Eclectic Decor – This is my hobby.

I met Alacia at an event I attended for work. She complimented my necklace, I loved her dress, and the rest is thrift sister history.

We instantly bonded over our mutual love for secondhand treasures, and when I mentioned my home tour channel, she loved the idea and said I could come to her house.

I’ll admit that walking up to her home on filming day I didn’t expect to be as blown away as I was when she opened the door.

I hadn’t asked for any photos in advance (wild move, I know) so I truly didn’t know what to expect.

But Alacia was so stylish when I met her, and her overall aura was giving chic, so I just went with my gut.

I was confident she had great, if not fabulous, taste.

Luckily for both of us I was right — can you imagine the awkwardness of me trying to navigate the exit if not?! 😉

I walked into a home full of pure whimsy. Moody whimsy — can I coin that?

Alacia’s Boca Raton home is layered in dark woods, warm oranges, cozy patterns, and vintage collections.

When she initially remodeled her space, she thought she’d go with a modern, clean aesthetic and used light, bright paint and materials.

But as she started to collect decor she quickly realized that the place needed to be drenched in old things.

She jokes that a friend of hers comes to the house and truly doesn’t get it — it’s giving grandma.

Grandma or not, it’s her, from the layered tchotchkes to the woodland creatures depicted in paintings and perched on shelves.

When we first met, Alacia was nearing completion of her clinical social work program.

She pursued this career because she’s passionate about helping people, specifically those in recovery. She loves seeing the transformation and healing that happens in the recovery process.

Helping people thrive is her passion in life, far above her passion for thrifting and vintage collecting (she curates and sells clothing and accessories on the side, btw).

Her interest in the power of transformation, though, seems to show up in her home, too — a personal sanctuary that feels like an outward reflection of who she is.

She transformed everything about her home, from the flooring to the paint to the configuration of the rooms.

Watch Alacia’s home tour to take a journey into the moody whimsy I fell in love with.

Some of the best pieces in Liz Schoettel’s Lake Worth Beach home were found at Goodwill or on the side of the road.

Liz and her family discovered the cozy, artsy, coastal town of Lake Worth Beach during the pandemic, when they were looking to escape the Chicago suburbs to sunny South Florida and discovered almost everywhere else was booked up.

This town wasn’t their first choice but quickly became one of their favorite places in the world.

They rented a house on M street and completely fell in love with the community — the neighborly feel, proximity to the water, delicious food, and iconic Lake Worth Beach cottages.

Liz was bidding on houses on their flight back home.

She wound up making offers on at least 20 homes, flying back and forth from Chicago only to lose out again and again before finding her current house in a stunning historic neighborhood.

The yard was overgrown, the fences were falling down, the a/c and roof needed replacing, and the property just hadn’t been loved in a long time.

Liz and her friend Alicia, a former coworker from her retail days in New York, collaborated on redesigning and styling the house into the beautiful jewel box it is today.

They drove a truck around to different thrift stores and on Facebook Marketplace runs — sometimes finding pieces on the side of the road.

Liz refurbished and repainted, giving each piece new life and creating high end designs with materials that were anything but.

The house has become so beloved by Liz’s entire family that her daughter chose to get married in Florida and wedding festivities were hosted in the backyard.

Artifacts from that special day can be found throughout the house, many created by Liz (did I mention she’s an artist?) — the watercolor guest list hangs in a bedroom, a massive painted flamingo in the garage, and little pink touches here and there were all part of the celebration.

This Lake Worth Beach house tells several stories: of Liz and Alicia’s friendship, of a daughter’s wedding, and of an escape from daily life in Chicago to a tropical dream.

I love that this home represents Liz’s journey from knowing nothing about my community to becoming a Lake Worth Beach resident. It’s a place where friendships have deepened, family milestones are celebrated, and new roots are planted.

There are many more stories for that house to come.