A Marriage of Styles

I’m a writer. He’s an architect. When it comes to home décor, 
I’m ’60s mod, Hollywood Regency, vintage. He’s more modern and graphic. Two mostly similar, but in some cases, wildly divergent tastes. If we were a Venn diagram we’d intersect at midcentury modern. And like most couples just starting out, my groom, William, and I fall into the category of champagne taste on a Two Buck Chuck budget.

We’re inspired by what we see in our subscriptions to Metropolitan Home, Domino, and Elle Decor, but in reality, our budget leads us to the Ikea catalog or Target’s weekly ads. We worship Ligne Roset and Design Within Reach but get extra hot for great vintage pieces not only for the look, but for the price tag. To top it off, we have chosen careers that denote certain, steeply priced style standards for which the financial means have not quite materialized. Two years after our mortgage vow, we still sometimes stray from our visions, from our promises of faithfulness to goals or budgets. This marriage of styles really takes work.

Photo by Steve Henke

Take our living situation: a one-room loft in downtown St. Paul. We began by purchasing a beige micro-suede sofa and side chair from the Room & Board outlet. William’s parents also gave us a tall stainless steel leaning mirror from said outlet. We determined we could not afford midcentury modern furniture outright, so William designed and built a zigzagging furniture piece that is our workhorse: a dining table, office desk, and audio-visual shelf. We painted it dark purple to contrast with our bright magenta bedroom wall. These pieces became our foundation.

To stay united in our vision, we spent many afternoons at Barnes & Noble, leafing through books and magazines in their home décor section and the newsstand, pointing out what we liked and didn’t like. This tactic helped us avoid a certain amount of disagreement when we actually went shopping. We Post-it-Noted photos we liked, shared blog links, and watched HGTV, TLC, and Bravo together, discussing what we thought of flips, makeovers, and re-dos.

Photo by Steve Henke

A collection of vintage-store blocks stack to spell something fun.

One of the things we struggle with: the impulse buy. So we took some time to write our Master Plan. Of course, occasionally we come across an irresistible, absolutely fabulous item for which we have not planned. That’s not impulse. That’s serendipity. We’ve agreed that we do not wait on this item if our hearts collectively race, or if we can picture using it every single day (or holiday).

For example, William and I had been trying to find a reasonably priced chrome Sputnik pendant—a larger one, to match the scale of our eleven-foot ceiling— but we certainly had other needs that came first. Finally, one day, we asked the now former owner of one of our favorite haunts, vintage store Swank, if we could search through her basement. Bingo! We discovered a custom-made Lightolier in a size we hadn’t seen before or since. I still smile every time I look at it.

Photo by Steve Henke

Space Invaders in the bathroom.

We also determined: In a loft, have fun. No need to adhere to any kind of tradition. So, armed with William’s photography talents, we framed his art, bought prints at the annual Art-A-Whirl, decorated with bright colors, and painted Space Invaders on our bathroom walls. (No way could you do that in a colonial!) Etsy has also been our best friend, along with Target, Crate & Barrel, Patina, and Ikea. And we’ve turned up some of our favorite pieces in the St. Paul Retro Loop. (I’m currently eyeing a Formica-and-chrome kitchen cart.)

I can honestly say I love the DIY aesthetic; the modern, bright colors; and the stories behind our pieces and process. While we have serendipitous moments—which I realize are the product of research and frequent visits to our favorite stores—we at least attempt to adhere to the Master Plan. We’re now getting to a place where we can contemplate larger cosmetic changes, like countertops and tiling, and we are excited by the possibilities. But what we’ve learned is that building a home together takes as much work, commitment, vision, and love as our marriage, because we’re serious about how we want our home, our sanctuary, to look and feel. It’s an evolution. A process we’ve learned to love.

Katie and William Dohman were married at South Maluaka Beach, Maui, Hawaii, on May 27, 2008.

Tips from A Pro Mpls.St.Paul Weddings asked Robb Whittlef, the Trash to Treasures guy from HGTV’s Decorating Cents and owner of Great Estate Home & Garden, for his tips on how to feather your nest, on any budget. Don’t lose yourself. A marriage is merging two personalities into one environment. That new merged identity is interesting, intriguing, and unique. That doesn’t mean those two personalities go away—it’s who you are and what you are about. Everybody should have some vintage. Vintage items have soul. There’s a reason why there’s a nick on the corner, patina to wood, history to that ceramic platter. If you buy everything at a store brand-new, you don’t have dimension within your home. Break the rules. You can take a really great orange ’70s lamp, put a new shade on it, and place it on a Crate & Barrel table. Now you have a hip style that doesn’t look exactly like your neighbor’s. Invest in good quality. Find a style you love and invest in a quality-built sofa with a timeless fabric (which usually means it doesn’t have a huge print)—that sofa will be with you forever. Also invest in a quality mattress. You sleep on it every night. Do your homework. Spend two weekends and hit as many retail stores as possible, but don’t buy a thing. Hit Great Estate (of course), Patina, art galleries, Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, Ikea—walk through and learn what you both like and dislike. Hire an interior designer. Many charge $50 to $125 an hour, and in two hours can look at the stuff you have in a wholly different way, point out ways to rearrange what you’ve got, and save you a tremendous amount of money. And someone from the outside can anesethetize reactions [tell you what’s gotta go], and get you both on the same page. Pace yourself. Don’t buy until you are in the space. It’s very hard for a lot of people. They want an instant home and want to be done. Acquire special pieces together. There’s a certain amount of pride about what you scored. It makes for a unique, fun environment and a great story! Great Estate Home & Garden, 10001 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka, 952-933-9924