Welcome to the home of Laura, Jesse, Brooklyn and Bindu. Jesse and Laura have been renovating their home themselves since they moved in 4 years ago. They have impressively sourced nearly 90% of their furniture, fixtures, decor and even their paint from estate sales, thrift stores and Facebook marketplace. With a love for the hunt and a serious work ethic, they’ve created an eclectic and stylish home out of a house that needed lots of love. Come on in!

How long have you lived in your home?

4 years. We moved in and renovated while we lived here. We’ve gone room by room until we’ve completed the whole house. There were days where we questioned our sanity. I came home one day and the kitchen wall was just totally demo-ed and open to the outside. We work on it when we can and little by little have redone the entire house. Jesse is extremely handy and we’ve done all of the work ourselves. He learned everything from his dad, uncle and brother. Jesse is a contractor and owns his own business 35 degrees North. My favorite project has been the side of the house that was formerly functioning as a little apartment. It is now the yoga room, includes a little kitchenette and a guest bedroom. We’d love to airbnb that portion of the house out in the future.

How would you describe your style of decorating? Has it changed over time?

It changes constantly- by the season, by the mood im in. I have ADHD and I thrift when I’m stressed out so ... “ADHD thrifting” is my style. My only renovation regret is the ship lap wall- simply because it doesn’t feel timeless in the way the rest of the house does. It was trendy at the time.

What does home mean to you?

A place where you can be yourself and relax.

When people come into your home, what do you hope they feel?

That they are at ease and can be totally themselves. My hope is to create a place where no one feels scared to touch things or move things around. We’ve had lots of people live with us during this renovation process and we love having an open door policy. We really enjoy having people over and sharing our space with our friends and family.

Do you have a style or home philosophy?

Do what you love, not what is trendy. Don’t be afraid of color.

Do you collect anything?

Retro rain deer (See above image) my favorites are a pair that I found at the thrift store and commissioned an artist friend of mine to decopage and repaint. Jesse would definitely say that I collect books-especially childrens picture books and specifically girl empowerment themed books. I LOVE mugs and my favorites are made by one of my friends Lacey Sutton. I have a small Santa mug collection as well.

Do you have a favorite shop or go to place for home goods/furniture?

Estate sales, garage sales, thrift stores - the Habitat for Humanity in Maryville and Amvets. 90% of the things in our house- even the paint and tile is from thrift stores, estate sales, or marketplace.

Do you have a favorite room in your home? Favorite items or furniture pieces?

The yoga room (Laura hosts yoga classes in their home on occasion) or our bedroom- i love the morning light and the way it comes in the window. The furniture is so secondary. I tend to value the little things more. But we do LOVE our sofas-- they are super comfy and I found them at (of course) a thrift store. One other piece I love is the painting of my dogs by Lacey Sutton.

Talk to me about decorating for Christmas. How would you describe your holiday decorating style?

Unedited themes-- SO many themes. I was working an organizing job and a client gave me a set of Strawberry ornaments- I ended up basing a whole red and green tree on them. I love all things, mid century, retro and vintage and that definitely influences my holiday decorating.

Check out these before pictures of the house prior to renovations that Laura shared with us. In order of appearance—the kitchen, what is now where the mantel is in the living room, the yoga room, the guest bath, and the exterior of the house.

Thanks so much to Laura, Jesse and the pups for giving us the tour!