Save the Date?

You know how you get "Save the Date" cards sometimes for really special occasions? Well, I really, really ,really want to share my friend, Leslie's, wonderful hill country house. So, coming soon..............another great house! Not exactly "save the date" - how about "check back soon"? Maybe, just maybe, this weekend!

Friday Afternoon Amusement

This is too funny and so much fun. I learned this little trick from Mary at Little Red House.
I don't even like this picture anymore, but of course I am too impulsive to wait for a better one. Since this photo was taken I have changed slipcovers, moved chairs, re-arranged table tops, changed the painting above the mantel, and of course, tried to edit out a few things.........my weakness, I know.

At any rate, I am not technically talented and this was so easy on Flicker - go visit Mary to get the exact link. You, too, can be on the cover of a magazine! Have fun!!

Country Home, take me home...........

One of the things I have ranted about in past posts has been the lack of personality or soul in many of the beautiful houses we see in magazines these days. There has been much discussion and expression of different viewpoints regarding why we study design books and magazines - what pleasure we get, what education, what inspiration, etc. One thing I know for sure is that the house I am going to share with you now is full of soul. It is a reflection of the precious, talented person who decorates it. She is not into the latest trends, although she has been known to "need" to freshen up her fabrics on a whim, or re-arrange a room at midnight - but she is true to what she loves, she knows what she likes, and her home shows that completely.

While wandering through the hills outside of Fredericksburg, you might come upon this idyllic scene - a mail box on a country road, overlooking fields of oak trees and springtime fields of flowers.This mail box sits right across the road from the simple country entrance to........

my friend's house, about 8 miles outside of town, in the lone star state!

The drive up the gravel road is slow and peaceful, winding through the oaks, with views all around of the hills and valleys surrounding her classic hill country home, built of native limestone and stucco.

Barbara and her husband, Wayne, have lived in the hill country for about 13 years. They bought some acreage, built their home, and have gradually added more charming features to their property like this little potting shed and garden area inside the picket fence.

Friends and family come to visit, stay in the sweet guest house and actually sit on those benches and roast marshmallows , or swing in the tire swing, or just chat under the stars......slowing down from the fast pace of their city lives.

The front door as well as the entire porch reflect Barbara's love of old things. When she designed this house , she had collected old doors for the entire house, interior and exterior. All of them had various shades of old paint . Most of the time the paint was original and part of the charm and reason for the choice. Barbara challenged her builder with different sized doors, which of course, called for customizing the openings for each of those doors. They add a ton of character to the house.

The front door has a beautiful creamy wash on it that is perfect with the texture and feel of the stucco and limestone.

The porch is full of treasures like old garden statuary, wicker, twig tables, old iron work,

faux bois planters, and beautiful blooming plants.............

I love visiting Barbara's house when it has been a while since I was there last. I am always sure to find the entry hall newly arranged with wonderful antiques - lots of different color variations (although blue is a favorite) and texture, and things arranged in perfect vignettes. Here are just a few of the things she collects and uses with such charm - old painted baskets, old textiles, especially hooked rugs, old books and wonderful antique tables with old paint. Notice her clever use of the old blue shutters and old window with OLD, yes, OLD mirror. If the word OLD is getting redundant, then so be it. If it is something Barbara loves, chances are good that it is antique, or at the very least has a worn, soft patina to it.

When you walk into her house, the dining room is to the right and the living room to the left of the entry hall.

Barbara was an antique dealer for years in Dallas. She had a shop in the Knox/Henderson area when we met. She set up at the Round Top shows and the well known Dolly Johnson show in Ft. Worth for many years. I met her when I was a customer, as well as a young dealer with a space at the MEWS in Dallas the first year or so it was open.

If you are a true antique lover/collector, you know how the disease can take over and all of a sudden you have no more space in your home and you are having to find storage for your treasures, or you must begin selling - to support you habit, so to speak.

Long story short, Barbara and I both moved to Fredericksburg, (coincidentally)became close friends, and have continued to buy and sell from each other over the years. We have been known to buy back things we sold to each other! Sick, we know, but so much fun.

