Vintage Living Room Tour (Before + After)

I moved into my craftsman bungalow last year, and let me tell you ... I did not enjoy living here for the first 5 months. It was a huge adjustment, especially since I lived in my last house for 9 years.

I explained my thoughts on change (and my new perspective on it) in this post if you're curious.

Looking back, buying this house has been one of the best decisions of my life and I absolutely love everything about it—including the neighborhood. Sure, owning a home can be stressful, but it really is as fulfilling as they say it is. ANYWAY, I'll stop rambling for now.

What I really want to do is give you a tour of my 100-year-old living room. It's cozy, colorful, and filled with all the happy vintage things in life.

Before moving in, I had the original wood floors refinished and hired someone to paint the whole house my favorite shade of white. It instantly transformed the house and gave my Virgo brain a nice, clean slate to start with.

Here are a few photos that show what the living room looked like before I moved in:

Just FYI, this house will always and forever be a grandma house, I think it's time for me to buy this pennant, too.

My house was filled with outdated ceiling fans, so I promptly had them removed before I moved in. What I didn't think about was the fact there wouldn't be any overhead lights in the house until I found replacements. Rookie mistake.

I wanted to find a vintage light fixture for the living room, but I also wanted to be able to see what I was doing, so I opted for a vintage-inspired chandelier.

This is the washable shag rug I picked for the living room. It's cheap and easy to maintain if you have pets.

Here's a view of my printers drawer. I scored the sofa from Facebook Marketplace (who doesn't get their sofa from there nowadays?) and my grandma made the comfy afghan that I cuddle up with—even when it's 95 degrees outside.

This is my favorite view in the living room. I really thought the fireplace would feel too much like "Bass Pro", but it doesn't at all. It has a cabin in the woods vibe and it's the perfect spot to watch TV and eat dinner.

Speaking of cabins, the orange chairs were in my grandparents lake cabin in the 1960s. Nostalgic gold. I remember when my grandma found them in storage 5 years ago, and I scrubbed and detailed them with a toothbrush. They look brand new!

Here's a link to my color drip taper candles. 100% recommend!

Several years ago, I started collecting matchbooks from old businesses in my hometown of Springfield, MO. I love a good challenge, so it's always exciting when I find one at the flea market, estate sales, or online auctions. The last two are the best places to find local matchbook collections.

Oh ... here's another collection that I have throughout my entire house. Vintage packaging and advertising. The fonts, illustrations, and colors were over the top back in the day and I never get bored looking at them.

I can't imagine that boxes of starch and laundry detergent from 2023 will be exciting to people 50 years from now, but hey ... you never know.

I have a little collection of those round candles that were popular in the 90s. They aren't easy to find, so I only have a few of them (for now).

I had a similar zebra print candle in high school and I really should have kept it. OH, and all of my Delia*s catalogs, Alloy catalogs, clothes from Gadzooks, and my steel toe Dr. Martens. The list goes on and the struggle is real.

If you come over, you'll find several original Ozark Mountain Daredevils records out and about, and I will happily listen to all of them with you if you want.

I even wrote a post about why I feel so connected to (AKA obsessed with) a local band from the 70s if you feel so inclined to read it.

I also have a little collection of old advertising from my family's business, Moseley's Office Supply. It's been in downtown Springfield for over 80 years. ❤️

Thanks for stopping by. I'm excited to share more room tours with you soon. ✨

xoxo, Jacki