ECHOES OF THE PAST

Amp up your rooms with tips from Ohio antiques enthusiasts who go for the bold by choosing and using colorful collectibles to turn a rental home into a place for keeps.

Ohio antiques enthusiasts transform a basic rental home into a place for keeps via relaxed and inviting rooms that showcase a treasure trove of family heirlooms.

BBlame it on Grandma, says Kimberly Kaufman with a laugh. The Oak Harbor, Ohio, resident traces her lifelong love of antiques to happy years she spent hanging out with her grandparents. “After retiring, they dabbled in antiques,” she explains. “They frequented estate sales, building up quite an eclectic collection and only selling in a casual way.”

After her grandfather passed away, Kimberly spent even more time at their house, a place she describes as “a huge old Sears and Roebuck home out in the country.” There, her grandmother would promise to share her extensive treasures if she behaved. “If I was particularly good, she would allow me to pick out something,” Kimberly adds. “To this day, I still have every item she allowed me to keep.”

Those humble heirlooms—a jar of old marbles, a cast-iron string holder, a group of bridle buttons—now make up some of Kimberly’s most cherished possessions. “They are my greatest treasures and more precious to me than I can say,” she notes. Years later, they’re also the focus of the 1,400-square-foot cozy country home she shares with her husband, Kenn, and cats Kirby, Pearl and Tucker. Her collections—both inherited and those she discovered herself—are the backbone of her decorating style, a relaxed and inviting look she calls “farmhouse meets primitive.” “Our decor is built almost entirely around our collections,” she relates.

Partial to prim, Kimberly is not a fan of the style’s traditional earth tones, however, opting instead for a bolder palette that she uses to liven up her home and its surrounding 31/2 acres. Because the couple rent, decorative changes they have implemented in the nine years they’ve lived there have been more cosmetic than structural, relying on vibrant collections to add both color and interest to the two-story residence’s interiors.

Along the way, Kimberly has become an expert at both acquiring and displaying antiques, a skill she is happy to share with other enthusiasts. Finding a focal point or piece for every room is at the top of her tip list. “Identify something that really speaks to you and use it as a starting point,” she recommends.

Examples in her own home include the large stepback cupboard in its original robin’s egg blue paint in the living room—“a real statement piece that I love,” Kimberly enthuses—and the enviable apothecary cabinet that anchors the dining room. The 36-drawer piece made her believe in fate, she says, and “still takes my breath away every time I walk in the room.” She found it on eBay a few years ago after searching for “apothecary.” “I was just admiring it, thinking there was no way something this massive could be shipped. And then I noticed that the location was just 20 minutes away. I immediately bought it and picked it up that evening. It’s like it was meant to be in our home,” Kimberly recalls.

A fan of estate sales, resale shops and garage sales, she’s also adept at online shopping (she’s found a surprising number of vintage treasures on Etsy) and recommends learning as much as you can before you log on. “If you know what to call something, it’s a lot easier to search for and find it,” she continues.

Kimberly’s methods and home may be decidedly more high-tech than her grandmother’s, but the lessons Kimberly learned from her and the timeless treasures she passed down continue to inspire her own granddaughter as well as her warm and welcoming decorating style today.