My Houzz: Original Art and Found Treasures in Missouri

House at a Glance
Who lives here: Tim and Samantha Sullentrup and their daughters, Liv, 4, and June, 2
Location: Brookside neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri
Size: 2,703 square feet (251 square meters); five bedrooms, three bathrooms

A typical day in Samantha and Tim Sullentrup’s 1916 home in Kansas City, Missouri, starts with a simple yet sweet ritual. “In the morning, Tim and I tiptoe downstairs, although there is no option for sneakiness with floors this creaky, to start coffee and breakfast. Soon after, the girls make their way downstairs, and every single morning, we sit together for breakfast in the living room — us in our chairs and the girls at the table — listening to a little Avett Brothers,” Samantha says. “Soon we’ll see the sun start to peek in the windows, and before we know it, we are all snuggled up watching the sun rise together — peeking through the oak trees. It’s moments like that which make us so thankful for this home and the beautiful neighborhood right outside our windows.”

Samantha is an artist who also creates custom illustrations through her online shop, Public House Co., and many of her original pieces are displayed in each room. The framed art on the fireplace mantel is one of her paintings.

Couch: RH via Craigslist; coffee table: Gordmans; velvet pillows: Sanela, Ikea; upholstered chairs: T.J. Maxx; vintage children’s table and chairs: Craigslist

The home’s original architectural details include the half walls and pillars that frame the view from the living room into the dining room. Samantha made the two pieces of art that flank the opening after experimenting with paper cutouts. “Paired with the painted Ribba shadowbox frame [from Ikea], they are subtle statement pieces that I just love,” she says.

Most of the area rugs in the house are from eBay or Etsy. “I always ask for a little discount and have never been turned down. The most I’ve spent on a single rug is $300. They are all vintage and authentic,” she says.

“We came to the house with about $14,000 to fix her up. In the grand scheme of things, not a lot. We hired a company to install the second-floor air conditioning but put the first-floor one in ourselves with the help of an HVAC expert family member. The second-floor AC cost was around $8,000, and the first floor was $2,500. That leaves us $3,500 to actually fix the house. Granted, it’s been a long process and that number has increased over time, but let’s just say we didn’t have a fortune to spend,” Samantha says.

When the couple moved in, the original wood trim was intact, along with the window hardware and lighting. “We spent the first four months just making the house livable — Kilz-ing the entire thing, fixing leaky pipes in the ceiling, pulling carpet, patching plaster walls, installing air conditioning, refinishing the floors — all while living in the sunroom,” she adds.

Wall paint: Black Evergreen, Behr; air-conditioning installation: Town & Country Heating & Cooling

This entry table used to be in Tim’s grandparents’ home in a similar entry space. “How it survived 12 kids and constant ‘open doors’ is beyond me, but it did! Tim’s parents generously gifted it to us once our house was ready for furniture,” Samantha says. “I was over the moon to have such a piece in our home, and I can’t get myself to place a single thing around it because it’s just so perfect by itself. Not to mention, we run around this table all the time with the girls on our back for horse races — them yelling ‘giddyup!’ the whole time.”

Cowhide: Koldby, Ikea; tray: Klack, Ikea; square wicker basket: HomeGoods; find more baskets

This sunroom right off the living room is used as a playroom for Liv and her sister, June. With all the bright natural light in this space, the couple find themselves here even when their girls aren’t. “There are so many times throughout the day that I just stop what I’m doing and notice the light pouring into the house — it’s as if the house was built for every season, every hour of the day, just asking for us to slow down and notice it,” Samantha says.

Sofa: Friheten, Ikea

Samantha’s mother uses this guest bedroom when she comes to visit.

Headboard: Craigslist; velvet pillows: Sanela, Ikea; duvet cover: Pottery Barn; throw: Tuvalie, Ikea; side table: vintage

“I was dead set on a modern iron bed, but everything I found was really too fancy. We aren’t fancy,” Samantha says. She saw an image of a discontinued bed from Ikea online and fell in love with it. “I think it took two to three months of searching Craigslist in every city within driving distance until I found it here in Kansas City. The funny thing was, the girl who sold it to us unknowingly worked with Tim. It was a funny coincidence and totally worth the hunt,” she says. “I love how simple and elegant our bed is and how perfectly the light pushes through it.”

Bed: Svelvik, Ikea; duvet cover: Ofelia Vass, Ikea; throw: T.J. Maxx; frames: Target

Among the couple’s favorite purchases for the house are the roller shades. “We wanted to show the whole window — no curtains, no Roman shades. These particular roller shades have a really natural weave while still letting in light, but providing the necessary privacy,” Samantha says. “We also faced the challenge of having 41 windows and desperately wanting all of the blinds to match.”

After doing research and realizing that custom roller shades would be expensive, they modified Chicology shades in Montana Rice for every window. “If the sizing didn’t match up, we purchased the next largest side and Tim deconstructed the shade, cut the metal tube they roll on, trimmed the fabric and put them back together. Voilà — matching custom shades for every single window in our house! We felt pretty brilliant after doing that,” she adds.

Samantha made the framed nude sketches. Through the doorway on the right is her art studio space.

Liv and June share a bedroom. “The girls love that their beds look just like ours. And they’re pushed together because they can’t get enough of each other — which is obnoxiously dreamy as parents,” Samantha says. The quilt is a family heirloom.

Wall paint: Peach Sachet, Behr; twin beds: Lafayette by DHP, Hayneedle; stuffed dog: Gosig Golden, Ikea; linens: Ikea

The first fall the Sullentrups spent in this house, they found a raccoon in their attic. “Tim scared it away and did all of the necessary preventative measures, but while he was in the attic, he noticed a few windows. The house had been cooled with window units, and in many of the windows where the units were, the window had been removed,” she says. The previous owner had saved all the original windows in the attic and the basement, so they were able to reuse some of the original brass pulls on the windows in the girls’ bedroom.

Samantha loves having a dedicated art studio at home for multiple reasons. “One, I have a whole space where I can paint! Two, it’s so bright and sunny. And the fireplace,” she says. “The green tile is original to the house, and we couldn’t bear removing it. While we would have never made that design choice, I absolutely love that it’s such a statement, hidden away in the studio.”

She adds that this space was arguably in need of the most work when the family moved in. “I look around and remember the [cigarette-damaged] carpet, the ceiling caving in from water damage, and the seemingly endless nights Tim came home from work only to put in another six hours on this room alone — and am so very grateful. It is, by far, my favorite space in the house.”

Art print: Tad Carpenter; leather armchair: Craigslist; Windsor dining chair: Target; rug: eBay

Samantha made her desk using an old door and table legs found at a neighbor’s estate sale. “They are the perfect mix of clean lines and natural materials. I am so in love with this space,” she says. The desk and easel “seem to let the light peek in around them, not obstructing any sort of sunshine making its way in,” she adds.

Photo by Jennifer Wente

“We watched so many YouTube videos on things like finishing the hardwoods and patching plaster. In the end, I think it was for the better that we sweat our way through painting the 41 windows and missing Thanksgiving to finish the hardwoods because we totally appreciate all of the hard work in this space,” Samantha says.

She’s pictured on the left holding June; Tim is on the right holding Liv. The couple moved into their house in August and, Samantha says, “that Christmas, we gifted ourselves the whole house. It was finally ready! That was the best feeling ever — knowing our kids were in their own beds, not a pullout, using a real bathroom and having a closet.”

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