My Houzz: Thrifty Flourishes Give a ’50s Home Retro Appeal

After renting for 10 years, Aaron and Greta Eskridge developed a very specific wish list for their family’s first owned home. The California couple wanted a midcentury house with original features and a few trendy upgrades, a detached garage, wood floors, large windows, three bedrooms, a backyard and an avocado tree. Oh — and it would be great if it still belonged to the original owners.

“We looked for two years before we found our match,” says Aaron, an art director, painter, illustrator and designer. “And we even got our avocado tree!”

Just as they had hoped, Aaron and Greta purchased their Lakewood, California, home from the original owners. Before they moved in, the couple met with the children who grew up in the home, who shared some of their mother’s cookware with Greta and were thrilled to know that their father’s fruit trees would be loved and cared for.

“When we moved in, we had been living in a 600-square-foot bungalow for the past eight years,” says Greta, a former English teacher who’s now a homeschooling mom. “Our current home is about 1,200 square feet, so our living space doubled overnight.” The Eskridges decorated the 1954 ranch using vintage finds, iconic midcentury pieces and DIY furniture. Notes Greta, “It’s safe to say we like a colorful home — color on the walls and colorful items, too.”

Who lives here: Aaron and Greta Eskridge and their children, James, 9; William, 7; Lillian, 5; and Davy, 2
Location: Lakewood, California
SIze: 1,200 square feet (112 square meters), 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
Year built: 1954

“The living room is one of the rooms we fell in love with when we first saw the house,” says Greta. It took some vision to see its potential, though. “It had terrible carpet, dark drapes covering the big window and large, heavy furniture filling up the room.”

The Eskridges took down the heavy drapes and removed the carpet to reveal original hardwood floors. The space is now bright and airy, and offers a full view of the backyard. The couple loves to lounge in the living room, gazing out the window and watching the birds in their avocado tree, and the kids swinging on the swing or climbing in the playhouse.

Coffee table, orange chairs: Inretrospect; turquoise love seat: The Little Shop


A short entry hall connects the front door to the living room, lending a bit of a formal feeling to the house. This hallway is unfurnished to keep it uncluttered and to maximize space. Two rooms connect to the hallway: To the left is a child’s bedroom, and to the right is the dining room.


A few favorite items hang on the wall in the entryway, including a rack and framed art. “The small framed art of Rialto Bridge in Venice is actually a postcard we found at a flea market in Paris, just after we had visited Venice,” says Greta. “It is a treasure to us.”

Rack: Eames Hang-It-All, Design Within Reach; sailor art: Urban Outfitters


A vintage school map serves as a homeschooling aid, and adds a colorful conversation piece to the wall. Aaron designed and built the console below it.

Vintage school map: Persimmon Lane


Before moving in, the Eskridge family lived in a very small bungalow with a living room large enough for only one sofa. “When we moved into this house, we had a whole living room to furnish,” says Greta. “In one magic afternoon of shopping, we found our gorgeous vintage turquoise glass lamp, our two vintage orange chairs and our vintage coffee table. It was a dream to finally have a coffee table.”

Aaron created the giant cutout swordfish, modeled after one of the couple’s favorite vintage signs.

Sofa: Crate & Barrel


The couple found their wall unit about a year after they moved in, at a shop in Los Angeles. It was a perfect fit for the large wall and a great place to display many of their collected things.

Wall unit: vintage, Amsterdam Modern


A collection of vintage cuckoo clocks is nestled between the wall unit and a corner of the living room. “I have loved cuckoo clocks since I was 17 and saw some on a trip to Switzerland,” says Greta. “I was too poor to buy one, but about 15 years later, Aaron purchased one for me for Valentine’s Day. Since then, I have added to the collection with thrift store and garage sale cuckoo clocks. They are fun, kitschy, beautiful and sweetly charming. I just love them.”


“Books are like air to me. I must have them to survive,” says Greta. “So we have books in every room.” A few favorites are housed in a thrifted magazine rack in the living room.


The dining room’s light fixture is a George Nelson lamp, a replacement for the ornate crystal chandelier that formerly hung in the space. “We have long loved George Nelson’s lamps and were thrilled to finally have one of our own,” says Greta.

The dining room table is a vintage Heywood Wakefield piece from Amsterdam Modern in Los Angeles. The couple originally acquired six white matching chairs when they bought the table years ago, but since then some of them have needed to be replaced. The wooden ones are hand-me-downs from a friend. The two turquoise chairs are from a church in Amsterdam.


Aaron designed the credenza to hide the television. A cabinetmaker friend, Pat Nelson, built it to Aaron’s specifications, and Aaron painted it himself. The family no longer has a TV, so the credenza holds homeschooling books and the kids’ art supplies.

“The photographs hanging above the credenza are some of our favorite vintage signs from our travels,” says Greta. “We really love vintage signs, and whenever we see a great one will pull over to photograph it. It sometimes drives our kids crazy, but it’s a family rule.”


The kitchen is directly connected to the dining room and is one of the couple’s favorite rooms in the house, especially after they had many original midcentury elements restored and preserved.

The steel cabinets are original to the home and were a popular feature when it was built. Many homeowners today have updated them, but the Eskridges were happy to keep their little piece of history.

The vintage range was found on Craigslist — a replacement for a brown 1970s stove. The painting above it, a fun reminder of a trip taken to Europe and the espresso enjoyed there, is one of Aaron’s original silkscreen prints.


“We also replaced brown vinyl flooring with our beautiful red linoleum,” says Greta. “The red floor is so cheerful and bright. We love it.”


Turquoise makes a bold appearance in boomerang-patterned countertops, installed with steel edging to maintain the midcentury mien. “Every time I look at my counters, I love them and am so happy we made the impractical choice,” says Greta.

The banquette and table form a breakfast nook for the family. The banquette came from a favorite vintage furniture store, Just Modern, in Palm Springs. Aaron surprised Greta by building a tabletop out of birch and pairing it with a vintage base, which he sanded and painted to produce the finished piece.

The framed art above the kitchen table is another one of Aaron’s original silkscreen prints.


Aaron designed and gave Greta this artwork in the master bedroom for Valentine’s Day. “It’s fun to imagine how we will make this room a peaceful, beautiful, inspiring spot,” says Greta.


The two older sons, James and William, share a bedroom and a bunk bed. The room is decorated with posters from craft fairs and thrift stores, and gifts from friends and family.

Anatomy posters: Paper Source


The large credenza in James and William’s bedroom is a garage sale find that Aaron repainted in an Eames-inspired color scheme. A sturdy piece, it holds many books, Lego pieces and art supplies, and displays knickknacks.


Lillian and Davy’s room is right off the front entryway. “It’s the smallest bedroom, and we struggled a bit to make it feel like it wasn’t crowded with furniture and ‘stuff.’” says Greta. The kids love to sit on the top bunk and look outside.

Bunk bed: Kura, Ikea; sheets, pillows: Ikea


The white bookcase houses favorite books found at used-book stores, thrift shops and garage sales. “I seldom buy new books, unless it is a really special new book that I get them for their yearly Christmas gift book, reflecting their personality and interests,” says Greta. “It is my hope that each of my children will have the start of a beautiful library by the time they have children of their own.”

Aaron made the little table using vintage table legs. The small chairs are spray-painted thrift store finds. The large floral poster is a souvenir from a family trip to Chicago; Aaron painted the turquoise scooter artwork.

Pink and gold illustration: “Tree Girl,” by Alexander Girard; butterfly and alphabet posters: Paper Source


The Eskridge family plays on a cardboard Eiffel Tower that Aaron constructed in the backyard for a Paris-themed party.

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