House of Hipsters

House of Hipsters Interior design blogger sharing daily doses of home decor, corners of my home, style tips, and inspiring you to do it yourself.

07/29/2026

I like to weird people “in” as much as I like to weird people “out.” For some, my decor energy can give that weird kid from camp energy. So if you visit my house and this is the conversation, I know we will immediately become best friends and play the equivalent of an “I Spy” book for hours.

A major magazine once passed on featuring my home because it was “too edgy.”I translated that into:Tone it down.Make it ...
07/28/2026

A major magazine once passed on featuring my home because it was “too edgy.”

I translated that into:

Tone it down.
Make it prettier. Make it safer.
Make it look more like the homes they already publish.

I spent years trying to fit into rooms, jobs, clothes, friend groups, and versions of myself that were easier for others to approve of.

I wasn’t happy, so I stopped doing that.

Bring on the crazy wallpaper, weird art, naked lady portraits, strange chairs, and the flea-market animals.

All the things people called “too much.”

Too much was not a mistake. It was the point.

I was not passed over because I lacked a point of view. I was passed over because I had one.

There is freedom in realizing that “not for everyone” is not the same as “wrong.”

I am no longer decorating for a hypothetical editor, resale value, future buyers, or the woman in the comments who desperately needs every room to calm down.

Not everyone will get it.

Be confident in your own bad taste.

What did someone try to talk you out of that you still love? Tell me in the comments. Did you do it anyways? If not, do you regret it?

PART 2 - Part 1 of “Where I Buy My Art” apparently opened a tiny door into my erratic art ho brain, so I’m making it off...
07/28/2026

PART 2 - Part 1 of “Where I Buy My Art” apparently opened a tiny door into my erratic art ho brain, so I’m making it official with “WHERE THE HELL DID YOU FIND THAT?”

This new House of Hipsters series is devoted to the art, furniture, lighting, and assorted strange objects in my home that make people stop, scrunch up their noses, and ask me a lot of questions.

We’re officially kicking it off with Art in My Home, Part 2. Swipe for the sources, the stories, and several purchases made with absolutely no idea where they would eventually live. Measuring first has never been a meaningful part of my creative process. I’m sure it’s helpful, but I was never big on math.

New Instagram trick: the caption changes with every slide, so keep an eye down here as you swipe.

I tagged the artists, vintage dealers, and professional enablers wherever I could. Most of these pieces are one of a kind, but that does not mean you cannot hunt down something with the same strange little soul.

Which piece would have made you stop in your tracks?

Next episode: Lamps & Lighting

I find most of my art at flea markets and estate sales. This is a random portrait (probably from someone’s funeral) and I instantly fell in love with it. Found at Randolph Street Market

Sculpture is still art, so I’m including this Edna Cataldo ram bench that I purchased from Rivich Auction House. You can find them at Rivich Auction- Chicago’s Premier Auction House on LiveAuctioneers

This tiny Peter Keil abstract portrait with purchased on EVERYTHING BUT THE HOUSE and the tiny floral plaster relief piece above it is by Ron Nicole (RONNITA NICOLE). Swipe for a closer look. Also peep the nail head…it’s all about the details.

Close up of Peter Keil abstract portrait purchased at EVERYTHING BUT THE HOUSE and floral relief plaster art by Ron Nicole.

Okay, starting from right to left: portrait of woman on a beach was gifted to me from my good friend Kelly. He’s Zovietfrance02. The watercolor of the woman wearing the visor was found at Randolph Street Market as was the abstract portrait behind it…a vendor I only know as Walter (IYKYK). The dapper man sitting with his dog (peep the bone in his mouth - dog, not man) was purchased at Elkhorn Antique Flea Market

The extra large fancy lady

Everyone has judged something in my home.At one point or another, someone has told me:💬 That’s too colorful.💬 That’s too...
07/27/2026

Everyone has judged something in my home.

At one point or another, someone has told me:

💬 That’s too colorful.
💬 That’s too weird.
💬 That’s too much.
💬 That’s impractical.
💬 You’ll regret it.
💬 Nobody else would do that.

For a long time, I thought having great taste meant everyone would agree.

That everyone would like me.

When I was younger, I was the alternative punk rock kid with the shaved head and black leather jacket.

Then I got older and tried my damnedest to be “normal.”

