This Mid-Century Modern Home Tour Is Full of Vintage Charm

With social media constantly serving up ever-evolving home decor trends, it can be difficult to nail down what your personal style is. Carrie Waller, however, is one of the lucky ones who knows exactly what she loves: mid-century modern style. When looking for her current home, she knew she wanted one full of original 1960s charm, and she’s found just that in her Virginia home. Through intentional updates and what she calls “gentle” renovations, Carrie and her husband transformed the dated, pastel-colored space into the retro ranch of her dreams. It’s still filled with bold wallpaper and plenty of personality, but in a way that’s completely tailored to her family’s lifestyle and tastes. Keep scrolling to take a full tour of Carrie’s gorgeous mid-century modern home and learn her best advice for transforming a space without a gut renovation.

Carrie Waller’s Virginia Home Tour

The details:

Name: Carrie Waller
Location: Waynesboro, Virginia
Square footage: 2,391 square feet
Rent/own: Own

Like many houses built in the 1960s, your home was initially covered in wallpaper and pastel paint colors. Despite some of its more dated elements, what made this house feel like the one?

My husband and I really wanted to move into a quieter, more private neighborhood with more trees and less traffic. This house was the first one we toured and the only one we put an offer on because it checked all of the boxes. As soon as we walked in, I felt like I was home. The neighborhood was perfect, but I also fell in love with the original mid-century charm of the house—the smoked glass light fixture in the entryway, the louvered doors, and the original 1960s botanical wallpaper. It was my dream come true, and I could see the potential behind the more dated elements.

You’ve done an incredible job preserving the home’s original charm while making it your own. How did you find a balance between honoring its character and updating it to fit your style and needs?

Thank you! It’s sort of funny to think back to that first tour of the house. While walking through, I immediately declared that I was going to take all of the wallpaper down and cover up all of the bold paint colors. Then, after doing exactly that, I ultimately went back through the house and put up new wallpaper and repainted rooms in my own favorite bright colors. I guess that just reiterates how perfect this house always was for me—I just needed to swap out the wallpaper patterns and colors to options that better suited our aesthetic.

Your home is full of color, but it never feels overwhelming. How did you decide on a color palette, and what’s your secret to keeping everything balanced?

The wallpaper that I put up in our entry soon after we moved into this house ended up being a pretty major catalyst for the slate/pink/cream/rust color scheme that we’ve ended up using throughout. I really love using a special accent—like a rug, art piece, or wallpaper pattern—to help guide my color and style choices. Once I have a general idea of the colors I want to commit to, I intentionally reuse them in other room makeovers to give our house a cohesive look overall.

You describe your renovation approach as “gentle.” What does that mean to you, and how does it influence your design choices?

As die-hard fans of the mid-century aesthetic, it’s really important to us that we respect the original details of our home. We don’t ever plan to take down walls or pull out the more authentic parts of our home’s 1960s architecture. Instead, we want to “gently” tweak certain aspects of the house to make it function better for our 2025 lifestyle, like putting in updated appliances wherever needed and swapping out the light fixtures that previous homeowners put in sometime around the ‘80s. You won’t ever see us ripping too deeply into our retro ranch home, and that’s very intentional. We bought this house because it only needed a few intentional updates here and there—not a full gut renovation.

We love the moody, cozy tones in your living room. What inspired you to go darker in this space compared to the lighter hues throughout the rest of the home?

Our living room gets very little bright sunlight thanks to the covered porch and enormous maple tree right outside the windows. The only time we ever get good natural light is in the colder months of the year when the leaves are down. Because of the natural darkness, I ultimately decided that it was best to lean into it rather than fight it. So, I painted the entire space a dark blue/green color called “Homburg Gray” from Sherwin-Williams. I love how much character it gives the room, and it really does make this the coziest space in the house, no matter what time of year it is.

Your dog snuggled up on the couch is absolutely adorable—and you also have two cats! How do you keep your home looking so polished while living with pets?

My husband and I are happily child-free by choice, so our pets are our version of human kids. We are really passionate about rescue dogs and cats and would do pretty much anything for our fur kiddos. That said, they do come with unique challenges in terms of homemaking. I’ve worked really hard to find minimalist modern pet accessories for our home, like cat beds, toys, dog bowls, etc. Luckily, there are so many options on the market today that have made it easier for our pets’ stuff to seamlessly blend with ours. I especially love the Tuft + Paw and Modkat brands! Generally, though, vacuuming is a must in our pet-filled household.

