unexpected guests: liz fabry.
today, we’re dropping in on the stylish mid-century modern home of advertising art director liz fabry in oklahoma city. i loved the images liz submitted to the sfgirlbybay flickr pool, and just had to delve a bit deeper into the designer behind the home. liz is a 25-year old, first-time home buyer (wow!), working in a creative ad agency, and having fun experimenting with decorating her very own place. liz hates anything too ‘matchy-matchy’ and has done an amazing job collecting some thrifty, yet great vintage modern furniture finds for her new home! let’s take a look at what liz has been up to thus far.
What neighborhood do you live in?
I just bought my first home in Oklahoma City’s Central Park neighborhood. I love it- it’s just a few miles north of downtown (where I work and play), and right inbetween a really upscale neighborhood and the ghetto — so I’m also hoping it’s up-and-coming (now that I’m aware of this strange new concept of “real estate value”).
What is your idea of a perfect day in Oklahoma City?
One where I don’t have to work. I’d eat out for each meal at a different place, and then go shopping and find the perfect purse to replace my current matt & nat one (it’s been 4 years). Then I’d cap it off with the perfect red-wine-drunk and bitch session with friends. And there’s cupcakes and coffee somewhere in there, too.
What don’t you leave home without?
Burt’s Bees chapstick. A flashdrive. My iPod nano. Hopefully pants.
What are some of your favorite local shops?
Blue Seven has a great selection of quirky gifts. And there’s this furniture/fixture liquidation store in the ghetto for hotels and motels that have closed that is HUGE and features entire rooms full of old chairs and lamps and stoves and desks and I can’t even really talk about it without hyperventilating. We also have an awesome Asian supermarket that’s just a lot of fun to walk around in and browse — I always find something new and interesting there. For like $0.75.
What’s on your wish list?
a Butcherblock countertop for the kitchen. The perfect backpack to carry all my crap across Europe this spring. A tufted velvet headboard. The ability to calculate sales tax in my head.
What’s your favorite bargain find or product?
I instantly value anything I’ve found on a curb more than the things I’ve paid for. And I’ve found some amazing mid-century modern furniture on Craigslist that was clearly being sold by someone who had no idea of it’s real worth.
Who are your favorite artists? And why?
Visual artist? I love all of Matte Stephens’ work — it’s graphic, mid-century-inspired, the color palettes are always perfectly vintage, and seriously, the guy’s name is Matte. What’s not to love? Musical artist? I adore Yo La Tengo. I can’t believe that Georgia Hubley and Ira Kaplan have been married and making consistently excellent music for over 25 years. Utterly inspirational.
Where do you find inspiration?
The millions of design/travel/interior websites and blogs I cruise everyday. The weather. Movies, and the soundtracks that make them come alive (I’m looking at you, Wes Anderson). Flickr. My talented friends.
Do you collect anything?
No. In fact, I am a notorious stuff-purger. Oh, wait…. oh lord. Chairs. Mid-century chairs! I have so many I can’t even see them as a collection, because they are a straight-up lifestyle. My house is under 1,000 sq. ft, but it can seat about 30. I’m probably just a stuff-purger to make room for all my chair-children.
What’s your favorite feature in your home?
I love the slightly creaky wood floors, though the (relatively) massive front porch and the fireplace tie for second.
If you could photograph anyone in the world, who might that be?
Gary Oldman. Dennis Leary. Wes Anderson. Henry Rollins. Marc English. David Bowie. Jamie Hince. Brendon Small. Alec Baldwin. Brad Neely. Yessss, I would photograph them. And then they would fall in love with me. It’s a foolproof plan.
Who would you like to sit down to drinks with?
At the moment, my childhood girlfriends from northern Michigan. I usually only get to see them in the summer, so I always miss them the most in the dead of winter. And if those drinks could be enjoyed around a bonfire on the beach, I’d probably die of happiness. Or hypothermia. Because it’s very cold in Michigan right now.
Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Oh honey- I don’t feel guilty about any of my pleasures. I watch horrible television, eat out too often, pay too much for wine, and read my fair share of trashy novels. And I love it.
What’s souvenir did you bring back from your last trip?
I went to the annual HOW Design conference in Austin with two designer friends and we all came back with typography tattoos. God bless 6th Street and Patron Silver!
What is your idea of living hell?
Being in a dead-end relationship and working a job I hate in a world without cheese. Or- having to wear mismatched socks. I’m fickle like that.
What are some of your favorites websites/blogs to visit?
ffffound (constant inspiration), jeremy and kathleen (and not just because my home renovation projects are regularly cataloged there), the sartorialist (hello, boys), photoshop disasters (keeps me sharp), the apache house (my favorite Oklahoma website), and craigslist (I’m a Missed Connections junkie).
Whoa, talk about seek and you shall find. No pun intended considering her love for vintage. I’d just logged back on in search of some inspiration and seen that you had updated your blog. (I have you on my favorite links list.) I am over joyed with this post. I like this Liz chic. Those hardwood floors make me want to take my shoes off and turn on a phonagraph and dance around her house with a glass of white wine in my hand. (it’s rainy in L.A. today) She’d choose Gary Oldman of all people to photograph. I love it.
