Thanks to my never-ending search for home inspiration, my style feels as if it is constantly evolving. This can be disorienting and design paralysis inducing, but it is never boring. Now, as I’ve painstakingly discussed over the past few months on this blog, I am leaning towards an old-world-eclectic-Italian-grandma style in my home. To solidify this path, all I needed was one home tour to hang my hat on, to ensure that this style is not just a phase, that it is in fact where my heart lies. Enter today’s home tour that confirmed my destiny with just one photo.
Today, we have the distinct pleasure of featuring 1925 Tudor located in Los Angeles, California that’s currently on the market waiting patiently for the right buyer. It was staged by our friends at A 1000 X Better so when they reached out asking if we’d like to feature it, I nearly fell off my chair. Little did they know they just sent me my personal dream home, so I was eager for a chance to talk about the exquisite design.
When I spoke with their team, they let me know this was a partial staging, and A 1000 X Better used most of the seller’s own furniture and supplemented with pieces that would integrate into their style seamlessly. What’s really striking is how lived-in and soulful this home is because the staging involved amplifying the already eclectic pieces from the previous owners. While staged homes are just that — staged — this one is particularly dripping with charm making it feel like paying a visit to eccentric yet very stylish grandmother’s house (again, my dream!).
Now, I realize the eclectic granny style is not for everyone. In fact, the comments from this post prove just that. However, if you are slowly acquiring a fondness towards this style, I want you to feel confident that it can be achieved in a minimalist way. So without further ado, let me introduce you to the six steps to doing just that:
Pick Your Big Wall Moments
Obviously, if your home has a floor to ceiling built-in bookcase wall á la Beauty And The Beast, picking your big wall moment is a no-brainer. But I want to dissect why this wall moment works in bringing together the eclectic granny style while still maintaining a minimalist feel.
First, the extensive collection of books makes the space feel eccentric and cozy, but not too busy. The walls surrounding the shelves are kept simple and for the most part bare, so your attention is not pulled in many directions.
With the bookcase wall being the focal point the rest of the decor can be kept simple and minimal. Note that it is minimal, but not at all boring.
This same effect can be achieved with a gallery wall, a large multicolored tapestry, or a wall to wall bookcase styled with books or unique collections. However, if you want to veer away from entering full maximalism territory, just make sure to focus on a single wall, then keep the rest of the walls and decor minimal (while maintaining a simple color palette).
Aside from the loaded bookcase, they’ve styled out the home with a plethora of vintage wood furniture which leads me to my next tip…
Mix Wood Tones And A LOT Of Texture
A big component in achieving an eclectic granny style is incorporating many vintage or vintage-inspired things. Varying wood tones can help achieve this aesthetic and it especially helps if those pieces are worn in and well-loved like this excellent rustic farm table.
To include more depth and warmth consider mixing patterned linens and pottery to layer tons of texture. It is important to vary textures but keep a solid color palette to maintain a relaxed and minimal style.
Keep Your Color Palette Neutral (With Small Pops Of Color)
While this room is clearly warm and neutral it is far from boring. The bedding is crisp and simple but the choice of the rug and pillows adds character and depth.
It’s worth noting how calm and inviting this room is while still achieving a very eccentric and cool style. The aspects that are working to calm the space (the white walls, white accent chairs, and neutral bedding) are paired with vintage silhouettes, patterns, and photographs making the space much more dynamic.
Additionally, the gallery wall of framed photographs are reminiscent of family portraits, emphasizing the room’s cozy and welcoming feel.
Similarly, this bedroom maintains a calm, neutral color palette but is not lacking in color or pattern. To create this look, opting for a colored accent chair or piece of furniture in an interesting shape allows the rest of the space to stay quite minimal. While the bedding is very simple, the curtains add some visual interest with the small pattern that matches the overall color palette. And finally, the rug pulls in even more color that can be accented throughout with art and decor.
