Friends, it’s my great pleasure to bring you this gathered home tour today from a dear blogging friend who I’m sure almost all of you already know and love!
Meet Cassie:
I assume Cassie Bustamante needs no introduction! She is a Thrift Score Thursday cohost, fellow vintage-lover and treasure-seeker, and one of the most genuine, gracious, insightful and kind people I know!
We met through a blogging group on Facebook several years ago and have gotten to meet and hang out in person twice – and let me tell you, the Cassie you know and love through her beautiful writing and sense of humor is the exact same Cassie you get in real life!
It was an absolute no-brainer that I ask her to participate in this series of Your Gathered Home tours and I’m so thrilled that she agreed!
Photo: Jalapeno Photography
Hi! I am Cassie Bustamante. As I was contemplating my introduction and what you need to know about me, I realized that my personal path seems to always be guided by my heart and passions. AKA, I couldn’t really come up with words that really define who I am or what I do because I’m all over the place. I’ve never been on one set career path, and have always dabbled in several things I love at once.At the base of it all, is my family, and my strongest desire is to create my life around my family which consists of me, my husband Chris, our two children, Sawyer and Emerson, and our three rescue dogs, Jake, Catcher, and Snowball. You will find that our home is a true reflection of that… well loved and lived in, approachable for a family, and consisting of many different styles because I can’t commit to just one and love so many.
Cassie’s Peaceful and Playful Gathered Home
I have to say that coming up with a name for Cassie’s home tour was really throwing me. I kept scrolling through photos trying to pin-point the perfect title and I pored over this post where she shared key elements to her home’s style. But in the end, I kept coming back to two thoughts:
One, this is a place that makes me feel like I could walk inside and feel right at home and curl up in any room of the house.
And two, this is a place where life is lived:
Photo: Cassie Bustamante
It’s a beautiful blend of peacefulness and playfulness and the perfect habitat for Cassie’s family – both two-legged and four-legged members!
The welcoming atmosphere begins before you even peek inside the house. The wide wrap-around porch greets you with inviting spots to sit and stay a spell and whimsical details that draw you in for a closer look!
At the front door, this wonderful wire praying mantis (found at an arts festival) greets visitors.
The porch is truly another living space and features an outdoor dining area furnished with finds from Sweet Clover, the vintage barn sale business Cassie founded with her friend Sarah in 2013. (If you want to hear more about Cassie’s inspiring experience of creating, growing, and selling her own successful business, check out the Sweet Clover archives here on her site!)
The fringed hammock was a birthday present from Chris and the kids.
And when I mentioned the “two-legged” members of Cassie’s family earlier… I bet you didn’t picture some of them having feathers!
That’s right – Cassie raises chickens in her yard in the most adorable cobalt blue chicken coop she and Christ built!
Do you have a favorite home decor piece or project that you’ve made?
Our chicken coop is by far my favorite piece that we created with our own two hands. It took us several weekends, and some help from my father, but in the end we had a gorgeous bright blue chicken coop that now houses 9 hens. Owning the chickens has been a fantastic learning experience for all of us, and I don’t eat much meat these days, so I love the farm fresh eggs on a daily basis.
Get all the details on this adorable chicken coop right here!
Ready to step inside the house? We haven’t even gotten to the best parts yet! (In my opinion)
When they first moved in, Cassie painted the front door aqua and the wall around it with chalkboard paint. Just this past month, she finished making over the stairway with an amazing tasseled rope railing DIY!
This little nook off the entryway used to be a closet, but Cassie took off the bifold doors and planked the walls with cedar.
Cassie stenciled the sheep wall with a sharpie!
Now, cubbies hold accessories and shoes line up neatly underneath the Ikea Kallax bookcase Cassie raised up with Mid-Century-inspired legs.
To the right of the front door is this bright and airy dining room! It’s been fun to watch this space evolve over the years I’ve followed Cassie’s blog – it’s hard to believe this room used to be a moody charcoal gray, isn’t it?
The creamy white walls are the perfect backdrop to soothing blues and greens – a color palette that has not changed in this space over the years!
Why do you gather?
