A Chair Designer's Whimsical Texas Home

Colorful upholstery, thrifty glow-ups and bold patterns abound in this quirky Victorian home in Austin, Texas.

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July 19, 2022

From: HGTV Magazine

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Photo By: Buff Strickland

Photo By: Hector Manuel Sanchez

Photo By: Buff Strickland

Photo By: Hector Manuel Sanchez

The Story

Whenever Wendy Conklin is clothes shopping, she runs into the same challenge. “I see a great pattern on a top or a dress and I think, I wish I could upholster something with that!” says Wendy, the designer behind Chair Whimsy. Unique fabric, wallpaper and paint colors abound in the 2,840-square-foot Victorian in Austin, Texas, that she shares with her husband, Blane. To Wendy, every textile, every vintage furniture find, every piece of art tells a story — the knockout wallpaper she discovered after hours of scrolling, the settee she drove across the state to get, the paintings done by her adult daughter. “Life is too short not to surround yourself with spaces you’ve lovingly created and put yourself into,” she says. “It brings a lot of joy.”

From: HGTV Magazine

The Entry

To make magic on the staircase, Wendy cut and adhered Matisse-like wallpaper from Spoonflower. The antique settee had a caved-in seat before Wendy resuscitated it. The floral fabric is original to the piece; the hot pink velvet is her handiwork. The art pieces hanging in the stairwell are creations by Wendy's daughter.

From: HGTV Magazine

The Living Room

“When you fall for a fuchsia rug, one thing leads to another!” says Wendy about the bold color scheme. This beauty, from Manhattan Rugs, brings out the hue in the settee fabric by Clarke & Clarke. The animal print fabric on the chairs basically functions as a neutral here; Wendy hand-painted the frames gold. “The chairs are from the 1890s and have more character than any new ones I could buy,” says Wendy. On the mantel, simple accents bookend a painting by artist Carrie Schmitt that, says Wendy, “is like having fresh flowers every day.”

From: HGTV Magazine

The Breakfast Nook

Would you paint your walls black on a dare? For Wendy, the answer to a freind's challenge was an easy yes. “I knew it would look cool because of all the light and the dynamic patterns,” says Wendy. The settee fabric is by Kravet, and the chair fabric is by Carrie Schmitt.

From: HGTV Magazine

The Kitchen

To customize the white cabinetry, Wendy decked out the backs of the glass-front ones with Anthropologie wallpaper. (It’s on the side panels, too.) The adorable Smeg coffeemaker picks up the pink.

From: HGTV Magazine

The Main Bedroom

For an easy bedroom spiff-up, after putting in fab blue and white shades from Smith & Noble, Wendy painted the bed’s metal frame with dark teal chalk paint (Aubusson Blue by Annie Sloan). A pile-on of pillows and a blanket from Anthropolgie also reinvigorated the room. All-white lamps weren’t going to fly here; Wendy painted the flowers on them hot pink. Even the tassels on the bench have extra whimsy — they’re vintage. The kaleidoscope-esque rug is from Annie Selke.

From: HGTV Magazine

The Guest Room

The guest room is proof of the power of PIY (Paint It Yourself). Wendy painted Decisive Yellow by Sherwin-Williams on the shutters and desk chair, and matched a desk to the green wicker nightstand from a garage sale — a $5 find! Another affordable makeover: Wendy upcycled a Goodwill light with a new shade she covered in wallpaper.

From: HGTV Magazine

The Other Guest Room

More of the couple’s older daughter's paintings, inspired by Frida Kahlo, add whimsy to this space. Wendy snagged the frames at a local antiques mall and painted them. Chairs arranged around a jute rug by Safavieh form an inviting hangout.

The Bathroom

The main bathroom already had an old-school Victorian look going with marble tile, a claw-foot tub and a console sink. Wendy leaned into the mood and did pale pink on the walls (Perfection by Valspar). An old foot stool looked better than new once Wendy rehabbed it with fabric by Carrie Schmitt and painted the legs gold (a go-to move for her furniture flips).

From: HGTV Magazine

The Studio

It’s one lively place to work, with eye-popping blooms in the Kim Parker for Clarke & Clarke wallpaper. The flowery fabric on the chairs in progress is from Arte De Mi Tierra. Checkered laminate flooring joins the pattern party.