Porch Perfection

Charming vintage accents characterize the Seaview, Washington, home of Bob and Susi Frost, indoors and out. According to “Gramma Susi,” the Happy Cottage fairy lives in a birdhouse on the porch and lays in wait for grandchildren to come visit. The pixie leaves offerings for the Frosts’ grandchildren on the little footstool. A pair of prints featuring Dutch children hung overhead may have been the genesis of Susi’s collection of Dutch items. Blue-and-white gingham seat cushions contrast with the pale yellow walls and coordinate with the painted trim on the door’s window.

Mellow Yellow

Yellow dishware displaying handy kitchen utensils and red apples give the solid blue beadboard cabinets lots of visual pop. The cupboards share the same vertical pattern with the white V-board walls. There is no particular rhyme or reason to the collectibles gathered atop the dropped cabinets; for Susi, their placement was mostly a question of, “I’ve got something new, where do I put it?” Without the black accented items throughout the collectible display, however, Susi says it would look “flat.”

Sunny Disposition

A vintage stamped wood box serves as a useful alternative to a traditional fruit bowl. Yellow lemons on display in the box and a vase of sunny blooms nearby draw out the cheery hue of the smiley-face clock on the wall and other vintage treats throughout the space.

Child's Play

In the grandchildren’s room, a vintage yellow chenille spread brightens an original painted metal bed found at a Salvation Army shop. The side table in the grandchildren’s room was originally paired with the chairs at the foot of the bed, which Susi upholstered with unfinished quilt squares.

Take a (Night)stand

A friend of Susi’s father made the wood elephant on the bedside table for her when she was born; now, it keeps the grandkids company when they visit. The embroidered clown pillows were made from dishtowels, and an old quilt covers the cushion of the wicker chair.

Sitting Pretty

This wood rocker in the living room was Susi’s very first antique, a gift from a college friend who found it at the trash dump and fixed it up for her. The red leather chair, a consignment-store find, brings out the bold hue of the painted-brick fireplace. The chair is accompanied by a footstool comprising a base crowned with a hooked rug. Above the chair, a vintage metal sconce with a red lamp shade supplies the room with another burst of red.