As previously discussed here, we love pairing a boldly patterned lampshade with a solid lamp base. The green floral lampshade here brings in just a touch of color and whimsy to the minimal desk set up, making it a perfect little vignette to emphasize the eclectic granny-style they are going for. Also, look how fun and interesting using a “too big” lampshade on that small base looks??
Another classic way to add color in a neutral space is through art. A landscape painting works two-fold by adding color, and when paired with an antique frame, can give off that granny effect. We at EHD are very fond of the vintage landscape paintings and vintage portrait oil paintings to bring more personality into a room.
Ok, this wonderfully odd sculptural piece isn’t adding a pop of color BUT that has EHD written all over it. Excuse me while I search for something just like it…
Layer In More Color And Character With Patterned Vintage Rugs
When a room is lacking character a simple rug swap can do wonders. While we love a neutral or solid rug, there is something special about a rug that adds brightness and dynamic to a room. As you’ve probably noticed, this home is dripping with vintage rugs which adds in a ton of color to the home without being too loud.
If you want to ease your way into eclectic granny, a vintage rug is the most simple and effective baby step you can take. They surprisingly work well with a myriad of styles and always bring life and color to a space. When incorporating lots of vintage rugs as they did here, you can keep your home simple and moderately decorated because the rugs will add that needed pop of color.
Create Zones For Eclectic Vignettes (Show Off Your SPECIAL Collections)
Any wall cutout or built-in is the perfect vessel for displaying collected items, but this can be carried out in any home with a bookcase, shelf, or cabinet. I am a huge fan of decking out bookcases with books as the design gods intended, but any type of unique collection is great for styling shelves.
For example, a simple and affordable hack is to fill a vessel or catchall with matchbooks, as they did here. This creates a curated yet personal feel that is essential to styling any home.
Consider Dark Trim To Ground The Space
If I imagine the space without the dark trim, it is still fiercely breathtaking, but sans dark trim, it is at risk of coming off less dynamic. Creating contrast with trim is going to give the home an eclectic feel right off the bat. Again minimal doesn’t mean boring.
Especially with light-colored walls, opting for dark trim creates contrast but still keeps the space feeling light and bright. If this were a dark room, it would feel very heavy, so keeping the walls light and bare is essential.
Anddd, there she is. Thank you for joining me on this tour through such an inspiring and eclectic home and huge thanks to A 1000 X Better for letting us feature what happens to be my personal dream home.
RESOURCES:
Vintage Rugs: Blue Parakeet
Vintage Kantha pillows: Etsy shop in India
Hemp and Kilim pillows via Etsy shop in Turkey
Turkish textiles: Oddbird
Flowers and Branches: Mayesh
Art: Alison Lowe
For more information on this 1925 Tudor home, check out the listing here. xx
** Staging by A 1000 X Better | Photography by Scarlett Macdonald | Creative Direction by Gillian Lawlee | Real Estate Agent: Jacqueline Tager, Sotheby’s International Realty Los Feliz Brokerage.
This is my dream house 100%. Great architectural elements, and manages to feel traditional and modern at the same time. Just the right amount of stuff. The rugs are next level, especially the one in the dining room and the one in the blue chair bedroom. And the Exterior – holy smokes.
Love this post! I’m becoming a big convert to the eclectic granny style thanks to you all! Also, it looks like the sculptural piece could have been a tailor’s mannequin for making doll dresses. Such a cool piece!
It’s actually a Santos cage doll. Read some of the history here: https://www.santoscagedoll.com/pages/history-of-santos-dolls
Thanks for the resource, K!
Is that wall of books backlit? window behind it? It seems to glow! Gorgeous home
Yes, that’s what it is! I think that is part of what keeps it from looking cluttered–it makes the white of the shelves and backing look so clean and luminous.
I think the other half of what keeps it looking uncluttered is just that it’s all books. There aren’t little vases or props or art littered in that make your eye jump around to different shelves. Instead you can take in the wall as a full statement versus lots of little ones. I love the simplicity of it.
