February 22, 2021
A World Traveler's Decor & Eclectic Home
Our sweet dog, Poppy relaxing in her natural habitat, surrounded by a zillion pillows in the living room.
We are getting ready to tackle some new projects at our own house in North Central Phoenix, so I thought It was a good time to write a new blog post about our kooky, eclectic home and its world traveler decor. I originally posted about our house back in 2016 - since then we have renovated our kitchen, changed up quite a few rooms, and added LOTS more textiles and other fun details.
One of the questions I get asked pretty much daily at Tierra Del Lagarto is if my house looks like the store. The answer, most certainly, is a big yes.
Our 1930's historic home is an anomaly in our neck of the woods. Phoenix is a newer city, with very few houses that date back much further than the 1950s and 60s. At nearly 90 years old, our place is a sprawling Spanish revival style house - added onto over the decades from its humble origins as a citrus grove farmhouse.
Our front entry stairway with original iron railing from the 1930s. Collected vintage textiles from our travels, prints, and carvings make up an eclectic gallery wall. We will be adding tile risers to this space this spring - yay!
A vintage Rajasthani water stand and a part of an old Moroccan zouaq ceiling panel sourced in the flea markets of Marrakech have a little moment in the living room.
We've filled it with antique home decor and treasures from our travels around the world, holding onto interesting pieces we couldn't let go from shipments over the last ten years.
Our younger son perches atop a solid wood lion we found in Bali decades ago.
Every room is filled to the brim with textiles, textures, and colors from our favorite haunts. Turkish kilims, Mali indigo, Uzbek ikat, Gujarati embroidery - it's all in there somewhere!
The primary bedroom is a dark, moody escape, filled with a revolving assortment of textiles.
From our principal bedroom, to the funky reading nook at the top of the stairs, to our hallway turned hammock room - there are layers upon layers of textiles.
In 1934, when it was built, our home was most likely a simple farmhouse surrounded by citrus groves. Over the years previous owners added on, enclosed sleeping porches, and made some funky spaces in the process. This nook at the top of the stairs is a transition space between two elevations upstairs. We turned it into an exotic getaway / opium den - which is a popular spot for our daughter and her friends to have tea parties.
Another transition space, this wide hall was always an afterthought until we installed this Columbian hammock. Now the kids and I fight over it for novel reading or afternoon naps.
We carried this fantastic blue paint, Dunn Edwards Crashing Waves through to my husband's office from the adjoining hall - it makes the ikat chair pop in the most delightful way!
Even my husband's office got a funky makeover during Covid - a vintage chair in an exuberant ikat by Malika Ikats, concert posters, and a rattan hanging lamp from Bali brought life to many a Zoom meeting.
We experimented with a custom kitchen island from one of our suppliers in India for the remodel. It turned out so well we now carry kitchen islands in a few sizes at TDL regularly - we love them!
Our kitchen remodel about five years ago has been wonderful to enjoy during this year of staying home. Our family of five fits around the marble topped island I had made in India just perfectly.
Our dining pieces are classic Spanish Revival style. I added large iron lanterns from India for serious drama.
Even though our house rambles, we don't have a dedicated dining room - but our Peruvian chairs and Argentinian dining table wedge into the kitchen just fine. A vintage teak glass cabinet from India holds all the overflow dishes and collections.
Open shelves have been surprisingly easy to maintain. I love having what we truly use at easy reach, and enjoy having more places to show off our odd collections.
We sourced encaustic tile from Morocco and installed reclaimed open shelves to keep glasses and everyday dishes at easy reach.
Zellij tile is the way to go for outdoor dining. It is so easy to care for - and withstands our intense summer heat with no problems.
The color and exuberance of our exotic home decor flows right outside - one of our zellij tile tables anchors a seating area near the pool.
Our back patio makeover this summer was a savior when we were homebound this year. Before we had this gorgeous Heritage Saltillo patio installed by Handcrafted Tile, the patio was a bit of a wasteland of broken up Kooldeck and concrete. Now it is a wonderful oasis with room for all of us to swim and lounge.
We had a giant ten foot long daybed made out of architectural salvage in India made for a poolside lounger.
I love using vintage teak furniture from Java and India outside. As long as the wood is old and seasoned, it can survive outside with regular teak oil treatments.
Our gathering place for drinks and conversation is made of vintage teak daybeds from Java, an old Indian coffee table - and lots of textiles that come out from inside when we are entertaining.
Thank you so much for following along. While our home is a little more "more is more" than a lot of people can deal with, it is the embodiment of our TDL journey.
We have a few more projects yet to do, and of course with an almost 90 year old home there is constant maintenance, but we love that ten years in we are finally enjoying the house in a way we love.
We bought this historic home in the middle of the last recession; it was a short sale and had 1001 problems. Our twins had just turned one, we had a five year old, full time jobs, and a couple of rental properties. We were in way over our heads! The first few years were dedicated to just making the house less dangerous for our kids, quite literally. In recent years we were able to finally realize how fun it can be to have a quirky old home, and to relish the personality it has. She has come along way - and we love the haven she has become for our family.
Also - if you're curious - here is a link to when our home was featured on Design*Sponge a few years back. You'll recognize a few of the images (I shot them all) but will see some differences - most amazing to me is how young my kids look! Why do they grow up so dang quick!!??
6 comments
That’s it! I am moving in ….. your home is absolutely beautiful, welcoming and cozy. I feel so at home in your photos. Thank you for the inspiration.
Dolores Matheson
December 19, 2023
It’s Stunning and someone , somewhere belives in more is beautiful .
Jayitree
October 10, 2023
Beautiful..absolutely up my street. Love it.
Cath Mcintyre
October 10, 2023
Beautiful..absolutely up my street. Love it.
Cath Mcintyre
August 15, 2023
I so enjoyed “touring” your warm and colorful home.
Shannon Van Zutphen
July 04, 2022
I love it all. I would happily import everything to my home in Byron Bay☺️
Willow
February 22, 2021
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