Tour a 1910 Long Island Home Decked Out With Vintage Art

It doesn’t take much time on Kate Pearce’s blog, Kate Pearce Vintage, to find out she’s passionate about vintage finds and art. Her brand pairs her art history degree and love of thrifting with her husband’s handyman skills. Together they’ve built a museum-like home.

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May 13, 2020

By: Beth Braden

Show: HGTV Handmade

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Photo By: Stephanie Diani

New York State of Mind

Kate Pearce is a sixth-generation Long Islander; her husband, Bill, jokes they live on Long Island with “all 87 of her family members.” Kate, who blogs about vintage finds and interior design always wanted to live in an old home, and her century-old "loveable money pit" certainly fits the bill.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

Not That Kind of Vintage

Kate's 1910 home looked like something from the 1970s when they moved in, so she and Bill gutted it to the studs and rebuilt it. Kate and Bill live there with their daughters, Eva and Josie, and their dog, Ripley.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

Yin and Yang

Kate and Bill say they balance one another – she is self-described as "unreasonable" about aesthetic. Bill, however, is the measured, calculating designer. They've created a functional home that preserves the 1910 feel and adds thrifty, vintage flair.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

Reclaimed and Renewed

Kate and Bill renovated the kitchen, moving everything around and joining old and new design elements together. The casing around the vent above the stove is from 1800s Connecticut barn wood, and the painting above the stove is from an estate sale.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

What's Cooking?

This painting is an original acrylic portrait that Kate bought for $10. She named him Ned, and he is regularly dressed up for the holidays. One Halloween he donned an eye patch, and he's been known to get in the Christmas spirit with a Santa hat.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

On Display

Over time, Kate's open shelving became more of a plant display than a place to stack plates. "Everyone needs plants to cook, right?" Kate says. The shelves also display some of her favorite vintage glassware.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

Pardon Me, Madam

Kate has only ever found three of these pin-up girl peekaboo glasses in all her years of thrifting, and she loves them. "I really have a weakness for vintage glassware," Kate admits.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

Look Who's Coming to Dinner

The kitchen opens into a dining room decorated with original portraits from an estate sale. "It was the home of an artist who had passed away," Kate says. "All his life's work was in the home, so there were hundreds of portraits." She bought 18 prints that day with plans to keep a few and sell the rest, but they looked so good on the wall, she kept them.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

The Walls Have Eyes

The portraits throughout the dining room are arranged so it appears as though the people in the pictures are looking at each other. Kate eventually plans to cover all the white space on the dining room walls in similarly styled portraits.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

A Breath of Fresh Air

Of all the rooms in the home, Kate loves the library the most. Windows flood the space with natural light. Bright colors and plants keep the space cheery while still being muted enough to be a haven for relaxation.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

Something New

Kate's choice for bold black walls are a great contrast to the warm orange couches and the white window trim. Black makes its appearance again as an accent in the white rug, pulling the space together from the floor up.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

Ripley Doesn't Believe It

Ripley, the Pearces' dog, has been known to chow down on some of Kate's vintage finds. Beyond her apparent disdain for Kate's design taste, Ripley also enjoys chewing couches, shoes and toys.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

Warm Adventure

The warm, burnt orange motif continues with the front door and in the hall space next to the stairs.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

Books and Blooms

Kate wanted to use the built-in black shelves to showcase a vintage book collection she began before they moved in, but she also wanted a live plant wall. Why not both?

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

They Were Framed!

Plants, however, need light, and one half of the bookcase never receives sun. Instead, Kate installed grow frames in the shelving to make sure the plants got the light they need to thrive.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

Sassy Statuary

Kate loves her middle finger statue. Inscribed with "The fickel finger of fate," the statue came from an estate sale with lots of midcentury decor and was in a basement man cave. Kate painted it gold, and it fits perfectly into the book-and-plant wall.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

Not Quite Free, but Definitely a Good Home

Even some of Kate's plants are thrifted. The large euphorbia in the corner was only $100 at an estate sale because of how difficult it would have been to move. Kate was unfazed — she hugged it in the bed of her dad's pickup truck to haul it home. "I almost gave my life for this thing," Kate says.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

Have Plants, Will Travel

"And then I find out about it when you roll up in the driveway and say, 'I need you to come get a cactus out of the truck,'" Bill adds.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

Creative Without Closets

The lack of closet space on the first floor means the wall along the stairs had to be highly functional. Quirky hand hooks provide space for hanging bags or coats, and the orange here helps tie elements from the kitchen and library together.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

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Interior Illusions Hand Hook

Gallery Wall

The silhouettes in the stairwell are Kate's longest-running collection. All are antique and vintage. Many have names and dates on the back identifying the people in the silhouette and the date the photo was made. "Everyone who walks in the house is always immediately drawn to this wall," Kate says.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

The Bathroom Bureau

Kate wanted the vanity in the bathroom to be a vintage dresser with working drawers, so she and Bill made it happen. The drawers were retrofitted to allow for space for both plumbing and functional storage.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

First Things First

The bathroom was the first big project Kate took on in their home. Bill came home to find her tearing tile off the wall, and he stepped in to implement her vision for the space.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

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Repurposed Warmth

Kate's oldest daughter, Eva, has the only piece of furniture — the house bed — they brought from their old house. Her bookcase is a restored art deco fireplace Kate found in the basement of a very old home.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

Pint-Sized Finds

Kate isn't the only one who goes thrift shopping. Eva's working on her own Russian doll assortment, and she regularly accompanies her mom to go find more pieces for her display.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

Welcome to the Jungle

An orange dresser pops against the navy wall in the room of Kate's younger daughter, Josie. "I have so much fun with kid spaces because you can just go wild with color and whimsy," Kate says. Josie's room features brilliant jungle wallpaper, a wicker light fixture and a constellation mural on the ceiling.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

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Canopy Creature Wallpaper

If the Mattress Fits ...

Kate had to work the vintage bed into Josie's room. Because of its size (a three-quarters bed), Kate was looking at having a custom mattress made — until she realized an RV mattress fit the bed perfectly.

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

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Canopy Creature Wallpaper

Perfectly Imperfect

"I'm not the biggest fan of spaces that are just put together exactly right or pieces that don't have the little chip or patina," Kate says. "I think that just adds character, and we try to give that sort of character to every space we create."

Watch the Video: Tour a Vintage Collector's Midcentury Modern Home

Tour a 1910 Long Island Home Decked Out With Vintage Art

Related To:

Shop This Look

New York State of Mind

Not That Kind of Vintage

Yin and Yang

Reclaimed and Renewed

What's Cooking?

On Display

Pardon Me, Madam

Look Who's Coming to Dinner

The Walls Have Eyes

A Breath of Fresh Air

Something New

Ripley Doesn't Believe It

Warm Adventure

Books and Blooms

They Were Framed!

Sassy Statuary

Not Quite Free, but Definitely a Good Home

Have Plants, Will Travel

Creative Without Closets

Shop This Look

Interior Illusions Hand Hook

Gallery Wall

The Bathroom Bureau

First Things First

Shop This Look

Repurposed Warmth

Pint-Sized Finds

Welcome to the Jungle

Shop This Look

Canopy Creature Wallpaper

If the Mattress Fits ...

Shop This Look

Canopy Creature Wallpaper

Perfectly Imperfect

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