Randy & Adria Owens - Vintage Eras; La Mesa, CA

Name: Randy & Adria Owens
Location: La Mesa, CA
Years Lived in: 11 Months

What was your inspiration for your house design?  Always loved the idea of a home that featured different eras in each room. We wanted to encompass all loves of vintage eras rather than concentrate on just one: 20s-30s art deco, 40s noir, 50s kitschy, 60s swanky, tiki-bar paradise, mixed with the simplicity and conveniences of today.

What do you think makes your house stands out in the neighborhood?  Even when one on a budget, they can still have a great looking place! Pick a style and stick to it... it takes patience that most people don't have. Most everything came from craigslist, estate sales, vintage shops, thrift stores, grandparents and great grandparents, and of course Etsy and EBay. We tried to go for an inviting and entertaining atmosphere inside and out. The inside offers cozy and classic style while the outside showcases Randy’s hand carved tikis which are the inspiration for our soon to come backyard tropical oasis.

What is your favorite piece in your house? Why?  This one is tough! If we have to pick just one, it would probably be the vintage king and queen throne chairs. I bought them off Craigslist for $40 in dire condition – countless split pieces of wood, tattered kitty destroyed fabric, and left outside for quite some time. The lady who sold them said she was on the fence about parting with them and I was the only one she called back out of several interested parties. I assured her they were going to a good home and that they did! My dad and I spent the next few weekends gluing and clamping the split wood back together, applying a dark wood stain, buying $100+ worth of red velvet fabric, and hiring a cheap upholsterer. They became a focal point of our home and we love them!

Whom has been some of your biggest influences?  Both Randy’s and my parents. Randy’s parents have a love for antiques, awesome rusted project pieces, and custom restored vintage cars. My parents have a love for classic, simple lines mixed with statement pieces throughout the home. Their home is filled with amazing mid-century inspired furniture that they have fully designed and built themselves. We have been fortunate enough to benefit from their incomparable woodworking skills… the desk, office shelving, coffee and side tables, and bar which I helped my dad design and build (a heartfelt project which made me appreciate the fine art of woodworking even more).

In the future, what is your next home project? And what you would you like to do with it?  Well, we have multiple home projects going on simultaneously. Priority # 1 – hiring a professional installer to install the vintage Malm Fireplace in the family room. A daunting project but one of our deal breakers was a house with no fireplace so we decided to install one! We also will be adding a lot to the tiki bar area… bamboo wall coverings, different color swag lamps, more tiki mugs, and decorations. We also want to re-do the modern flipped kitchen into a more retro-original version (go figure!).

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