So, over the years, both of our tastes have grown, changed, broadened - Barbara has been able to remain true to her real loves, though, and has been much better at remaining focused on how she pulls her house together with her favorites. We refer to "focus" as the F word - she has it and I don't! Well, I think I am getting better, but I struggle with it all the time. If you have seen pictures of my house, you know what I am referring to. I love too many things - Barbara does too, but she is more disciplined than I when it comes to decorating her own house.

I have been trying to steal that WELCOME hooked rug from her for years. It used to be in the entry hall.........see what I mean - she moved it, probably to trick me! She has an incredible collection of OLD stone fruit. This time I emphasize OLD because there are a lot of reproductions out there these days. If you like stone fruit and don't care if it is old, then it doesn't matter. However, some of us only want the vintage or antique and unfortunately there are those who misrepresent their merchandise........and there are some darn good copies being made!

Too bad I didn't get a closer shot of what is in her (fabulously painted, old) pie safe. We could see what is in her design library. Maybe you can read the titles by clicking on the photo and enlarging it.

Here she has a collection of beautiful tole trays and yet another sweet painted side table.

The day I shot these photos Barbara was having a luncheon at her house. She had set up a temporary table (to the right in the photo) in addition to her dining table and had both tables covered in tablecloths. When I arrived she was out in her yard (this is the truth) picking the wildflowers for the centerpieces - which would be, of course, fabulous old painted baskets filled with perfect, country flowers!

When she designed her house, Barbara intentionally created the open shelves you see between her dining room and her kitchen for her collection of antique baskets. She has more baskets in shelves along the sides of the doorway entering the dining room. These shelves are one of my favorite features of her house.

Just a few of the things I covet in this room are the quilt, the corner cabinet (yes, old original paint, old cabinet, bought specifically for this corner in this house!) , the sideboard, and the bird house on top of the corner cabinet. (Yes, that is almost everything in the room!) The unfortunate thing is that she offered the bird house to me when she found it, and I foolishly turned it down! It would have been fabulous with my tramp art...........my mistake.

Kindred spirits, she and I are drawn to all sorts of things , often for no rhyme or reason - they just speak to us. Here is a collection of iron deer from Germany - probably made around 1900. I am not sure about Barbara, but I know my attraction to deer (in a decorative sense) has grown since we moved to the hill country (and I am not talking about the dead ones hanging on the walls in my house - those would be my husband's). They are overpopulated, unfortunately, but are still a beautiful part of the hill country landscape.

In another old pie safe, nestled against a stack of old homespun blankets, there is the little bit of funky that Barbara slips in now and then - maybe just to be sweet to her weird and un-focused friend, Ann.

I found this mosaic hand in Santa Fe at Doodlets. My sister in law, Tanya, gave me a horseshoe made by the same artist - covered in tiny beads with the word "HOME" beaded along the bottom. I treasure it.

This little heart in a hand just had to go to my dear, sweet friend, Barbara, who I love and have learned so much from over the years.

Thanks, Barbara, for letting me show the blog world just a peek inside your wonderful, warm, and charming home.

It's that TIME thing again...........

A classic hill country house if there ever was one! This is my friend Barbara's home. I intend to do a full post on it as soon as I sit for more than 5 minutes! Several very kind people have emailed or commented and asked where I have been. I am flattered to have been missed!

I am not sure who I am yet in the blogging world. I think I want to be a writer and post long informative stories with great photos, spending hours at my computer putting together interesting design and art related articles. However, the time factor seems to be my downfall. I love the occasional quick blurbs of other design bloggers who sometimes pen great, detailed posts and other times just a fast, fun photo and fact or two. I guess I am an "all or nothing" girl, and that applies to everything I do - so..... I have been distracted by life and here are a few of the places I have been!
I spent the last two weeks of May in Florence, Italy. I went with three friends to take an art class . We spent mornings in class and afternoons exploring Florence. We toured so many fabulous museums and galleries - too many to mention here. I intend to post more photos and information, again, when time allows. We saw incredible art like the fresco above.............
and beautiful ancient paintings on buildings every where we looked.
We took a walk across the Ponte Vecchio and a lovely look down the Arno River......
to the piazza and buildings surrounding the Duomo........
to quaint little side streets.......... We took a quick train trip to Rome for the weekend and had the world's best tour of the city. I think we saw a week's worth of sights in one day!
We made an unexpected stop on our whirlwind tour of Rome at an outdoor market............beautiful flowers and vegetables of all sorts!
We saw most of the incredible historical places, including............
a visit to the catacombes where Christians were buried............I have lots more to show and tell about Rome at a later date!
............and back to our favorite little grocery market in Florence. The owner is uncovering her goods after an afternoon shower.
June was filled with end of school year activities and preparation for my daughters to go to camp in North Carolina. One is working as a counselor all summer and the other attends for the month of July.
This is a great country house under construction outside of Cashiers, North Carolina. I love the air and the mountains here - it was glorious!

