The Kelly McMaster Home

BY MARY MICHAELS | PHOTOS BY JULIE PRAIRIE PHOTOGRAPHY

If you look at the Merriam Webster definition of junk, you find phrases like secondhand, worn, or discarded article… something of little meaning, worth, or significance…and old iron, glass, paper, or other waste that may be used again in some form.

Kelly McMaster would probably say she subscribes more to that last one, as she has discovered great joy in discovering “junk” that can be used again in some form.

McMaster has already had quite the journey in life, starting out as a Minnesota girl who went to college in Orange City, Iowa, then spent 35 years in California before moving to Sioux Falls just 14 months ago. She was trained in social work, she worked in sales and marketing for an assisted living, she experienced a divorce and found herself trying to navigate as a single mom of two sons… and you might say that junk saved her life.

One of her first experiences was when she was living in a “white-walled apartment” out in California. She happened to see a blog about cottage living and saw pictures of rooms filled with color, character and vintage décor, and McMaster says she realized, “I have things like that!”

She approached the building owner about being able to paint the walls and, after getting the go-ahead, she immediately went for colors like red and blue and apple green and started the transformation process. McMaster had lost her mom to cancer around this time, and she found that pouring herself into her decorating and finding fun items from junk shops and flea markets was therapeutic. And, she says, she wrote to the blogger to thank her for that inspiration.

“I had written to her thanking her for giving me that first confidence boost to get up and get going again, knowing my mom wouldn’t want me just sitting around,” McMaster says. “Then, one day, I got a huge surprise when that blogger wrote me back,” McMaster says. “She was so glad that I had wrote to her, and she asked if I’d share some before and after photos with her.”

After living in that apartment for several years, McMaster received a “tip” on a beach house that was going to be available for rent. It was her son who also lived in California that talked her into it, reminding her she had always wanted to live near the beach.

“You think of California, and you think of living on the beach,” she says. “But in Laguna, living on the beach isn’t always affordable. This house had been family owned for years, it was paid for, and they didn’t need to charge a high rent. It never even got listed, because they relied on word-of-mouth to find the right renter.”

She knew she wanted to do some work to the place, but the bigger concern was the amount of space – or lack thereof. The house was just 450 square feet. Obviously, the first question was, “Where do I put everything?”

What McMaster said she learned was that “stuff is just stuff,” and sometimes living where you want to be is more important than what’s actually inside the house. So, she took time to sort through and keep what she really loved, knowing that the California climate actually allowed her to do a makeover of the yard and extend the living space from inside to outside.

Once she had moved in and began to transform the little beach house into her own style, she started an Instagram account where she posted before and after pictures.

“I don’t really know how all of these people found me, but they did,” she laughs. “They would comment on how cute something was or a color combination they liked. It was crazy.”

That casual Instagram fun led to a magazine shoot for Cottages and Bungalows magazine…and a few more magazine features over the next few years. When a current job McMaster was in just wasn’t feeding her soul anymore, she quit – without a real plan – and just started an online “junk shop” to sell unique things to people who loved the flea market decorating style as much as she had come to love it. Then came another call from Cottages and Bungalows – this time with a job offer.

“It started with a few hours helping them plan issues, and then I was assigned stories and even scouting houses for them. My hours quickly doubled.”

When her dad became seriously ill and was moved to a hospital in Sioux Falls, McMaster spent a lot of time flying back and forth. Then, with her two siblings, it was time to make end-of-life decisions for their dad.

“It was stressful,” she says. “We had already lost our mom, and now our dad. The magazine had asked me to head up the holiday issue, which was huge. And then, I found out my little beach house was going to be sold.

McMaster’s brother was in Minnesota, her sister lived just north of Sioux Falls, and her son and daughter-in-law were in the Minneapolis area. And the question from them was, “Why don’t you move back out here?”

So, her sister flew out to California and drove back with her to her new Midwest home…arriving in Sioux Falls just in time for winter.

McMaster found a place to rent in the All Saints Neighborhood – a lower level unit in a large early 20th century house that had likely been divided into its four separate living spaces during war time. The house itself still has all of the great characteristics from the early 1900s, such as the beautiful covered porch out front, hard wood floors and gorgeous woodwork inside.

Certainly, the climate was a big change for McMaster, causing her to wonder a little bit about the decision she made. But then, she experienced a couple of other bumps in the road. While working on redecorating her new home, she broke her foot. The COVID-19 pandemic hit, causing a furlough from her job with the magazine.

Once again, though, she channeled her parents’ spirit to pick herself back up knowing she needed to get back on track. She was now living near Touchmark at All Saints, so she walked over one day to see if they had job opportunities, since she had worked in that field before. As she was preparing her resume and getting ready to

find a new opportunity, a call came from Cottages and Bungalows.

“It was pretty unbelievable,” McMaster says. “It was my former boss saying they were able to bring me back on and, not only that, she wanted me to be assistant editor and head up two separate holiday publications. I went from sitting on my couch feeling sad and not wanting to do anything, to being more than busy and re-invigorated to get out there to hunt for more flea market finds.”

McMaster took to Instagram again, asking people in the Sioux Falls for recommendations on where to find good junk, and she quickly had multiple replies and invitations to places to come explore. What she had brought with her from California, she explains, was “little.”

