Tammy is poised to launch an exciting new chapter of the American Dream: She’s quit her job, scheduled an estate sale, and this week put her meticulously restored 1961 Seattle house on the market — all so that she can travel the U.S.A. in “Nellie,” the 33′ Newmar Ventana RV that she bought last month. Tammy has lived in her beloved midcentury modern ranch home for 13 years, and her renovations and decorating — impeccable! Let’s take a look — and also hear about her plans to hit the road!
Tammy is a reader of the blog — we first met her when we spotlighted her GE Partio Cart last year — so she reached out to us with her story as soon as her house hit the MLS. We asked her to tell us more about the house and the changes she had made to it over the years. She wrote:
The house was built in 1961 and had one owner before I purchased it in 2002. They aged in place, so the home was in a bit of rough shape at that time.
I built the backyard cabana and remodeled the kitchen in period style with updated modern appliances.
I also took out a wall between two bedrooms to create a master suite, and converted the MIL downstairs into a wet bar.
The furniture is all mine – not staging furniture. Most pieces were estate sale, Craig’s List and Ebay finds! (Although I must admit the Philippe Starck Bubble Club outdoor furniture was purchased at Design Within Reach, and the turquoise outdoor furniture was purchased at Dazzles in Palm Springs.)
And of course, you know about the GE Partio Cart!
My friends and I named the house “The Atomic Abode.” I have loved living here and throwing parties, but I am in the process of selling all my worldly possessions, jumping in an RV, and traveling North America.
Thanks for your interest in my place. It makes my heart happy.
Gorgeous house!!!! But…. tell use more about your new quest! The “sell everything and hit the road” quest. Wow!
Q. What made you decide to leave your gorgeous home and hit the road? We read on your blog that wanted to leave your job as an attorney, but was there a specific moment/catalyst when you decided to take it from a dream to reality?
A. As much as I enjoyed collecting my “curated hoard,” for the last couple of years my possessions weighed on me, and keeping them meant continuing in a career for which I was no longer passionate. I decided that living more simply also meant more frugally, which gives me the freedom not to work and to do the one thing I love most of all: travel!
Q. I see you mentioned that you started collecting midcentury furniture and decor back in 2002 after you bought the house — have you noticed a big change in the market for such furnishings in your area since then?
A. I actually started collecting back in the 1990s, with 1940’s/1950’s dresses, handbags, hats and shoes, because I was swing dancing back then. That morphed into 1950’s vintage, which then morphed into Danish Modern. The good stuff is getting much harder to find (I don’t even try thrift stores anymore, which used to be one of my go-to places back in the 90’s/early 2000’s), and when you do find something, sellers generally greatly overestimate value (especially on Ebay!) Estate sale tips are the best, especially in the Pacific NW – big MCM collectors in Oregon and Washington.
And lookie this! Tammy adds:
I owned a 1955 canned ham vintage trailer, “FiFi,” depicted in the photo above. I recently sold her as part of my quest. It was hard to let her go!
That must have been the cutest vintage trailer ever!
Tammy, you and your story are inspirational — especially since I’ve been reexamining my own relationship with stuff recently. It is obvious that you have impeccable taste and you seem like such a fun person, who I am sure will have some great fun out on the open road. Kudos to you for having the bravery to make a change in your life and begin an exciting new adventure.
Tammy has agreed that she’ll send us periodic updates about her travels so we can keep up with her journey. You can get all the updates on her journey via her personal blog, The Lady is a Tramp.
Mega thanks to Tammy for sharing her story and to realtor Craig Blackmon, R7 Photography and Lance Wagner at Seattle Retro Photography for letting us feature this fantastic property and wonderful photos on RetroRenovation.com.
Link love:
- Follow Tammy’s journey via her blog, The Lady is a Tramp
- House photos courtesy of Ryan from R7 Photography
- Photo of Tammy courtesy of Lance Wagner at Seattle Retro Photography (website appears gone)
Tips to view slide show: Click on first image… it will double in size on screen… click anywhere to move forward and look for previous and next buttons within photo to move back or forth… you can start or stop at any image:
Laurie Louise says
Tammy, I love your house, love your stuff, love your blog, love your life! Happy trails! Hope you make it through Dallas-Fort Worth…You’re welcome to park on our three little overgrown acres. And Tex-Mex is on me!
Tammy says
Laurie, thank you for the kind invitation! I will be in Texas in the November timeframe after attending the RVing Women convention in Oklahoma City in late October. If you are on Facebook will you friend me there? I have been making comments on RR’s Facebook page today and can easily be found there. This is all so wonderful, my heart is full!
karaev says
I admire your decision, Tammy! You are adorable, good luck and be safe.
Carol says
Tammy, your house is wonderful. It is so cozy and inviting for a MCM atomic home. That is an accomplishment in itself, in that you struck a great design balance. I wish you all the fun and joy you are anticipating on your trip. Do you happen to remember the product you used on the floor in the yellow bathroom? It makes me happy and I have an 80’s bathroom gut to do. I don’t know if I can be that brave, but I would like to try. Happy travels! By the way; I too love Heywood Wakefield. A dealer friend of mine told me he loved it because it was like walking into a room full of sunshine. Also, that outdoor space is perfection!