I love this, but then I am an actual eclectic granny. I remember reading a comment by a designer when I first started out that if you only buy things you truly love everything will work together. Though I do fill in with thrift store items while waiting to find the thing I truly love.
That is exactly what I have always said. When people ask how I mix patterns and styles, I realised that I do not do any of it intentionally, I just buy things I like. As long as you love everything in your home it does not really matter whether it is a specific interior design style.
I believe that the worst mistake anyone can make is to buy ‘whole collections’ from one store or even worse, furnish and decorate a whole room or home from a single store.
When I think of “granny” style (which is actually insulting to grannies, sorry!) I think of lace curtains, dolls, 80s country style, but definitely not this. I’d say this is actually just “eclectic” and I love it! It’s just cozy.
Interesting. I noted the tile counters in the kitchen; had those in my tudor house. It was the first thing the new homeowner ripped out. They are hard to keep clean in a kitchen. They worked a lot better in our master bathroom … they also got ripped out. I didn’t mind; we made the house work for us for decades. Now it was someone else’s turn. I was amazed so many of those details are still in this house.
This house is 100% my style. Love it! Anyone have any tips on finding a mirror like the octagonal one by the green sofa?
I really love the decor. -Not personally a fan of Tudor architecture, but the interiors are fantastic and feel warm, lived in and full of personality and history.
I agree. I love the interior but not normally a fan of tudor style on the outside. I will say that I was surprised by how much light the inside of the home had, which I find unusual for a tudor style house.
A rockin’ house for a rockstar owner. Everything seems to fit with the soul of the home (especially seeing the outside), with some small modern touches. It’s enviable, for sure.
SWOOOOON! That bookshelf is truly the stuff of my dreams. Love that classic California front entryway, the arched doorways, the black windows and trim, and that they kept some of the OG bathroom tile! And don’t even get me started on those gorgeous rugs.
Is it me, or have you installed a new ad plugin? The ads are now so distracting 🙁
no changes over the past several months, but noted! i’ll chat with our network!
Same, I actually use an adblocker on my laptop (sorry!) and it says it’s blocking 3 ads but I still have 3 more video ads and that big one that covers the whole bottom horizontally. This is after clicking off the 2 pop ups for the paid site and adblocker warning.
yes !!! the ads on this site are unusually irritating. – very hard to look at the content. I visit less frequently.
I’m having the same issue. I can’t review your posts on my laptop anymore and I think it’s the new pop up for the subscription service? I can review on my phone where I have no limits on pop ups, but I like a full screen to see all the gorgeous (which this certainly is!!).
This is a beautiful home!
I would love it but the hubby would be looking for his comfortable chair/recliner…
yessssss more of THIS
I am so excited for you to fully delve into this. I love an uncluttered home, and although I admire elements of the neutral home trend, they all start to blend together with their sameness. living in a home with dark woodwork, that we won’t paint, the eclectic English grandma is where it’s at for me. I went dark and moody in my bath, just ordered another vintage Persian rug, dominantly red, and although I haven’t stepped up for a floral couch, I admire your willingness to jump headfirst. I am a huge fan of Heidi Caillier, a local in my fair city and man, does she know how to hit the nail on the head with patterned textiles and EEG.
LOVE this blend of traditional and fresh, instead of the over-stuffed vibe that too many traditional spaces can have.
Any idea where that green sofa is from? It is gorgeous!
To me this style (which I like) just says ‘traditional’ not eclectic or granny (a term I think is ageist).
The room with the built in bookcase is stunning. I love the minimal take on eclectic granny! My biggest issue with many of the eclectic granny homes is there’s just too much stuff for me. I’m definitely a minimalist at heart and love this!