Cassie:
I started gathering back in 2007 when my kids were both babies, and we had moved into a small home at the top of our budget. I was forced to start thinking creatively about how to decorate our smaller rooms and where to find furniture to fill those spaces. I started searching on craigslist, thrift shops, and yard sales, and an entire new world opened up to me.
Once I discovered all the wonderful things I could find for great prices, I was hooked and it became about the thrill of the hunt. Now I love to venture out with my kids and hit Saturday morning yard sales. They bring their own money, and I love teaching them that you don’t need to have a lot of money to find really awesome things that you love.
In the beginning I went overboard with gathering…. I will never forget the day my husband looked at me and said, “What are we doing with all this furniture?” I honestly had no idea, but I just couldn’t pass up the deals I was finding! I started flipping furniture and eventually I owned a vintage store and it all paid off.
These days, I’m living a simpler life and I’ve sold my store, I’m not making over furniture for resale, and am trying to lighten my load in general. I am much more selective in my gathering and make sure I truly love a piece before I bring it home, and that I have a couple of options of placement within my home. If I don’t have anywhere I know I can place it, I don’t buy it, no matter how low the price is and how much I love it. At first, that was a difficult transition, but now it’s sort of a fun challenge to myself.
An antique daybed sits in front of this sun-soaked window and is a favorite lounging space for the family’s dogs.
A vintage federal eagle mirror sits over this little bar cart Cassie brought home from Sweet Clover.
This giant industrial island separates the kitchen from the dining room. Cassie’s neighbor built it, and she painted and stained it. Open shelves hold mixing bowls, cook books, crates, and a schnoodle*…
Catcher (a Weimaraner-Aussie mix) and Snowball (a Schnauzer-Poodle aka “Schnoodle”) enjoy a nap in the kitchen.
In the kitchen, more dreamy blues and greens prevail in a color scheme that’s perfectly echoed by the vintage seascape at the top of the open shelves! The kitchen remodel was a blend of contractor work and DIY projects, but Cassie was able to use some of the existing base cabinets and update them with navy paint and Ikea butcher-bock countertops.
She installed the glass tile backsplash herself!
If we go back to the entryway and turn left, we’re looking into my favorite space in Cassie’s house, the living room:
This room is absolutely full of vintage treasures and DIY accents! Cassie painted the fireplace brick black and built DIY pipe shelves on either side. She originally bough the blue velvet sofa to sell at Sweet Clover, but couldn’t bring herself to part with it. (Who could?!) The glass waterfall coffee table was an auction find.
This simple fringe trim on the fireplace mantel is one of my favorite elements in Cassie’s home!
The teal dresser was a $60 Craigslist find that Cassie painted and distressed.
Isn’t this a beautiful idea? Hang black and white family photos on a rustic vintage door!
Cassie’s bedroom is another space that I’ve loved following over the years! (Does that sound creepy?) This is definitely my favorite look so far – I love how soft and neutral and inviting everything is!
A vintage wooden accordion rack holds pretty accessories.
Let me tell you, Cassie and I originally bonded over these nightstands! She was the first person I ever knew who followed one of my tutorials – I can’t tell you how flattered I was when she gilded the edges of these nightstands inspired by my white and gold leaf credenza makeover!
Cassie commissioned this painting of her and Christ to celebrate their 10th anniversary
This unfinished pine plank wall took Cassie and Chris just a few hours to install and adds so much visual texture to this nook in the bedroom! The jackalope wall mount was a recent Etsy find, referencing an adorable inside joke between Chris and Cassie.
Emmy’s room is a bright and cheerful aqua full of happy colors and patterns and Boho finds!
Do you have a favorite gathered find or story?
Cassie:
I’ve gathered so many things over the years, and have so many finds that are favorites, and then over time I get bored and out they go! So instead of a find, I am going with a story.
My daughter, Emmy, is so much like me that sometimes I feel like I’m raising myself. We share the same passion, she loves eclectic boho style, she loves performing, and she craves being creative in any form. A couple of years ago, when hanging chairs were much harder to find and the trend was just on the rise, we were working on redesigning her bedroom…. again. She would look over my shoulder as we perused the internet for inspiration and when she first spied a hanging chair, she knew she had to have one.
