Yellow Doors and Hill Country Cottages

Before I begin this post, let me encourage you to click on any of the photos that particularly interest you. I have just run through the entire thing and it is amazing how much better you can see these cute little houses up close. I wish I knew how to show you bigger, more detailed photos, but clicking on the photo is the next best thing.

The current color trend in design just keeps popping up everywhere! I have not even had time to enjoy my new March/April Southern Accents but noticed in the table of contents, Decorating: The Color You Need Now.....Daffodil Yellow. It's funny - when I painted my daughter's nursery bright, "daffodil" yellow thirteen years ago, many people thought it was "so bright for a baby"! I have always loved bold color and used it regardless of the trends, but it is fun when something we love becomes fashionable and validated by the "design gurus"!

The photo above is the house I referred to in my last post. I drive by this house frequently and have enjoyed watching the "sprucing up" that has taken place over the last few years. I realized today that the door is not exactly the yellow that is being seen in the current design blogs and magazines, but it is a fresh twist and really great with the charcoal color of the house, black trim, and the crispness of the white fence.


This is an example of some of the old German rock houses still found in Fredericksburg. This house is in disrepair, but the story is that back in the early seventies it was quite a showplace and was featured in Southern Living magazine. It has an addition from the sixties or seventies (you can almost see it over to the right) that is really dated and needs a lot of work. The house is on the market now and someone with a great eye and lots of money to spend on it could make it a fabulous showplace again. Notice the yellow shutters - hmmmm.....maybe we are heading back to gold and avocado -- please no!


Here is another cute cottage that has been completely redone and has tons of charm. I am sorry I decided to do this post before the spring flowers bloom - maybe we will revisit in a few months! All of the houses I photographed today are in about a four or five block area. They are in the historical district of our town and I love it when people take these old cottages and re-do them rather than moving to the numerous housing developments that are sprouting up all around the hill country.


This is another really well done house. It is simple, but freshly painted and well kept. Notice the yellow shutters and great gingerbread trim.


Speaking of yellow, this has been one of my favorites in town for quite some time. It appears to be stucco or plaster and is a yummy,buttery yellow......love it.


Here is a closer shot of the first house. The photo gives the door more of a green tint that it really has, but it is definitely a greenish yellow - crisp and contemporary in feel.


Here is an example of houses being added onto and looking almost like two houses joined by a breezeway. Notice the old limestone used on the right side. This house is next to the green one with yellow shutters and gingerbread trim - actually a beautiful compound that has all been re-done. I will try to photograph it again in the spring with their lovely landscaping - hard to appreciate in February.


Another great example of a little "Sunday house" here in town. People used to have houses that they stayed in on Saturday night when the came from their ranches into town for church on Sunday - or did they stay on Sunday night? Cute and full of charm.


Talk about fun color. I love the combination of this tobacco, mustardy brown with the rosy red doors!

Finally, one of the jewels around town! This house is a fantastic example of the old houses being added on to over the years - again and again. Notice the stucco, the wood, and the German fachwork - a term referring to the building method of using the logs and plaster to creat the cabin looking walls on the right in the photo. This house always has great flowers in all the beds in the spring time - yes, I think I will definitely take another tour in a few months!