Tammy says
Carol, I just responded to Susan above about the water flooring. Thanks for your good wishes! I am really going to miss my Hey-Wake!
Carol says
Tammy, thank you so much, I am only an hour away from a dealer! (squeal of delight)
lynda murray says
Lots of luck! I’m looking forward to reading all about your adventure.
Susan H. says
Your house is beautiful! I’m obsessed with the pool-water flooring in your bathroom. What is it?
Best of luck in your travel adventures, Tammy!
Tammy says
Susan, the flooring is by Canadian company LSI, who manufactures some amazing faux finish vinyl. I chose “Atlantic Water” from the “Imagination” line. It was perfect for a rubber ducky-themed bathroom. Their products are truly dazzling and range from the look of concrete to bamboo to diamond plate to various woods, and even cow!
http://www.lsifloors.com/images/tech_files/English%20Brochure.pdf
TappanTrailerTami says
Tammy, (yeah, love your name!) your home and belongings are absolutely devine, but traveling the countryside will be such a great adventure, congratulations on following your dreams!
Enjoy – looking forward to your road travels. May the “right” appreciative buyer purchase your house!
Kim says
Oh, Tammy, what a gorgeous house! And you’re right in my ‘hood: Ballard represent! (waves from over on 9th NW). Wherever did you find a starburst spice rack??
If the buyer doesn’t take your furniture and doodads lock, stock, and barrel, I would be delighted to help you offload some of that. 😉 Best of luck to you in your travels!
Tammy says
^^Waving Back! Kim, the estate sale will be June 5 through 7, by Foss Appraisals. Stop by! I won’t be here; as much as I embrace the next thing, it would be a bit too emotional.
The spice rack is Disgmed, but I gilded the lily a bit – I mounted the 8-jar to the coveted and more rare 18-jar. I don’t know how I got the idea, but I love it that way!
Tammy says
Digsmed – bad spelling before
Mary Elizabeth says
Tammy, lots of luck. May all your RV adventures be good ones. We will follow them with great delight. There are some terrific campgrounds here in New London (CT) County as well as many sights to see if you are stopping on your way to Lenox, Mass. Friend me on Facebook–Mary Elizabeth Lang–or get my e-mail from Pam and Kate if you’d like suggestions.
I am having the reverse adventure from you. At the end of last fall, DH and I gave up our 33′ retro trailer (1982) and have spent the last four years settling into our 1959 “granny” ranch.
One of the first things I noticed in the kitchen was the starburst spice rack. I thought, this lady loves to cook and is going to miss her spice rack! And she is going to need some camper cookbooks and a new way to pack her spices for the road. I never did find a camper cookbook that suited my style completely (forget the ones that start with potato flakes and cans of mushroom soup). I did some “quick gourmet” scratch cooking in my little camp kitchen for many years by culling through my recipes, putting suitable ones in a little recipe keeper notebook, and adapting when necessary. My rule of thumb was that I didn’t want to spend more than half an hour of active prep work (too much time away from the campfire and a nice glass of wine) but that the ingredients had to be fresh. I also didn’t like to use the oven, as I had to lie down in the kitchen to light it (very poorly designed). I didn’t keep quite as many spices as I had at home, but I had to install three spice racks and a double lazy susan to hold all my spices, flavored truffle oils, etc. You’d be surprised at the corners in an RV kitchen in which you can install a spice rack instead of some other thing that you don’t really need (leave the fire extinguisher and the smoke and CO alarms, however). 🙂
The other thing I suggest you get and find room for, if you haven’t already, is a small crock-pot. Think not only chili and stew but also Boeuf Bourguignon, coq au vin, homemade meatballs, lentil soup, and crock-pot risotto. There are a lot of recipes on line that you would like. The aromas coming from your camper will attract new friends, so make enough for two or three. 🙂
Tammy says
Mary Elizabeth, thank you for your comments and advice! I am sending you a friends request on Facebook. Living without an oven may prove so challenging that I either install one, taking up valuable drawer space, or I might get a camp oven. We shall see. The RV is equipped with a microwave/convection oven, but it’s not quite the same thing. I envision lots of outdoor grilling and cast iron stovetop cooking. I am indeed taking a slow cooker, but it also browns and sears. I don’t want to sound like an infomercial and no one is paying me for this, but I believe the Ninja Cooker is the absolute best cooker for a motorhome. It even bakes, and it has a buffet/warmer setting. I hope you and the DH are enjoying your sticks and bricks!
Mary Elizabeth says
Found you! (No mean feat, since I am so new on Facebook.) Never saw the Ninja cooker, just the blender things. I looked it up, and yes, it does sound like the best thing since sliced bread for a camper.
Cynthia says
Superb property in every way! I hope the new owners appreciate and love it as much as Tammy did/does/always will. I agree with a commenter above, perhaps the buyer will want to buy the furniture too? I certainly would! Many great ideas from the photos.
Enjoy the new chapter of your life!
Katherine says
I’d just toss in whatever was necessary to the price of the house and buy it furnished. LOVE the bedroom furniture.
virginia says
Love this house so much. So much personality and lovely bones too.
Enjoy this next stage of your life. Sounds very exciting. So many beautiful spots in this country. If you visit the red hills of Utah, say hello from me. Gorgeous, surreal landscapes. I am green with envy.