As luck would have it, right around the time of her birthday, a local auction had a vintage one pop up in their album advertising the weekend’s sale. I told her I’d head to the auction and I’d be willing to spend $100, and she begged to come with me. The two of us headed out that morning and waited around all day until it was time to bid on the chair. I had some competition, and we reached my $100 point. I was outbid. Emmy looked at me, her eyes pleading, and I couldn’t resist. We won the chair, and by the way she cheered, you’d have thought we had one the lottery.
She loves to sit and read in her hanging chair when it’s not storing 27 of her 493 stuffed animals. And when we moved her into a different room last Fall, that chair made the trek as you can see here.
The kilim dresser is – you guessed it – another beautiful painting project from Cassie!
Sawyer’s space is a little bit moodier – navy walls meet an Americana-inspired color palette with touches of Star Wars!
Finally, this black and white neutral guest room is exactly where I’m about to invite myself to come stay! (Consider yourself warned, Cassie… I may not leave!)
Can you believe, Cassie made over this entire space for free using pieces she already had?
What is your best advice to others on creating a gathered home?
Cassie:
First of all, as challenging as it is, try to understand what moves you and what you truly love. It’s so easy to take a look at blogs, social media, pinterest, and see beautiful homes filled with gathered pieces and feel suddenly compelled to hunt the collections you see. However, if you do that, you could end up with TOO MUCH STUFF! Find what really moves you and gather that.
Secondly, before you take a piece home, make sure you have two places you can put it in your house. If you can’t think of anywhere it will go, you don’t need it. And if you can only think of one, you’re stuck if it doesn’t work.
Finally, create cohesion with your collections. Maggie Overby is a talent at curating beautiful galleries of vintage art or pottery, because they all fit a certain look and vibe. Try to make sure that your collections create one big statement together as opposed to one big clustered mess.
The Takeaway:
And there you have it, folks! Don’t you want to just head on over and share a cup of coffee with Cassie, soak up some of her creative energy, and relax in the peaceful colors of her home?
Color is powerful…
As much as I love ALL OF THE COLORS, I have to admit, there’s something so serene about the blues and greens that Cassie uses throughout her home. They feel immediately restful and soothing, which I’m sure is an aura we would all love for our homes to possess!
Have fun at home…
What good is your home if it’s not a place to have fun? Try things out, move things around, go for a bold color or two or an unexpected decorative element. If everyone had the same white-on-white kitchens, how boring would that be? Embrace the things you love and don’t be scared to do something just for you and your family!
Share your gathered home!
1. If you are a “kindred spirit” gatherer with a love for photography and a home full of stories to share, I would love for you to get in touch via email (thegatheredhome@gmail.com), or by posting pictures using #yourgatheredhome on Instagram! I can’t promise to share every space, but I do promise that I will be absolutely thrilled to hear from you and connect over our shared love of finding and making!
2. If you live remotely near the Dallas/Fort Worth (or surrounding Texas cities) area and you would be interested in participating in the “Your Gathered Home” series and having me photograph your home for a home tour, I would LOVE for you to reach out! We’ll have a blast hanging out in person, taking pics, and I promise I’ll let you laugh at the funny positions I get into when I’m in the photography zone 🙂
A huge HUGE thank you to Cassie for sharing her beautiful gathered home with us today! What is your favorite part?
You know the blue velvet sofa has my heart, but I’ve also always had a long-standing crush on her seascape-inspired kitchen!
I love the blue sofa as well and the sea green, glass tile backsplash in the kitchen. What a lovely, cozy home and I really like Cassie’s eclectic style.
I love Cassie’s home. Such an inspiration. <3
oh wow, brynne!!!! you went above and beyond with this and i feel so honored… and i hate when bloggers say that because it sounds so insincere, but please know i MEAN IT!!!!! 🙂 you are the best!!!! i cannot thank you enough.
Oh boy, I got some blog reading catching up to do, yikes! I’ve been stuck in kitten la la land which is a good thing. You know ho much I love Cassie. She’s one of the best, most supportive bloggers I know and I love her style too.
So fun that you get to enjoy such adorable kitties! <3 Yep, we are both card-carrying members of the Cassie fan club! 🙂