My Houzz: A ‘Whimsical Museum Gallery’ in Texas

Librarian Megan Charters is always on the hunt for unique vintage home decor. Her tendency to hunt for treasures is so well known that even friends and family have begun scouring thrift shops, garage sales and auction houses on her behalf.

Charters’ vintage collections of everything from embroidery art to thermoses fillers her colorful and eclectic rented bungalow. “I’m very much inspired by color and pattern and the juxtaposition of old and new,” she says. “I like bringing together collections and memories from various eras and styles in a way that I hope is visually stimulating — with a healthy dose of humor. Almost like a whimsical museum gallery.”

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Megan Charters and Lola, a pug–Boston terrier mix
Location: McKinney, Texas
Size: 1,150 square feet (107 square meters); 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom

Charters loves spending time in her living and dining rooms. “I work on projects at the dining room table, and I love to have friends over for parties, game nights, book club meetings and ‘crafternoons,’” she says. “We usually gather around the table or hang out on the couch and listen to records.”

Charters has been collecting vintage portraits for more than a decade. Many of her pieces hang gallery style above an oversize sofa that originally belonged to her grandfather. The midcentury coffee table is a hand-me-down from a friend who bought it at a garage sale for $25. Upon closer inspection, Charters realized it was an original Brown-Saltman piece. “I was so excited, because these sell for $800 and up,” she says.

Rug: Lappljung Ruta, Ikea


Charters loves tackling DIY projects. She built the dining room table with her grandfather using a tutorial by Rachel Denbow of Smile and Wave. She chose aspen for the tabletop and bought hairpin legs for the base. She spray painted the secondhand chandelier matte black.

Displaying collections is always a balancing act for Charters. When decorating, she asks herself, “Is it too much?”

“It can seem overbearing at times, especially in a relatively small house,” she says. “Finding the right balance in scale and placement has been my biggest design challenge.”

Paint: Aegean Blue, Martha Stewart Living: rug: Ikea; chandelier: Habitat for Humanity ReStore


A midcentury sideboard in the dining room provides storage for table linens and craft supplies. “My next project is to refinish this piece using the original drawer pulls,” Charters says.

Ninety percent of the items in the home have come from thrift stores, estate sales or auctions. “There’s a certain thrill that comes with finding an amazing vintage treasure, knowing that what you’ve found has a history and has been loved and is something that won’t be found in every home,” she says.


The sideboard also doubles as a bar area when Charters is hosting gatherings. “Because this house is a rental, I wasn’t able to go in and make any permanent renovations,” she says. “The easiest and least invasive way to make it feel like my home was to paint the walls and display my favorite collections. I’m lucky to have landlords who foster and embrace making the house a home, not just a rental property.”


Charters displays a photo of her grandparents in a corner of the dining room using a wooden pant hanger. “I found this photo while going through some of their things and just fell in love with it,” she says. “Aren’t they cute?”


A small but well-appointed kitchen lies at the center of the house. The landlords updated the backsplash and appliances before renting the space to Charters. She displays her vintage thermos collection above the cabinets.

Rug: Ikea


A converted porch is now a breakfast nook where Charters showcases her collection of embroidered artwork. The yellow kitchen chair was a $2 garage sale find, and the retro dining set was a gift from friends. “People know that I’m always looking for vintage stuff, and when they see something, they call me,” she says.


The first of two bedrooms is used as an office where Charters works, crafts, reads and creates content for her blog, File Me Away. Her latest thrifty steal is a colorful crewel ’70s-era sofa purchased for $75 at a garage sale.

Paint: Sultana, Martha Stewart Living


This is one of two children’s desks in the house. Both were found at local thrift stores. “I love using children’s tables, because they have a small footprint and make great side tables,” she says.


A wall-mounted shelving unit houses a colorful menagerie. The black background allows the colors to pop.


Many art pieces are displayed using pant hangers, since Charters can easily swap them out. She finds design inspiration from bloggers Heidi Kenney and Rachel Denbow. “They each have a very different decorating style,” she says, “but they both tend to incorporate thrifty vintage finds with eclectic and modern pieces.”


A cuckoo clock collection that Charters started about two years ago hangs in the hall, adjacent to the bathroom. “My grandparents had a cuckoo clock in their house — now in my parents’ house — and I always loved it. I would wait by the clock just to hear the chimes every quarter hour,” she says.

Some of the larger clocks are from estate sales, while the smaller ones are from a collector. “I’ll pick up anything referencing cuckoo clocks,” she says. “The smaller lamp on the right side of my bed is a ceramic cuckoo clock that I found at a funky antiques store in Austin.”


Neutral walls allow bright floral bedding to take center stage in the bedroom. “I usually don’t go for girly florals,” Charters says, “but this quilt made me feel happy.”

Bedding: Liberty of London for Target; blanket: Anthropologie; throw pillow: Lappljung Ruta, Ikea


Lola poses for a photo at the end of the bed. Charters made the hanging mobile based on plans for the Geometric Party Installation on the blog Oh Happy Day. The prints hanging above the bed are photos she took using Instagram.


Charters stands in her living room next to a telephone booth china cabinet she bought from a local auction for $250. While she usually works on a tight budget, she says she does not mind spending money on handmade items intended to be kept and appreciated for decades.

“Home is the place where you can be exactly who you are,” she says. “It’s a place to surround yourself with the people you love and the things that bring you comfort, happiness and inspiration.”

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