It took six months of house hunting before Kellan and Natalie Brady found this 1979 home in need of A LOT of work. But what it did have going for it was the home’s location in Mesa, Arizona, just a few miles away from the couple’s parents, so they rolled up their sleeves and got to work. Luckily, Kellan, his father and Natalie’s father all work in construction and were able to see past the dated designed choices – like the parquet flooring in the family room and walls that chopped up the space and cut off the flow of people and light. But the biggest challenge in the remodel was that Natalie went into labor at 32 weeks and had to be hospitalized for two weeks. But she and baby Truman came home safe and sound to a house that feels brighter and more open, while still maintaining that Southwestern style that the family loves. -Amy
Image above: “One of the many reasons I love the dining area is because Kellan and I spent hours and hours building our sputnik chandelier months before we even found our home. Little did we know, our future home had the perfect place for it with ‘the octagon’ in the ceiling. Most of our friends have a more traditional style so they think our sputnik is “strange” to say the least, but we are so proud of our hard work and very pleased with how it turned out.”
Image above: “We were married in the Mesa Arizona Temple so I wanted a large poster of it at the entrance to our home. I eventually fell in love with this vintage photo of the temple I saw on Little Green Notebook. One of the first things we bought for our new home was the sofa. Our house was almost empty and I had just had our second son. When I was released from the hospital, we drove to the store to look at the sofa in person and they happened to be having a huge sale. We spontaneously bought it and I have been incredibly happy with the quality. The leather truly is buttery soft.”
See more of this Southwestern home after the jump!
Image above: There used to be a large arched dividing wall between the living area and the formal dining area, as well as a stucco planter on the right, as you walk in the front door. That was one of the first things Kellan took his sledge hammer to! I love that there is so much natural light in our home, especially in this room because of the three floor to ceiling windows. With the ceilings being only 8ft tall, we took the dividing wall down to create a larger space. Kellan and my father laid all of the laminate wood flooring throughout the house to again create the feel of larger spaces, when before there was several different flooring patches that broke up the space. I underestimated how needed smooth wall texture was when we were deciding our budget for the remodel. I was leaning against it because of cost, but now it is one of the things I’m most grateful we did. It really completes the clean open feel we wanted to achieve.
Image above: “I wanted the family room to feel relaxing and comfortable. The mid century recliner is Kellan’s ‘man chair’ that we got upholstered in camel leather, instead of its previous weathered and torn orange vinyl. The mid century credenza is part of a 5 piece bedroom set that is in a guest bedroom. The bull horns are special to me because they were a surprise 25th birthday present from Kellan.”
Image above: “These tiny horns might be my favorite things in our whole house.”
Image above: The Chelsea Southwest rug steals the show in our family room. It was what we chose to design the room around. We wanted a sectional so that we could be able to have a good amount of seating for family and friends. The art on the wall is pages of a vintage southwest sketch/painting book I got at a swap meet for $4. Some of the sketches are of the skeletal structure of horses and cattle- they’re awesome!
Image above: “Dean’s bunk beds were a real labor of love. I had come up with the idea of converting that space into bunks and luckily it was the perfect measurements for twin beds. Kellan and I spent a weekend designing and building the bunks together. To finish it off, my dad and Kellan welded a gas pipe ladder and railing. I made some quilts to lay on the foot of the bed out of a retro looking pattern that I loved. Then topped the beds with striped kilim pillows.”Image above: “Dean’s dresser is mid century Broyhill Saga. I appreciate that it complements the modern geometric rug, lamp and frames. I always try to balance my love for mid century pieces with new modern pieces so that my house doesn’t just feel ‘old’.”
Image above: “Dean is a really special guy. He was born severely premature at 26 weeks, weighing only 2lbs 1oz. I will always hold those tiny, tiny footprints dear to my heart! Because of his premature arrival, everyone had a special place for him. There are several really neat family treasures on Dean’s shelves. My Nana and Papa Nance were antique collectors and instilled a love for antiques in me as well. On special occasions, they would sometimes pass down an antique to my children. Some of them on the shelves are the coin bank globes and cast iron Lindy plane and cars. We named our son after my grandfather Dean. He was a tail gunner in WWII and has loved flying and anything to do with planes. When he was close to the end of life, he hand carved the balsa wood plane on the top shelf for Dean’s 2nd birthday present. The antique catcher’s mitt was also a gift from Kellan’s grandfather Pat Brady, who also played for the Pittsburg Steelers.”
Image above: A few months before I was due, I made Truman’s quilt to hang on the side of his crib. The pattern on it is little cowboys, Native Americans, buffalo, and tee pees. I love that it became the base for the design of his room. I ordered the Arizona travel poster, found the vintage paint-by-numbers of colts at an antique shop, and made the mobile out of copper wire and puffs.
Image above: “In the master bedroom, we wanted a clean, comfortable feel. We painted the headboard wall charcoal on a whim one Friday night and I love the way it turned out. I made the traditional flying geese quilt on the foot of the bed to contrast the white, modern bedspread.”
Image above: “We are constantly doing projects around our house but haven’t yet conquered the bathroom remodels. I love the changes we have made so far though. Kellan and I made the raw brass pendant light for the shower area and it has a matching two-bulb version which is in the sink area.”
I love the geometric patterns throughout the house! Those colorful hard lines mixed with the graceful soft beauty of the natural woods and leathers are just amazing!