop throw pillows and some rugs — the rugs for the entry, bathroom [and] kitchen."

Kindle cooks up light-hearted, joyful designs in her well-thought-out kitchen decor, too, like this kitchen towel from a local Seattle artist that should be on everyone's wishlist.

A small TV hangs on the wall adjacent to all the kitchen action, but it's the faux hedge deer head that really acts as a conversation starter in the space.