So gorgeous and exactly my style. I love it! I would also love more info on how to have lots of vintage items (in this clean way, not in a hoarder way) without it feeling like too much or like you are trying to recreate an interior from a long time ago. I know we are supposed to add ‘modern’ items as contrast, but when I look at a very clean lined modern chair vs a fauteuil I’m always going for the old french chair. And when you multiply that by the bookcase, the coffee table, etc. suddenly it can tip to overboard. Where do you draw the line? This is actually where I need to join the EHD community site – I have an old looking limestone fireplace surround and on either side of it old french crystal pendant lights. I loved those pendants when I bought them at the flea market, but even I can tell they just don’t work there. Or with the center light fixture for the room. But I don’t know what to do (or how to tell my husband I need to replace the pendants I paid a pretty penny for with something else… Read more »
Agreed! I’m a huge vintage collector and I’d love to see a post on the EHD blog regarding styling vintage finds in a way that looks purposeful and not cluttered / over the top.
As someone else noted in the comments, it’s just cozy. Every room. I love it. Favorite photo above is the corner table with the plaid cloth over it, white jug, wooden bowl full of bright lemons and that marvelous painting silhouette of a women with a crown pointing off into the distance.
Absolutely love everything about this! Is there a source or artist name for the silhouette artwork in the kitchen? I would love to find something similar, assuming it’s not vintage!
Really love this home. I agree with others that there’s honestly nothing really “granny” about it, but definitely eclectic and cozy. I also think it’s notable that the bookshelves aren’t overly busy because they’re filled with…BOOKS. I appreciate a styled shelf, but I feel like there’s been this big trend to style shelves with so much stuff, and people seem to think that simply using a whole lot of books would make a shelf “busy.” (Cue the annoying spine-in trend). But I feel like this space shows how books themselves are the star, as you said, and when you don’t try to throw in a bunch of tchotchkes, there’s nothing busy about it.
Even worse? All white dust jackets. Blech.
What. A. House! I want to move into it and live the dreamiest life of reading books, baking bread and cookies, making soup, and drinking wine and coffee.
Man, I love the RUGS they use in this house. They are great!!
Love this house SO much. The decor, though, is still a bit blah for me. I know it needs to be generic for real estate reasons, but it comes off rather timid.
I could really do this house up!
Update….it’s under contract.
No surprise.
Ooooh, please let the new owners keep the charming, original elements that make this home sing…
Just getting to see this post, so sorry if I’m redundant, but Emily…are you loving the ying to your your yang…those portraits ABOVE a window instead of below? 😉
I saw this house on Zillow the other day and fell IN LOVE! So excited to see it featured!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for featuring this house! This gives me some validation. You see, I’ve never been able to commit to just one style. So many fads come and go (grey everything, super white kitchens, etc) and make me feel my taste is just out of step. I just go with what I love on a layperson’s budget (no magazine shoot in my future 🙂 ) The hard part is knowing how to mix it all together when you like a piece of campaign furniture, southwestern style, midcentury modern, traditional and european country…the list is endless. It is truly an art to successfully mix different styles, different wood tones, fabrics and metals. This house checks all those boxes for me.
Love this house – would love more house tours of eclectic homes in the future.
One thing – and I have no idea if it’s something that you all have control over, but it’s getting hard to read the site with so many ads. I have a banner ad at the top and the bottom of the page (Homessense) and a fashion ad to the side AND a video pop up ad to an EHD video (How to build an outdoor space) that cycles through to a diff EHD ad while also pushing youtube ads. It makes a really hard to read site.
What a fabulous home- and fun post! Any chance you could source the blue living room couch? It seems like we could create similar rooms with old stuff many of us have- but the new pieces (like sofas) seem key to pulling it all together.
Love this Tudor home. Especially the bookcase and kitchen.
Love, love, love this, I guess I’m eclectic granny…who knew?! Interesting, warm and still peaceful.
Beautiful home! I love the couches and would love to order them for my home. I am moving and have given away most of my furniture,just found out my husband has invited a few friends for Thanksgiving.He forgot that we are without seating,lol!