Eight years ago, Anna Calderone bought her first piece of vintage fabric. And then she bought and bought some more, stowing away her pristine swatches for another day. That day came when she purchased a house in Stillwater, an old southern-Minnesota river town she found enchanting upon first visiting it. She knew she had found the perfect setting for all the things she loves - funky printed textiles, classic rattan, mid-century American pottery, even myriad kitsch. Now, everything is in its place.

Anna settled into her house and began opening her fabric-filled bags. To her delight, the yardages and curtain panels seemed tailor-made for the rooms. Her living room is now a forum for pink and chartreuse, served up in vintage fabrics, including nubbin bark cloth, cotton ticking, and sculpted mohair. The metallic thread woven into the side chairs revs up the glamour.



The crew Anna hired included a painter as obsessed with colour as she and "a fabricator extraordinaire" able to take away bags of her yardage, trims, and tear sheets and return with finished projects. "My expert seamstress would return it all assembled - I was thrilled with every result," Anna says. Here, a repurposed vintage tablecloth takes on a new role as a window topper.



Once the fabrics and paint had been chosen for room schemes, Anna embarked on a shopping spree for furniture and accessories. Romantic mid-century airbrushed prints by artists deJonge, Turner, and Bernard are used throughout the house.



When the stair carpet was ripped up, Anna discovered a red painted finish underneath - a surprisingly perfect complement to many of the surrounding textiles.



Anna packs pattern into the dining room, starting with an elegantly draped table. She fit her Windsor-style chairs with skirted seat pads for an added sense of warmth and softness in the room and relied on the curtains for a burst of colour. Anna loves the quirky baby scale and uses it to hold rolled place settings when she entertains.



Anna relies upon particular objects, colours, and textures to get the vintage look she likes. A corner of a guest bedroom reflects her passion for colour, here a soothing combination of candy pink and minty green.



Turquoise was a popular hue in the '50s. When redesigning the kitchen, Anna took cues from old '50s wares such as Pyrex bowls and printed tablecloths. She diverted from her softer palette and paired turquoise with red.



In the guest room, Anna livens a pair of dark carved oak beds with a tumble of colourful pillows she created from her stash of fabrics. She updated the vintage floral theme by mixing in Ralph Lauren bedding and new lampshades from Anthropologie, a regular source for Anna for vintage-inspired accents.