BEFORE LIVING ROOM: Denim was practical when teenage boys ruled the roost (top right), but even the white walls and light window treatments failed to give the 12x12-foot space the airiness Karla’s eye craved. AFTER LIVING ROOM: Restful is how Karla describes her now cozier retreat (above), designed with whites, creams and golds. It is still practical but in a different way. Slipcovers allow her to enjoy vintage-inspired washable fabrics while sharing the space with beloved four-legged friends. Every fall, residents in Lawrence, Kansas, look forward to a creative and original event sponsored by their multi-talented neighbor artist Karla Nathan. Come October, virtually everything in Karla’s charming home and cottage-inspired garden shed wears a price tag in preparation for her annual Open House. By special invitation only, other local artists gather for the weekend to show their wares at the event, which feels more like a visit with a friend than a weekend shopping expedition. Guests end up lingering for hours, enjoying a glass of lemonade while they stroll the 10 acre grounds, marveling over Karla’s latest home furnishing designs and deciding whether the darling iron table with the hand-painted roses would work best in their breakfast nook or tucked into a corner of their bedroom. But these shoppers-turned-friends aren’t the only ones treated to a change of scenery on the home front. Karla appreciates it when the annual event is a sellout. Then, she gets to start the creative process all over again, working her magic on yard sale finds that she will love and live with for a year, then pass on to someone else to enjoy.