Texas Tiki Meets Wes Anderson in Mid-century Millennial's Austin Home

When the pandemic landed Megan Housekeeper in her Austin, Texas, home full-time, she launched her social media persona Mid-century Millennial, where she shares her love for vintage finds and retro-inspired, DIY room makeovers.

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July 07, 2021

By: Megan Housekeeper

Show: HGTV Handmade

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Photo By: Jennifer M. Ramos

Old Soul, Fresh Ideas

Welcome to my home in Austin, Texas! I am designing our home with the goal of reuniting it with its 1970s vibes that were renovated away by generations of previous homeowners. A lifelong lover of vintage finds on a tight budget, I live for the thrill of the hunt — filling my home with thrifted and estate sale treasures. I’m inspired by the playful aesthetic of Wes Anderson films, midcentury kitsch and bold color palettes.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Mrs. Independent

Step into my first renovated space: my office and Mid-century Millennial headquarters. This is the only space in the house that I don’t share with my husband, so I leaned into personal details and feminine touches. I painted half-pink walls and added unexpected pops of color to take this room from a boring box to a creative haven.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

9 to 5, 5 to 9

When I am not working from home as a marketing professional, I moonlight as the Mid-century Millennial on social media — sharing my vintage-obsessed lifestyle and DIY projects. This dedicated craft space serves as a content studio and space to create details for my home.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Stuck on You

Elvis has blessed my home decor dating back to elementary school. I shared a room with my teenage sister, so our mom crafted a hanging divider with frames to add our own personal touches and keep the fighting to a minimum. My side was filled with Elvis Presley headshots I printed at the library. Now, this vintage bust holds court in my craft corner.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Flower Power

My signature style features a growing selection of vintage flower power jackets and a bright collection of accessories. And that’s Priscilla Presley, the cat, acquired to troll my two dogs.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Slim Picking

Slim Aarons photography is a symbol of midcentury aesthetic. His classic photo, Poolside Gossip, is the background for my virtual Zoom world.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

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Palm Springs Futon

Spinning Style

Modern suitcase record players add an affordable, retro touch to a room. I wanted to have the choice to listen to vinyl or connect to Bluetooth while crafting and working.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

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Byron Statics Vinyl Record Player

The Grand Texas Tiki Hotel

Our guest bedroom is an immersive retreat for our friends and family. The design started with my first piece of commissioned art by local Austin mixed media artist, Whitney Avra. As my anchoring piece, her art helped me create a memorable color palette and inspire the Texas tiki aesthetic.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Wall of Frame

Turning to Pinterest when I needed a last-minute solution to an empty green wall, I created this frame wall with leftover Clare "Matcha Latte" paint and $60 worth of thrifted frames. This wall is one of my favorite design elements in the house, adding depth and drama.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Uncommon Objects

Embracing Wes Anderson style can include finding vintage items to create unexpected vignettes. I thrifted for unique ornamental items like this vintage typewriter and afghan that features the room’s color palette.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Peel-and-Stick Dreams

In lieu of deciding between two of my favorite peel-and-stick wallpapers, I pulled the trigger on both. With the sunny palm print accenting the back wall, I knew I needed to make the closet space more prominent to showcase the classic Scalamandré Zebra Safari wallpaper.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

A Margot Moment

With Scalamandré’s Zebra wallpaper recalling Margot Tenenbaum’s bedroom, the closet was transformed into a private guest study. Secretive phone calls can be made from the Facebook Marketplace-sourced gossip bench, upcycled with glossy black paint, rattan details and chartreuse reupholstery.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Paperback Paradise

Continuing with the private study vibe of the closet, I thrifted a library of vintage paperback books to keep guests entertained the old fashioned way.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Tour Guide

A custom-designed guestbook, starring my dogs in the style of Moonrise Kingdom, greets visitors bedside. The cards contain important information from the Wi-Fi password to where to find the best tacos in Austin — inarguably Veracruz All Natural in our house.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

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Wood Block & Prints

Jungle Boogie

Beamed vaulted ceilings are one of the classic 1970s features we love about our main living space. With a lot of space to fill around the TV, I blended it into the challenging angled wall with funky midcentury pieces and plants for a sexy jungle vibe.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

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Slim Floating Collection Acorn 2' Shelf

