Vintage home showcases eclectic treasures

Holly Wahl is a collector. Clocks, small planters, rolling pins and old windows are among the things she gathers.

When she purchased her 1910 bungalow on the South Hill 15 years ago, she found the perfect home for her treasures.

Wahl removed remaining traces of the dated 1970s decor and set about restoring the home to its original charm.

A cozy window seat nestles under a window she added in the entryway. The window is just one of her many garage sale finds.

Pulling up the wall-to-wall carpeting in the living room, Wahl discovered oak floors. Warm, vintage green paint adds to the welcoming feel of the room.

Wahl transformed the corner fireplace by removing a mantel – painted a startling purple – and re-faced it with wood, which she distressed and painted antique linen. She painted the worn bricks with a coat of green.

A unique mirror hangs over the mantel. When her neighbors were removing their old wood-trim windows, Wahl asked if she could have one. She replaced the glass with mirrored panes.

Turning windows into mirrors is a technique she repeated throughout the home.

“I don’t collect things for their value; I collect things I love,” she said.

In the kitchen, she replaced the solid front of her cupboards with seed glass.

“I love the imperfections,” she said, pointing out the wavy pitted appearance of the glass.

These cupboards hold another favorite collection – jadeite.

“I collected jadeite before Martha Stewart ruined it for me,” she said with a laugh. “I used to pay $1 a plate, and now they’re $25 per piece.”

A wire basket holds wooden rolling pins with multicolored handles. Walls papered in a green gingham checked pattern add to the country feel of the kitchen.

Wahl’s collection of antique pictures and vintage R.A. Fox prints hangs along her stairway.

“I love the colors of the old pictures,” she said.

Her most prized possession has a place of honor here.

“This picture hung in my grandmother’s house as long as I can remember,” she said, pointing to a gilt-framed 3-D painting of Jesus hovering over a cottage.

Wahl inherited the print when her grandmother died.

Another window converted to a mirror hangs in the master bath. Antique ladles hold soaps and votive candles.

Upstairs, Wahl found a new use for her collection of vintage suitcases.

“I use them to hold my scrapbooking supplies,” she said.

Her bedroom is furnished entirely with garage-sale finds. She loves the rusted look of her iron bedstead, so she waxed it to prevent rust from discoloring her bedding. Several pieces of garden art adorn the room because she enjoyed the pieces too much to leave them outdoors.

When Wahl is working in her home, it doesn’t feel like work at all, she says.

“I love it,” she said. “When I walk into my home I still feel like a kid.

“And I think, ‘Is this really all mine?’ “