Waverley whimsy: an enviable out-of-town apartment

Second-hand everything and a modern-meets-farmhouse tie Lindsay McMullen's suburban apartment together.

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Waverley whimsy: an enviable out-of-town apartment (11)

MATT MCMULLEN

"My friends call me Lindsay Kijiji because I'm so good at it."

They're not wrong. Lindsay McMullen's sunny one-bedroom flat off Rocky Lake Drive wouldn't have its distinctively Home-Polish-esque pop if it weren't for her second-hand finds. She scored the city-meets-burbs spot after watching her friends—the house's owners—completely gut the one-time man cave (complete with well-worn recliners) and turn the lower floor of their split-level into a perfect bachelorette pad.

"They were like, 'Lindsay your style would be perfect for this place,'" says McMullen. And now she can't imagine living anywhere else.

Waverley whimsy: an enviable out-of-town apartment

MATT MCMULLEN

"For me, I love the idea of living a little bit outside of the city. My style is like, mid-century modern-meets-farmhouse. Chip and Joanna Gaines kind of," she says of the HGTV power-couple that helped to inspire her taste.

The space's exposed beams, frosted French doors, wood stove and sparkling new kitchen set the tone for McMullen's airy yet rustic aesthetic, while gifts from friends like a vintage typewriter, a live-edge coffee table and a set of kitchen chairs help complement her carefully hunted down collection of furniture.But she says the thrifty way she outfitted her first solo living space has become her claim to fame, crediting Frenchy's, Salvation Army, Value Village and, of course, Kijiji as the shopping destinations she had the most luck with. McMullen got everything from her Papasan-style chair to her cowhide rug to the baskets she's potted her plants in for a deal.

Waverley whimsy: an enviable out-of-town apartment (8)

MATT MCMULLEN

But she says the thrifty way she outfitted her first solo living space has become her claim to fame, crediting Frenchy's, Salvation Army, Value Village and, of course, Kijiji as the shopping destinations she had the most luck with. McMullen got everything from her Papasan-style chair to her cowhide rug to the baskets she's potted her plants in for a deal.

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Waverley whimsy: an enviable out-of-town apartment (12)

"I would look at Kijiji every day and see what would come up," says McMullen, whose only brand new splurge was her couch (which she bought from Wayfair). "In my bedroom there's a hutch, it's very mid-century with pointed legs on the bottom. When I found it, it was bright blue. I bought it for 10 bucks, painted it and bought new knobs and it's good as new." She's got a backstory like this for most of her apartment's stand-out pieces.

"I'm a single, 25-year-old female but I'm choosing to live that kind of granny life," she says of her beautiful, pre-loved place on the outskirts of town. "But really it's only a 25-minute drive to the city."