Welcome to the beautifully curated home of Amy and Jim Boyd - neighbors and friends whose home I'd heard about long before I'd met them. I approached Amy this summer about possibly sharing a house tour online after getting a personal tour myself and was thrilled when she agreed! Their home is full of thoughtful layers that easily blend modern and vintage pieces to create a warm, rich environment. As I walked through their home I found myself noticing that every single thing in their home was intentional and seemed to hold a story. More than once I asked Amy where she found that amazing (fill in the blank). I know you'll enjoy their home as much as I did.
Q: What kind of home do you have and how long have you lived there?
A: We moved into our Rountree, California Bungalow home 14 years ago, when our third baby was nine months old. She’s fifteen now. Sometimes my kids get itchy for a change and say stuff like, “when do WE get to move?”….like my sisters both did recently. But we have put so much blood sweat and tears into this house that I would never be able to leave it. I’m like Scarlett O’Hara….nothing was going to make her leave Tara. She wanted to die in her home…even if it was virtually falling down.
photo above: Julie Blackmon
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Sometimes I feel like I’m too comfortable with the way things are decorated. A true decorator (I always thought) changes her home weekly or monthly. I’m surrounded by family members who love to decorate…so I always felt like I should be periodically changing my home also.
Our family spent four years in a three story, four-square home in Warsaw, Missouri, on a one acre lot when I was little (while my dad worked on the Truman Dam)…good times, I might add! Mom and dad furnished that home with the first furniture they ever bought brand new…and kept that furniture their whole lives. And even though styles came and went, their furniture remained sure and true and actually came back into style eventually. I’m jealous that they were ok with their home and style during their child rearing and older years because now they have this fabulous, traditional home that will endure for years to come. So, I would say my taste is one of a little bit traditional (which my family and I call “TRAD”), a little bit Scandinavian (which we call “SCANDI”) and a little bit modern.
Q: Has your style changed/evolved over the years?
A: About five or six years ago I couldn’t get enough of “modern” and clean, sleek-lined, uncluttered décor. But even modern grew weary at times….and I longed for Persian rugs, knick-knacks and comfortable couches again (after purging some of my older things….and owning several uncomfortable, vintage sofas and chairs that lasted only a couple of years at best). I still love a good vintage sofa….but with vintage being so popular right now they are hard to find. Our sectional sofa is from Macy’s….and we think it’s enough “TRAD”, that it will hopefully endure, despite fads and trends changing.
Unfortunately, when you live in a home that turned 100 years old this year, the work you did 12 years ago to renovate becomes dated and in need of another facelift….due, in part, to changing times…but also everything eventually wears out and needs another coat of paint, or something rots out and needs replacing…which is a GREAT excuse to change something!
Q: What kinds of changes have you made since you've moved in?
A: When we first moved in, the current owners (and more than likely several owners before them) had apparently shut off the front part of the house and lived in the back (where the kitchen is) in the winter because there were no storm windows. There were four layers of drapes covering the picture windows in front….the glazing and sashes were rotten from years of condensation. So removing carpet and fixing the double-hung windows was the first to be done. The hardwood floors were too thin to refinish (someone had sanded them down to 1/16 of an inch thick), so our most efficient move was to just paint the floors instead of spending $10,000 on all new ones.
My husband, Jim, is the handiest guy I’ve ever known. We have never hired a plumber or an electrician, and he has done almost all the work on our house - a full bathroom renovation, all new lighting throughout the home, a laundry facility - and finishes the honey-do list every weekend without complaining!
I waited a good two years before we did anything to the kitchen. It was very dated and sad! We resurfaced the kitchen on a dime….and have kept it that way even now (although if I had my druthers, I would sink a little $$ into the kitchen right now….as we speak!). As I said before, not only are times changing, but it needs a new floor and new countertops (out of necessity….right????).
There is an element of sentimentality to restoring a home from the beginning. I could never do it again, but am willing to keep going so the integrity will last.
Q: Favorite room in the house and why?
A: I have to say that my kitchen is the place where my heart is. With five kids, it seems we are always either cooking/eating, doing homework or just hanging out. We seem to gravitate to where the flavors and noises are. My mom loved to cook and I think I take after her…..only now that cooking is a necessity; it takes a little fun out of it. But, nonetheless, we are all together at the end of the day and we know where to find comfort!Q: Proudest DIY?
A: Half of our kitchen was originally a bedroom (which we could have certainly used since we proceeded to have two more babies in this house). But we knocked down a wall, tore out carpet and put uniform flooring on the whole room. Jim built a window seat (with storage underneath) in the area where the previous owners had their kitchen table (a kitchenette the size of an apartment). Proud moments pop up all the time when you live in a house that’s not too big (or unmanageable) and you do the cleaning and work yourself! Q: What's one thing on your home decor wish list?
A: If I could do one thing to my house right now it would be to put bookshelves in my living room. Last winter Jim and I spent some time on this woodworking program he has that takes the measurements and designs the area for you. I was mesmerized by it….and anxiously awaited the day when he would have time to make these “floor to ceiling” shelves. I have magazine pictures strung out and hung all over my house so Jim will get the hint and start making them….ha! I’ve even purchased books to fill them. I’m still waiting…..
Thank you, Amy, for sharing your gorgeous home with us! Also, a special thanks to Janae Hardy who shot this home tour. We're teaming up again to photograph and share another lovely home later this month that is equally beautiful! New favorite hobby? Um, yes.
xo,
Rachel