“I was in that 450 square foot place,” she says, “and everything I had fit just right in that small place. So, I had small chairs, small tables. But now, I had this bigger space with tall ceilings. I needed things like a couch, drapes, lamps and a dining room table.”

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During one of her excursions to a local spot, she saw an old table just sitting out in the yard. On closer inspection, she discovered it was a vintage folding wallpaper table. She went in and asked the business owner about the table and a possible selling price, expecting for an answer in the hundreds. His response? Five dollars. After discovering the table, even folded, wouldn’t fit in her vehicle, McMaster learned about South Dakota hospitality.

“There was another guy there who happened to live somewhat near me and said he would deliver it,” she says. “I couldn’t believe it. Not only that, on the day he brought it over, he carried it in and helped me set it up. I went to pay him the five dollars, and he wasn’t going to take it. I finally convinced him to let me pay him three.”

All it took was a little bit of cleaning and sealing the wood top with a coat of clear wax to give the table new life. She added repainted white chairs around the table, along with a long bench that she painted white and recovered with a red and white checked tablecloth.

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Tall shutters that she updated with some blue paint stand behind an old, yellow metal shelving unit that is filled with eclectic dishes and glassware. The corner table in the dining room had belonged to her grandma and it’s decorated with a few of the many horse-related accessories in the house that include pictures or statues or even memorabilia from horse shows.

“I have ‘best of show’ ribbons without even owning a horse!”

The living room features an entire wall of built-in shelves that provide the perfect place for McMaster to showcase her knick-knacks, tchotchkes and treasures – books, clocks, ceramic lady heads, coffee cans (turned into planters), old toys and a pair of roosters that came from her grandmother’s lake cabin.

“Those roosters are probably 90 years old,” McMaster says. “So much of what I have either came from my mom, my grandmother or flea markets.”

The furnishings in the room vary from a small floral chair to a larger side chair in a red and white stripe print. A more modern sofa in a neutral color provides a backdrop for colorful pillows that can be changed out with the seasons. A little white desk sits in one corner with a vintage typewriter on top. McMaster says that little desk was one of the first flea market finds she bought for herself after her divorce.

“I just love the flea market style,” she says. “I love the colors, the variety and even the imperfections that give each piece its own identity. You don’t have to stress about everything being perfect. If something has a chip? That’s okay. If paint is wearing off? So what. You have the freedom to just find things you love.”

The kitchen has a farmhouse feel with its white cupboards and butcher block countertops, along with whimsical touches like antique spice tins, an old candy scale and vintage food boxes flattened and hung on the wall. She also has her grandma’s aprons hanging on a rack.

Her space also features two bedrooms, the master bedroom and a guest room.

She refers back to that first cottage blog she read back in California for some of the inspiration for her bedroom, recalling the pictures of a room in vibrant yellow. McMaster found bright gold drapes with a pom pom border, along with bedding that incorporates a little gold along with a striped bedspread. Piles of pillows add colors, florals and plaids. An old dress form in the corner proudly displays old jewelry, more “best in show” ribbons and even a metal crown.

The guest room is also bright and cheery with a collection of embroidered and pom pom-adorned pillows on the bed and an eclectic collection of prints on the

wall from Shirley Temple and horses to an old movie poster with vintage tickets and an old Wrigley gum wrapper tucked into the frame.

Life continues to evolve and change for McMaster, who talks about this “new season” that she is now entering. There are ups and downs, she says, and it’s important to lean into the things – and the people – that you love. After 14 years of companionships, McMaster had to say goodbye to her maltipoo Molly, which still has a profound impact on her. On the “up” side, however, after covering for her boss and another person during their maternity leaves, McMaster’s boss called to ask her to take over her role as editor of the magazine.

“I have a whole new career now that all started with my love of junk, moving into that beach house and getting connected to Cottages and Bungalows just because of my casual Instagram posts,” she says. “When I was out in California, I never thought, ‘Oh, I want to be in a magazine,” or even thought I would work for a magazine. I was a social worker and felt the value of that service to others, but still, there was this longing that maybe I had a different mission in my life. But, I never saw this coming.”

Now, her work allows her the flexibility to work from anywhere. She can go visit her son and her friends in California and spend time working from there. She can travel to the Twin Cities to see her other son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Or, she can work from her couch where she can watch out the windows to the little spots she has created for birds and squirrels.

With the weather finally warming up – much appreciated for this former Californian – she can also sit out on the porch swing and watch as activity picks up in her neighborhood. She can sit there by Mr. Owl, a connection to her time in Laguna.

“When I moved to the beach house,” she says, “this old owl was sitting on top of a pole at the house. I actually felt a little sad to leave him when I was moving here to Sioux Falls, and I had mentioned that to the new owners who bought that house. One day, a box showed up here. I opened it, and there was Mr. Owl. They sent him to me!”

Whether it’s debating about a job or trying to choose a paint color for your house, McMaster believes in the power of listening to your inner voice and going with your heart.

“There is where you are and where you want to be, and there’s a space between the two. I have learned you can’t loiter in that gap. You have to keep moving, do what you love and do what you feel called to do.”

If you’d like to keep up with McMaster’s flea market finds, you can follow @ cottagefleabythesea on Instagram.