I joined a sorority.
I joined the cheered squad.
I spent years trying to fit into rooms that were never built for me.

The funny thing is…

The more I tried to be universally liked, the less recognizable I became to myself.

Now?

I’ve found freedom.

I’ve realized great taste has nothing to do with consensus.

Great taste is creating a home filled with things that make you feel something.

Pieces that make you smile.

Pieces that tell your story.

Pieces that remind you who you are.

If it doesn’t do one of those things…

…it doesn’t belong.

I’m done decorating for imaginary critics.

I’m done trying to make everyone comfortable.

I’m going back to the girl with the shaved head who didn’t ask for permission to be herself.

Be confident in your own “bad” taste.

When I saw my girl Jenasie Earl’s post about how she accidentally became an influencer (scratch that) content creator, I...
07/24/2026

When I saw my girl Jenasie Earl’s post about how she accidentally became an influencer (scratch that) content creator, I knew I had to post my own. Last weekend, I was asked, what do you do for your main source of income. Hmmmmm, that is not an easy question to answer. When I tell people, “I share pictures of my home on the Internet and people like them” they look at me like I’m from Mars. Then I get a barrage of questions. Swipe through to read how I got started, why I got started, and how I turned HOH into a full-time job. I’m sharing some of the highs, some of the lows, and all the inbetweens. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m incredibly grateful for House Of Hipsters and the incredible experiences it’s given me. I met a lot of amazing people, been to a lot of amazing places, and learned a lot of life lessons. Before I sign off of this post, I wanna thank you for following along because if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here 🖤 THANK YOU 🙏

07/23/2026

I spent the last few weeks at Devi Bara (my childhood home) pushing vintage furniture around the house. My aunt and uncle popped in Saturday afternoon, and they just kinda stood by the front door looking dumbfounded 😂 Uncle Leon said the hand/foot sculpture in the window scared him. Mission accomplished! Anyhoo, to avoid stripping more paint off the brick fireplace, I worked on styling some corners. This is how it’s looking.

PART 2 - Listing photos of the house I bought vs how my home looks now. It was fun to read your reactions of how the hou...
07/22/2026

PART 2 - Listing photos of the house I bought vs how my home looks now. It was fun to read your reactions of how the house originally looked 10 years ago. I also found out that I need to share more photos of my kitchen and my bedroom. Get ready to get sick of me.

PART 1: It’s been 10 years since I moved into this house, and shazam, it’s come a long way. The other night, I looked ba...
07/16/2026

PART 1: It’s been 10 years since I moved into this house, and shazam, it’s come a long way. The other night, I looked back at the original listing photos and the transformations are quite shocking. Swipe thru for the before and afters…or should I say previous home owner’s vision versus my wackadoo vision. Subtle? Never heard of her!

Have you ever done this? If you haven’t and you’re a serial decorator like myself, I highly suggest you do a little time travel.

Last week I was living a low stakes mystery. Behold the aftermath of my brilliant idea to strip the paint off the brick ...
07/14/2026

Last week I was living a low stakes mystery. Behold the aftermath of my brilliant idea to strip the paint off the brick fireplace. I DIY that I left half finished, and I’m hoping little magical fairies will stop by Devi Bara to finish the job. I have one and a half sides finished plus a whole lotta clean up. My high school bestie stopped over and said, “How do you know the brick will look okay with the lady painting?” Well Colleen, I don’t. In fact, I didn’t really think about that. But now that you e posed that question, it’s all I can think about, and I’m just crossing my fingers.

This is what the brick fireplace looked like prior to stripping the paint. Do you like the before or after best? Before answering, please ask yourself, will Kyla want to know your answer 😂 also, note that I took a wire brush to the mortar and scrubbed it until 3 AM…that was just Day 1.

The paint came off the bricks pretty easy, but removing it from the mortar was horrendous. That stuff held on like gum. I hope I’m influencing you to never attempt this yourself.

This is its current state of the fireplace. Can we start a design trend where brick is half painted and half not? Because it’s gonna take awhile before I forget how painful this process was.

My other issue - I hate how the brick looks with the kitchen cabinets (which I didn’t love them anyway), so once the fireplace is all said and done, I think we shall start on Operation Paint the Kitchen Cabinets 😵‍💫🤦🏻‍♀️😵

Text from my dad after he saw my stories on Instagram.

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