Your floating shelves are packed with a fantastic collection of books, art, and knickknacks. Do you have any tips for styling shelves in a way that feels curated but not cluttered?

I think the best piece of advice I can offer when it comes to styling shelves is to embrace mistakes. I never get the arrangement right on the first try, and I’ve accepted the fact that that’s OK! Now, I relish the sort of “play” that goes into getting each shelf just right. I’ll place things here, take things off there, add a little height to give the look some visual interest, and mix up the colors of the accents until it feels just right. I think I’ve naturally adopted a bit of a formula over the years, though: stacks of books, a leaning piece of art, and plants. That’s my kind of winning combo.

Your home is filled with incredible mid-century modern furniture. Are most of these pieces vintage or purchased new? Either way, spill your sources!

My eye always bee-lines to mid-century furniture and lighting when I’m out and about secondhand shopping. There’s just something about those telltale warm wood tones, tapered legs, sleek silhouettes, and geometric patterns that speaks to my soul. I’ve got a whole blog post on my website that shares my list of the best secondhand shops in our area here in Virginia, but I also appreciate new look-alike versions of mid-century furniture. We just added this retro lounge chair and ottoman to our sunroom that I love, and my West Elm desk is a classic favorite. The bonus on that one is that I actually found it secondhand on Facebook Marketplace, so even though it’s “new” mid-century, it still feels a little vintage to me.

The seating area off your kitchen is such a cozy addition. What made you decide to use it as a lounge space rather than a dining nook?

Since it’s just my husband and me, we don’t really need multiple dining options in our home. We have our formal dining room that we eat in most nights, and when we’re feeling a little more casual, he and I eat at the built-in bar that we added to the back of our kitchen peninsula when we had new counters installed. So, the idea of a breakfast nook or eat-in dining space in the kitchen just felt redundant. Instead, I styled the space with seating that doesn’t impede foot traffic and provides a place for us and our guests to plop down when we’re cooking/entertaining. It truly acts as the heart of our home now, so I’m glad I opted to make it a lounge instead of a traditional dining space. So much more comfortable!

You’d never know looking at it now, but your kitchen started as a very dark space. What were your biggest priorities in the redesign, and what was that process like?

I’m the daughter of a very talented carpenter and furniture builder, so I generally only paint over wood as a last resort. It was absolutely—without a doubt—the only option for our dark-stained wood kitchen! The existing ultra-dark stain had been unevenly applied and sucked every last bit of light out of the already-dark room. I loved the Parisian-inspired trim detail on the cabinet doors, but that element was lost because of the dark stain. Now, in the new light creamy paint color we chose, those original 1960s details shine, and I’m smitten with the final (much brighter) space. It wasn’t easy and took a full week of hard work, but I’ll never stop saying this: It’s amazing what paint can do! Worth every back-breaking moment.

Your kitchen wallpaper adds a subtle pattern to the walls that almost looks like tile. What led you to choose this wallpaper over traditional tile or paint?

After we finished repainting our kitchen cabinets cream, I felt like the room needed a pop of color and pattern. I didn’t have the budget or energy to add real decorative tile to the walls, but I definitely could spend an afternoon wallpapering! It was so easy and gave the room back some much-needed personality.

Your dining room was previously pretty bare bones, but you’ve added lots of personality through two-tone walls, picture frame molding, artwork, and wallpaper. How did you know when this room was finally “finished”?

The wallpaper that I added inside my DIY picture frame molding was the perfect finishing touch in my mind. Before, the white-on-white upper portions of the wall felt a little bland and one-dimensional, but adding that subtle pattern helped give the room the visual upgrade it needed. Hint: The pattern I chose for the dining room molding is the same design that I used in our kitchen, just done in a different color! I love how that little detail makes the neighboring rooms feel like a cohesive pair.

Of all the DIY projects you’ve tackled in this home, which one are you most proud of?

The marble plinth plant stand in our dining room is a standout DIY favorite of mine. I searched high and low for a real marble stand, but, honestly, never saw a single one at the stores I visit regularly. It wasn’t that I couldn’t find one within budget—they truly didn’t exist near us! So, I built my own using wood and marble peel-and-stick wallpaper from Fancy Walls. It has held up great and gives me the look I wanted for a fraction of the price.

You’re so lucky to have a beautiful, spacious sunroom off the back of your kitchen, but designing such a large room can be tricky. How did you decide on the layout of this space, and how do you use it on a daily basis?

