Susan Oostdyk has a knack for salvaging old things. When she started her vintage textile business some years ago, it was a way to marry her love of old fabric with frequent trips to flea markets in France. She bought American quilts and textiles, too, and soon expanded into a shop and upholstery business. So it's no surprise to learn that when she wanted a weekend house, she would find one that was rundown but with lots of potential, and set about fixing it up herself.







Susan managed to restore many of the home's original features, such as a vaulted ceiling and a wood floor, that had been covered up or neglected. In the process, she discovered one more thing weekend visitors might overlook: neighbours. "This is the closest thing to a community I've been able to find since childhood," she says of the small New Jersey town in which her 1880 cedar shingle cottage is situated. Now she has a new life, surrounded by the many old things she loves. Front doors that Susan found at a salvage yard now open to the living room. Susan brightened the walls of her Island Heights, N.J., home with a warm adobe colour.



The house is set up for folks to drop by and stay awhile, and Susan's large assortment of vintage textiles helps to extend the welcome: Wicker baskets hold her collection of Beacon camp blankets for when evenings turn cool.



Large French dinner napkins grace each place setting when Susan entertains.



The dining room window seat is "a popular place for naps," she says.



Susan wanted more counterspace from the renovation. She also wanted to preserve the original cabinets. For the new cabinets she added, she chose recessed panels to suggest (but not replicate) the look of the old. For harmony, she chose similar (not matching) pulls.

Susan's desire to save the original kitchen cabinets meant that she had to angle her new KitchenAid range in the corner. She installed a pot filler faucet from Rohl over the cooktop, which saves her steps and time. She also added open shelves. The original glass-fronted cabinets were painted a soft shade of grey, for a "furnished" effect.



Susan wanted a claw-foot tub for herself. The bathroom for this room had no bathtub. Her solution: Install one in a corner of the bedroom. The tub she found is vintage. The interior glaze was fine, and she freshened the outside with a coat of paint.

Note: When retrofitting a vintage fixture such as a cast-iron bathtub, check first to make sure the foundation and the floor can handle the weight.



Susan's vintage fabrics are her signature. The living room window seat is a hand-rolled mattress; the tufting is fabric circles, not buttons.



Roman shades are made of homespun. French ticking becomes cushions.



Note: Susan learned how to make hand-rolled mattresses on one of her trips to France. The trick is sheep's wool stuffed in the casing by hand. "I have a 400-pound bale of wool in my garage," she says, laughing.



"I finally have room to host family and friends for dinner," says Susan. A blue-painted bookkeeping cupboard holds Susan's tableware and linens. Twin end chairs are slipcovered in homespun French linen sheets that have been dyed a persimmon colour.



The tall glass-fronted cabinet is original to the kitchen. Susan ripped up two layers of linoleum, then painted the existing wood floor in grey bordered with bone. She replaced glass sliding doors with French doors and sidelights, and replaced the window over the sink with a casement version. The table is a 1910 French laundry-folding table with a zinc top.



Text: Pamela Abrahams
photo credit: Frances Janisch