Inside a 1,170-Square-Foot Orlando Home With Shabby Chic Style and DIY Storage

Carol of The Polka Dot Closet shares her downtown Orlando home in this guest tour. Her 1,170-square-foot house combines pale colors, floral fabrics, estate-sale finds, and storage she built herself. The photographs and first-person story below are Carol’s.

A downtown charmer on a quiet brick street

The real estate listing called it a downtown charmer, although the blue toilets and sinks needed some work. After living in the Orlando suburbs, I bought this house seven years before this tour. I was already spending much of my time downtown for concerts, Magic basketball games, plays, festivals, and restaurants.

The house sits on a quiet brick street, a short walk from downtown. Built in 1984, it was the newest house in the neighborhood. At 1,170 square feet, it isn’t big.

Shabby chic without the clutter

The front door opens into the living room. I love shabby chic decorating, but I don’t like a lot of clutter, so I call my style minimalist shabby.

The photograph over the fireplace came from the estate sale of a 94-year-old photographer. Its back is covered with stamps from exhibitions around the world. It cost me $1.

White furniture and floral upholstery carry through into the dining area.

Kitchen cabinets and a homemade craft room

The kitchen cabinets were open at the top, so I added the upper cabinets myself.

My sewing and craft room is my happy room. I love using power tools and built the counters, shelves, and desk.

The slat wall holds baskets and hooks that I can rearrange. Keeping supplies in view makes it easy to find and reach what I need.

The fabric closet keeps folded fabrics together on shelves. There is more about the arrangement in my Polka Dot linen closet tour.

The blue bathroom, before and after

This bathroom project took me three weeks. I did everything myself except carry the blue toilet to the curb.

Here is the bathroom before:

And here it is afterward, with a white vanity and fixtures and green floral walls:

I removed the hall bathroom’s medicine cabinet, framed the opening, and added vintage finds.

A floral bedroom and a guest room that doubles as an office

Martin made himself comfortable on my bed.

The guest room also serves as an office and leads out to the backyard. I made the daybed for $7.49; the details are in my daybed project.

Billie was relaxing on the floor during the photographs.

I put the saying above my desk the week I stopped working. It describes the joy of looking forward to each day and having time for the things I once only dreamed of doing.

A backyard retreat, with downtown nearby

The brick patio has an outdoor dining table, and a curved path leads through a leafy arbor.

I love being able to visit the farmers market on weekends. At the time of this tour, I was also planning to host my son’s November wedding rehearsal dinner at the deli around the corner.