Found Favorites

My house is filled with unconventional art choices, like a growing collection of thrifted vintage kitsch prints of seductive sirens, complemented by a swagged collection of paper garlands by local artist The Paper Committee.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Make-It-Yourself Malm

Authentic midcentury Malm cone fireplaces can typically cost at least a couple of thousand dollars. While I wait to find one in my budget, I created my own retro dupe by spray painting an outdoor steel chiminea that had a similar shape and style for a little over $100.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

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Modern Wood-Burning Steel Chiminea

Grand Millennial

Vintage afghans add a pop of the room’s color palette to the TV wall. I made the blanket ladder out of $30 in materials, creating an affordable display to change up the color or style for different seasons.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Amber Is the Energy

The dining room shares a space with the living room, extending the warm yellow and orange color palette into a more formal area.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

A Touch of Glass

A large rattan display shelf creates the platform for one of my favorite items to pick up at estate sales and thrift stores: vintage glassware.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Jungle Disco

My favorite piece of art in the house features a seductive woman casually draped on a cheetah. I bought her at Austin Antique Mall when we first moved in.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Listening Lounge

Our main living space was extended with this addition in the ‘90s. In contrast to the TV-focused living room, this space is designed for simple pleasures like reading and listening to vinyl, giving it a midcentury, sunken living room ambiance.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

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12-Inch Disco Ball

Play That Funky Music

Our addition features brick walls that used to be the exterior of the house. For our listening lounge, I found a record storage unit on Facebook Marketplace that was originally from a 1950s mom-and-pop record shop and used it to create the record player wall.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Texas Tiki Bar

Beyond our addition, you’ll find one of my favorite spaces. Even before I started unpacking boxes, I painted this mural and began scavenging for rattan furniture for my very own Texas tiki bar.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

A Dash of Kitsch

The tiki bar is the perfect container for everything kitsch — drink menus, Trader Vic’s playing cards, glassware and swizzle sticks.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Craigslist Camel Bar

A less conventional choice for a tiki bar, this camel bar found on Craigslist was too fun to pass up.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Mixing It Up

When I started Mid-century Millennial on Instagram, I started filming tiki drink tutorial videos in the bar to keep things interesting during our first phase of pandemic quarantine.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Here Comes the Sun

Acapulco chairs bring a midcentury resort style to our backyard. Instead of a classic fire pit, I upcycled a terra-cotta chiminea with a sunny spray paint job.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

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Anson Outdoor Steel Chairs

Slice of Heaven

The crown jewel of our backyard is our pool, an 8-foot cattle stock tank outfitted with a pool pump, tucked behind a 12-foot avocado slice pool bar. The fiberglass avocado takes the cake as my weirdest Facebook Marketplace find, costing me $50.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Thrift Your Bliss

My home is a constantly evolving collection of anything that brings me joy, made possible through scrappy sourcing. My biggest piece of advice is to explore what you love and thrift until you find it.

Watch the Video: Tour Mid-century Millennial's Austin, Texas, Home

Texas Tiki Meets Wes Anderson in Mid-century Millennial's Austin Home

Related To:

Shop This Look

Old Soul, Fresh Ideas

Mrs. Independent

9 to 5, 5 to 9

Stuck on You

Flower Power

Slim Picking

Shop This Look

Palm Springs Futon

Spinning Style

Shop This Look

Byron Statics Vinyl Record Player

The Grand Texas Tiki Hotel

Wall of Frame

Uncommon Objects

Peel-and-Stick Dreams

A Margot Moment

Paperback Paradise

Tour Guide

Shop This Look

Wood Block & Prints

Jungle Boogie

Shop This Look

Slim Floating Collection Acorn 2' Shelf

Found Favorites

Make-It-Yourself Malm

Shop This Look

Modern Wood-Burning Steel Chiminea

Grand Millennial

Amber Is the Energy

A Touch of Glass

Jungle Disco

Listening Lounge

Shop This Look

12-Inch Disco Ball

Play That Funky Music

Texas Tiki Bar

A Dash of Kitsch

Craigslist Camel Bar

Mixing It Up

Here Comes the Sun

Shop This Look

Anson Outdoor Steel Chairs

Slice of Heaven

Thrift Your Bliss

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