Don’t forget to have fun!
The Warwicks nearly doubled the square footage of their home in Prairie Village, Kansas, during their extensive remodeling.
Design an offbeat country kitchen for maximum casual charm. Angie wanted a very rustic and homey kitchen, as she knew from years of entertaining family and friends that people tend to congregate there. This 12' x 24' redo ensures that 12 to 16 people can hang out comfortably in style.
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Angie begins with one-of-a-kind objects (everything from hand-me-downs to family heirlooms) and then adds her personal touch to make the house she shares with her husband and children truly home.
It’s hard to believe, but the house wasn’t always this welcoming. As a matter of fact, the renovation process she describes (Angie acted as the general contractor) seems downright formidable. Twelve doors were removed; walls were torn down; another story was added. And on and on it goes. The end result: some 5,000 square feet of changes to make the Warwicks’ 1960s structure uniquely their own.
But it is the details—albeit some of them quirky—that give this home its personality. Angie, never a purist, is as likely to bring something home from Pier 1 or a garage sale as a high-end antiques shop. “It’s the look I’m going for,” she explains. A collector since the age of 18 (her first find was a lawyer’s bookcase with a leaded glass front that she still has today), she is particularly fond of textiles. Quilts and hooked rugs were more affordable in her early collecting days, but, she contends, there are still some great buys out there if you are patient and know where to look.
Such textiles are largely responsible for the layered look that is an essential element of Angie’s cottage style. As she demonstrates beautifully throughout her home, even shirring a curtain on a cabinet door or placing a hooked rug atop a farm table top can go a long way to add visual interest and to lend a nostalgic feel...as if the look has evolved over time.
Like her talent for finding and displaying special country fabrics, Angie’s ability to mix and match collectibles, eras and even styles is what makes her home such a standout. The look is always changing and never boring, yet always warm and welcoming—like its owner.
Angie’s house is a reflection of her personal style and her love of decorating, and, in the truest test of all, echoed by family and friends alike—it feels like home. •
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