April Style House-Cuckoo 4 Design

Hi everyone, I am Julia from Cuckoo4Design. I was so excited when Jen asked me to share my home with you for the April feature. Thank you so much for having me on your blog today!

Here are some random things about my family and our home:

• I was born and raised in Germany and my entire family is still in Germany. My home town is the beautiful Bavarian city of Lohr am Main (meaning at the Main river).


• In case you are wondering how I came up with my blog name, here is the story:
Several years ago when my son was still a toddler, he had a play date with the son of one of our friends. And you know how kids (especially older toddlers) say things that they've heard from parents but shouldn't repeat? Well the little cutie pie came up to me and told me that his daddy calls me the crazy German. Haha...! Now I don't know if this was meant as a compliment, but I take it as such. I really do! After all I leave an impression ;) So when I thought about what to name my blog, this little scenario came to my mind and I had just found my new love for cuckoo clocks (click HERE to read about it). It all made sense to me. I know there are lots of "cuckoo for" websites out there but it fits perfect for this "crazy/cuckoo" German.


• I met my husband in the US while I was on a Marketing Internship for a German company. We got married almost 15 years ago and have two beautiful children. We are still living in our small starter home since I wanted to be home with our children which means everything to me.

And this is our house tour:

Our kitchen and open dining area

I shop at a lot of auctions, estate sales and thrift shops. Can you believe that I bought the dining table for $25, my oil painting for $60 and the cellula chandelier replica in Germany for $80? I love finding great pieces of furniture for a bargain price!

I just recently found the vintage brass starburst at an auction for $20.

The very small kitchen is still a work in progress and a lot of things are yet unfinished. But I love it regardless.

 

The vintage wrought iron and marble bistro table is another auction find for $60. And the plaque on the wall is a wrought iron royal Bavarian plaque which was made in my home town.

 

Our living room:

I love mixing patterns and pops of bright colors.

I bought the coffee table at a thrift store for $25 and I painted the curtains and painting myself.

I built the room divider myself and recently painted an ombre gradient on it which I think looks great in our living room.

The secretary desk is one of my favorite furniture makeovers.

 

This is the largest of my painted cuckoo clocks.

Our bedroom:

Hallway:

I made the flush mount ceiling fixture from a HomeGoods bowl. I love the shadows it casts on the walls.

Our powder room:

I just recently refinished this small half bath because it appeared dark and outdated. It was all done on a really tight budget. I used a gold sharpie on the walls and mirror and the ceiling was done with wall grade vinyl polka dots that I cut myself.

Our daughter's bedroom:

I picked her headboard out of a neighbor's trash and painted it in black and white stripes. I love how colorful her room is but I think I might be redoing it soon. I just love change.

Our son's bedroom:

                              

My favorite piece in my son's bedroom is his bed that I purchased in France when I was only 16 years old. It is an antique bed from the early 1800s and I love it!

Our garden:

My husband and I both love to work in our small garden and it has become our favorite spot to hang out when the warm weather arrives. It always made me sad that our indoor cats (we live close to dangerous roads) couldn't join us outside so I built them an outdoor enclosure with tunnel.

I love when people come into our home for the first time and say: "Wow I didn't expect this at all...this is great!" That is because our neighborhood reminds me of the song (which was the Weeds theme song) "Little Boxes" by Malvina Reynolds.

Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.

Yes, they are all little boxes that look the same from the outside but when you come into our house then you notice that it is different and not a standard little box. Don't judge a book by it's cover! It is totally me and represents everything I love. (My husband loves it too in case you are wondering) 

I hope you enjoyed seeing pictures of our home. And come fly over my cuckoo's nest sometime soon.

Thank you so much.

from Cuckoo4Design