Thank you, I’ll head back to finish reading but know this, I am truly inspired. : )
oh my. i’m really impressed. i don’t think i had a fraction of her style when i was 25. and i love, love, love the green and the mustardy yellow accents everywhere between those naturals and the dark wood. what a great colour scheme.
chapeau.
i can’t even begin to start explaining which things in this home are my favorite. i am going with her hallway chairs (doubled up). i wish i could see that porch she talks about!
Her house has a definite theme and feel to it that’s vintage, clean, and lovely in a non-overwhelming, non-powder-puff way. I love it. Her furniture choices, the little details, and the way she spaced everything out…it makes for a wonderful open space.
Every time I hang out with Liz I go home and throw things away. She has this ability to make her things (and lack thereof) look so amazing. She’s minimal without being cold. Clean without being a total freak. Bravo, Liz!
oh my goodness! This is my near dream interior – mid century modern, Danish modern strewn with other eclectic vintage tidbits is heaven to me.
I love her house. I wish we could switch places and she could live in my rental with it’s brown ad white speckled carpeting and I could inhabitat her house of heaven.
I love her very well-defined style and point of view. I am entranced by the shape of the arches in the home. And, I’m refreshed by her candor. Very cool.
Great interview and I loved her home. I’ve gotta have Burt’s Bees too!
-FringeGirl
Hello, thanks so much for your constant inspiration. its a joy to check your blog. Christina
Loved the tour and especially loved the funny answers to your questions. Now I want to go to lunch with Liz.
Great post… Loving the mirror detail over the fireplace. Great play with scale and simplicity!
so glad you all enjoyed this post, and liz’s sense of humor! thanks again for joining us, liz!
I’d like to say that I love, love, love this place! Incredible style throughout. But, but, but…Is it really a home??? It looks more like a hotel or a rental or a showroom. A beautiful one but surely, this can’t be a home! Not a scrap of paper, maybe three (at most) chotzkies; not a single itty bitty detail of the owner’s life anywhere???
Lovely and inspiration but, for real???
well, like the girl says, she’s a notorious stuff-purger! ;)
i don’t keep a lot of ‘stuff’ out either. i’m pretty OCD when it comes to keeping things clean and tidy – especially when photographing the details of my home.
i love the color combination in the second photo, not to mention that amazing sofa.
Lovely! Everything is so organized, fits so perfectly!
Wow, I am speechless. So many amazing furniture. I love the colors, the mood, the simplicity. Just perfect!
I love every single corner of her house. Especially: the mid-century chairs, so fantastic and so unusual. The green tone in the bedroom. The old alarm.The sofa under the window. And her definition of living hell!
This was the best interview I’ve read in a long time. Liz- can we hang out??
ps-seriously-a typography tattoo? LOVE it!!
Thanks everyone for the great feedback! Flattery will get you everywhere ;).
searching for design:
I know that my place is spartan, but it’s just the way I live. I don’t have kids, and I live alone, so everything can be exactly the way I want it all the time. Which, yes, is a bit minimal. But I think that informs one about my life as much as excessive chotchkes (sp?!?) everywhere. I edit ALL the time, because for me, my house will be perfect (however temporarily… it’s all about the chase, though, isn’t it?) not when there’s nothing left for me to add, but when there’s nothing left for me to take away. You know?
Plus it just makes cleaning easier. :)
I’m so proud of you, my friend, Liz! I’m counting the days until summer again! :)
great interview and excellent home liz! it’s understated but well put together.
p.s. i too adore yo la tengo
Liz, the designs are excellent!
This post is a great resource especially for first time home buyers.
Keep it up!
Her perfect day is mine too… I don’t think it could get much better!
This house is darling… I was just in OKC this fall… And I have to say it is a really cute little city. I wasn’t expecting to like it so much. I look forward to going back, my soon to be sister in law lives right outside the city.
would you mind sharing the blue gray paint color you used in the living room? i have been looking for something to give that great effect.
Beth Lee Segal: I used Olympic’s “Secret Passageway,” and I highly recommend it, and not just because the name is awesome.
I am stunned that someplace could look this fabulous in oklahoma city! I live in Norman (just south, University of Oklahoma-land) and had no idea so many fantastic finds could be unearthed here!
no…this appears very engineered and sterile. where’s the heart and soul of this place?
I LOVE Liz’s style! If you have a moment, I’d like to know what color the green bedroom paint is. So pretty!! And, where is the furniture/fixture liquidation place located in OKC? I live in Stillwater and would dearly love to check it out! Thanks!!
Liz – I just love your beautiful home! I totally understand your fascination with chairs. I love going to auctions and found that I was a lamp, occasional table person. Your taste in decor is gorgeous – it suits you so perfectly.
Liz, I just learned that there is a store in Sault, Ontario, that sells quality used furniture. I want to make time to go over and check it out. With the cultural diversity over there I am sure the styles would be pretty interesting.
Cheryl-
Unfortunately, I don’t know the green color that was used in that bedroom- that room was actually in a rental duplex that I lived in right before I bought my house. It was so pretty though- it constantly changed with the light and was incredibly calming.
Oh! Sorry. Also, the store is on 23rd and… Dewey? Or within a block of that. It’s across from Big Truck Tacos, which I highly recommend- plus you’ll probably need to carboload just to have enough energy to pick through all the STUFF. Good luck!