If you need a push to visit fleamarkets, Abbey Hendrickson's house will do the trick. The grad student fills her home with found collections (chairs, pencils, rubber duckies...), proving she has an eye for diamonds in the rough. Now the mother of a ten-month-old, Abbey makes thrifting a family affair. "My husband and I lug Emmit around," she says. "All the thrift store folks know him by name."

Where did you get all your incredible chairs?
Most are from thrift stores and craigslist, but I stole the black Marcel Breuer chair from my parents. My best friend gave me the Eames rocker as a baby shower gift; she had gotten a two-for-one deal.
Any tips for shopping on craigslist?
I look up my area and in a 100-mile radius. I do daily searches for "midcentury furniture," and my best find from craigslist was when I searched for "George Mulhauser" [pictured above]. I had seen it in Amy Butler's home.
Do you know her?
Oh, my gosh, no. I wish! It was in her book or a magazine.
Where did you find these dining chairs?
A church basement tag sale. They were $1 each.
Were you flipping out?
I didn't realize that they were anything special. I just liked the orange and blue color combination, so I lugged them home. Then we were moving them a few months ago, and I turned them over and realized they were Haywood Wakefield. I had had no idea.
What do you guys make for dinner?
We have a rotation: homemade pizza, vegetarian, soup. My husband is the cook.
That's so funny! So many of the house tour people say their husbands do the cooking.
My husband loves cooking, so more power to him.
Do you actually sit in all the chairs you have?
Definitely. We don't ever want to have a piece of furniture that Emmitt can't crawl on or that if he spits up on it, we freak out.
I love how you grouped frames in the corner of your living room. I've never seen anything like that.
One of our favorite artists, Barry McGee, does that, so we ripped him off. It's funny, a lot of people think it's one art piece by the same person, but it's really my way of displaying our friends' artwork and our guilty etsy purchases.
What a great silver lamp.
My parents found it at an estate-sale auction, which are big around here.
Are your parents collectors, too?
Yes, they always took us to fleamarkets. We didn't have much money but my parents cared about how our home looked. I got my aesthetic influence from them.
Is their house similar to yours?
Their house is eclectic but a bit more traditional. My mom rotates their collections, such as her collection of Santa Clauses.
Do you rotate your collections, too?
Yes, my rubber ducks are in a closet right now.

Some moms say that the Eames rocker doesn't have enough neck support. How's yours?
My only complaint about breastfeeding there is that the fiberglass gets cold! We threw a blanket on it.
Where did you find the lovely portrait for Emmit's nursery?
When I worked in my college art department, I discovered it abandoned there.
What a happy accident! What about the pencils?
I've had that collection since second grade. I'm such a pack rat! I moved them in a ziplock bag from house to house. Finally, I decided to glue them to a board and hang them on the wall.
Does Emmit play with these toy animals or are they just for decor?
When we're changing his diaper, he'll hold onto a giraffe or cow and stay still.
Animals from Target.
Where did you find this blanket?
I made it when I was pregnant. I was a crafting machine! The mobile was another pregnant craft. I cut pieces from felt and embroidered them. They're based on vintage rattles. When he was really little, he couldn't care less, but now he likes to spin them around.
Tell us about this bird sculpture in your bedroom.
I had squirreled the birds away with our Christmas ornaments, but when we were taking a walk this summer, I grabbed a branch and decided to put them on it.
Is there an end goal for your decor?
No, we move and change it all the time. We like to keep things interesting. Most of all, our home must feel comfortable. We're low-key and want people to feel good here.
For more about Abbey, check out her blog or flickr site. See all past Cookie home tours here.