Katie Thewlis (@hausmatter) has never been afraid of a career change. After earning a degree in classical piano in college, she taught music and gave private piano lessons in the school system. After 10 years of teaching, she ventured into jewelry design and metalsmithing. “I launched my first jewelry collection in 2009 and by 2014, my husband and I were making a living off of our creations,” Katie tells us. Upon giving birth to the couple’s daughter Lokee, Katie soon realized that her ability to work full-time, or around a specific schedule, shifted entirely. After exploring new options that she could pursue from home with Lokee in tow, Katie decided to shift her business towards interiors, a passion that had been a constant throughout her life. Selling vintage goods turned out to be the perfect move, as Katie was easily able to strap her daughter to her back and go shopping for vintage treasures. “We have enjoyed this time together, and the more independent she gets, the more I’m able to devote to building my business,” Katie shares.

A year ago, Katie and her husband Andy decided to put down roots in a 70s brick ranch that they rent in Johnson City, TN. Katie and Andy were tired of looking, and this house just happened to tick the main boxes on their checklist. Despite being tenants, the family has made the most of each space by making it look and feel like them. “We changed nearly every cosmetic finish we could in this rental. We don’t own it, but it feels like ours,” Katie explains. She thinks of a room as a blank canvas, ready to be transformed with textiles, wallpaper, and gorgeous furnishings. By boldly playing around with colors and moods, she has created several worlds that draw you in to explore and gush over endless creative design choices. “I have a knack for mixing mid-century modern with 80s glam pieces. […] I try to mix pieces from different time periods in a way that feels current to modern living and gives a space authenticity that can’t be ordered from a box store,” Katie reveals. Scroll down to see how her family’s rental home was transformed into a space that feels eclectically their own. —Sofia

Photography by Katie Thewlis / @hausmatter

Image above: Katie came up with the idea of painting horizontal stripes on the bedroom walls when she found a pretty shade of pink in the clearance section at Lowes. “I thought it would be fun and interesting to let the stripes trail off a bit onto the other wall,” she explains.

1/18 Katie wanted the main bedroom to be an eclectic mix of modern and elegant. She also loves to combine mid-century pieces with 80s glam, with some global elements thrown in for pattern and softness. “My style can safely be categorized as eclectic,” she says.



2/18 Katie took the bedroom curtains to a paint shop to have them color matched with the rusty orange stripes of the bedroom wall.

3/18 The leather sofa was a generous gift from a family member and has proven to be invaluable. “The more we live with it, the more I can’t ever imagine going back to a trendy, uncomfortable sofa. It gets a lot of wear and tear, and like a pair of good jeans, it’s well lived in,” Katie says, adding “I can’t recommend leather enough for people with dogs and kids.”

4/18 “A lot of people think you shouldn’t put a lot of color and pattern into a small space, but I think that’s exactly where it should be!” Katie exclaims. Her latest project was adding patterned yellow wallpaper to the fireplace wall in the living room.

5/18 The front door opens directly into the living room, which is why Katie wanted to define the entry area as much as possible.

6/18 To set the entry area apart from the living room, Katie painted racing stripes on the wall behind the console. There’s so much creative energy here because we built this home together.

7/18 When the family moved in, the kitchen was the first space they tackled with their landlord’s permission. “We painted the room white, installed a temporary backsplash above the countertops and added a three-dimensional tile to the peninsula.”

8/18 Katie considered painting the cabinets but ultimately decided against it. “I knew that if I kept this kitchen true to its mid-century style, it could look great,” she explains.

9/18 Mid-century accessories accentuate the charm of the original kitchen.

10/18 Recently, functional toy storage has been on Katie’s mind. “I originally thought I would make the dining room [Lokee’s] play area, but we quickly learned that eating on the floor of our own home was not as cool as it is in Indian restaurants,” she jokes. Now half of the dining room buffet holds toys, the other half serves as storage for serving dishes.

11/18 Katie, who runs her store Hausmatter on Etsy, enjoys constant change and describes her home as a revolving door of vintage. “I don’t keep a lot for myself, but the vintage pieces I do keep are items I purchased from other vintage sellers. Many of these [sellers] are women and/or mothers who, like myself, are using the resources they have to help provide for their families. These pieces are so dear to me for that reason,” she tells us.

12/18 “I have a hard time doing anything slowly. Once I get an idea in my head, I have to see it through almost immediately. This kind of creative process was fine before I became a mother, but now I have to think about my family more. It’s still very torturous for me to set a project down for any length of time but I’m learning to be more patient,” Katie shares.

13/18 In Lokee’s room, Katie wanted to make sure that every item is a piece that her daughter loves or uses daily.

14/18 To help Lokee learn to sleep in a big bed, Katie decided to place the mattress directly on the floor. “I think this canopy gives the bed its moment without making it feel like an afterthought,” she adds.

15/18 Some of Lokee’s favorite items are organized and hung on the wall within easy reach.

16/18 “The thing I love most about our home is all the vintage.” — Katie

17/18 Katie and Andy eloped in Costa Rica. The office decor, with bright colors and monstera plants, serves as a sentimental reminder of that trip. The wall pattern was created with turquoise tape.

18/18 Katie has a vintage booth in Atomic Furnishing & Design in Asheville. She wanted to make a great impact in this space by creating a backdrop that would strike up conversations and draw people in. The atomic wall design was accomplished by using round labels and roll tape.