The main consideration when laying out our sunroom was the flow of traffic. The only back door to our yard is in this room, and the laundry room is also situated in a closet along the back of the space, so we needed to make sure both of those spaces were clear for us to navigate toward multiple times throughout the day. That naturally helped me lay out the room with a console on the short side of the space by the back door and a larger seating area on the opposite end. Letting the traffic pattern dictate the furniture arrangement actually made the process really easy. We haven’t touched the layout since moving in and placing everything over two years ago.

You’re coming up on three years in your home. Are there still projects in the works, or does it feel like it’s finally complete?

Honestly, I feel like we’ve barely even begun the overhaul of this house. The designs you see now almost feel like my very first attempts. There is so much more change to come, and I’m positively giddy to watch it unfold. We’ve got backyard hardscape plans, a fireplace restoration to save up for, and two bathroom renovations to bring to life. I’m very hopeful that this is our “forever” house and have lots of dreams for new designs and tweaks that will make the house feel more and more like us. We’re planning on taking it extra slow so we can savor it all.

You have such a great eye for artwork. Where do you source art for your home, and do you have any tips for finding unique pieces on a budget?

Thank you! I source our art from all over to help keep costs within reach: Facebook Marketplace, Target, Desenio, Artfully Walls, and antique stores. Some of it I make myself since I studied studio art and art history in college. I’m a firm believer that if you buy art that you love, it’ll organically end up looking cohesive. Even if you don’t know how to describe or name your interior design style, you’ve got one! Just follow your instincts and invest in pieces that speak to you. A unified color palette and subject theme will naturally “reveal” itself as you grow your collection.

Between running your blog, newsletter, social media, and pottery business, you have a lot on your plate. How does your office space help keep you productive and inspired?

I intentionally chose one of the brightest rooms in our house for my office because sunshine always energizes me. This room has been through a few different paint colors, but I finally went back to a paint color that I loved from our very first house together (“Halcyon Green” from Sherwin-Williams), and now it feels just right. I also added a pop of pattern up along the ceiling line with wallpaper so that I have something pretty to look at when I need to take a pause from computer work. Color, pattern, and a whole bunch of live plants are what make my home office feel like a really productive and cozy space. The design really does feed my creativity every day.

Your bedroom has such a cozy, peaceful energy. What are your must-haves for creating a calming space?

When we first moved in, our primary suite was covered in a very busy, dark retro wallpaper. I love celebrating the original 1960s details in our retro ranch, but that wallpaper just had to go. It practically negated all of the natural light and made the room feel chaotic—not how you want to feel in a bedroom space! So, we took the wallpaper down and painted the walls the same cream color that we used on our kitchen cabinets (“No Filter” from Clare Paint). Now, the room is the relaxing, light-filled space that we always dreamed of.

In your bathroom, you opted to keep the original vanity and flooring but ended up replacing the countertop and fixtures. How did you sort out your priorities for this space?

As with most things in our renovation journey, the design of our hall bathroom came down to budget. We could afford to replace the countertops because we got a discount from our fabricator when he cut our kitchen counters (they were made from the same slab). From there, I repainted, added fresh wallpaper, updated the lighting, and installed new faucets. All of those chores were easy on our home decor budget, so they came first. In a perfect world, I would, of course, have already swapped out the vinyl flooring for real tile and redone the bath and shower tile, but it’s not in the cards for us right now. That lingering wish list just gives us something to look forward to!

What does an ideal day at home look like for you?

A mix of this: waking up surrounded by snoozing cats and dogs, a yummy homemade breakfast sandwich (my favorite is a whole wheat English muffin with slow-cooked scrambled eggs, white cheddar cheese, pesto, and honey), writing at my computer, accomplishing something on my home decor to-do list, cooking dinner with my husband, and ending the day with a great big breath of gratitude. It’s not always easy to embrace everything that daily life throws at me, but I’m trying my best to appreciate the small moments that make home feel like my happy place.

Anything else we should know about you or your home?

I’m a bit of a design-as-I-go homemaker. Yes, I’ll often put together quick digital mood boards up front to help direct my vision and pick accents so I don’t make bad investments IRL, but I love to think that I can skip all that and just trust my gut. I encourage my fellow homebodies to get really introspective when thinking about the design of their spaces. Don’t let trends or outside pressure (or even the existing architectural design of your home!) sway you from the colors and styles that you love. Your home is maybe the one place where you get to be wholly you, so let your personality shine in everything you bring through the door. If you do, I think you’ll be really proud of what you accomplish.