Today I am off to visit my brother and his wife who just had twins last week! I will definitely not be anywhere close to a computer for a few days. I plan to hold babies, change diapers, wash dishes, grocery shop, do laundry....whatever I can to help.

Thanks again to those of you who noticed my absence!

Hello.....is anyone home?

Usually, when I get a new issue of one of my favorite design magazines, my heart beats a little faster, and if I allow myself a quick flip through the pages, I get really excited when I spot a house or room that sings to me......I can't wait to sit down and really enjoy the magazine, cover to cover, reading and studying every feature.

Recently, however, when I got the May-June issue of Veranda, (and please note here, I LOVE Veranda, and don't remember feeling this way before) I actually felt disappointed, and then actually, well.....sad, truly, sad. (I know, weird....... if you are reading this and you don't suffer the same design disease that I have.)

This particular issue is filled with exquisite design, beautiful rooms in gorgeous settings, all created by excellent, well known designers. Somehow, though, they seem empty to me this month. I don't feel any soul or personality in the houses I see.
This room, designed by the fabulous William Diamond and Anthony Baratta, is a child's room in a beautiful Cape Cod beach house. It is colorful and delightful, creative and clever, but who lives here? Not that toys and books have to be scattered about, but who is the little person who gets to sleep in this fun boat?!

Just today I read about Rose Tarlow over at Habitually Chic.
Rose's book, The Private House, is one of my absolutely favorite design books - one of my design bibles, if you will! I have read it cover to cover and refer to it often when I get scattered and off track, which I do easily.

Habitually Chic quotes Rose - "There are those who spend lifetimes in houses that have nothing to do with who they really are. They may be perfectly designed, yet if they fail to reflect the personalities of the people who live in them, the very essence of intimacy is missing, and this absence is disturbingly visible."

That is how I feel with the houses in this issue - to paraphrase "....the absence of intimacy is disturbingly visible"

Now, granted, the story in Veranda is about how a husband surprised his wife with a re-do of their beach home, working with the two designers they know and trust. (Oh yeah, I'd take that surprise - no, on second thought, I wouldn't, I would have to be involved!) They love the water and the wife collects sailors' valentines. I am not saying the house doesn't reflect "the personalities of the people who live there" - I just can't FEEL it.

Forgive the redundancy, but here is another quote by Rose Tarlow that nails what I am trying to express:

"A house is what we design and decorate to suit an image of ourselves, and a home is what we establish by actually living there. To be at home in our house is ultimately the reward of all the effort and thought we put into that most private process of decorating".


This room, in a Charleston home, is exquisite. Designed by Deborah T. Lipner, it is gorgeous. I love the color of the walls, the lamps and the peek through the window to wonderful, old blue shutters, but it looks like a stage set to me - a very perfect stage set! It reminds me of a room that Joni would love to live in - only hers would be filled with books and art and treasures that reflect who she and her family are.

Is it just me? I love all sorts of design, and can appreciate the off beat, the classic and the finest of furnishings and art............maybe I am just a little "off" this week, but this issue just didn't nourish my soul like most do. What do you think?

Hot Off the Press.......Almost!!

A while ago, I wrote about a local shop in Fredericksburg called red.

Created and managed by my good friends, the Moore girls, (Carolyn and very talented daughters, Nikki and Sam), the store has evolved over the last year. While it is a fun and whimsical place to pick up a great gift or a new pillow if one needs a decorating fix, it has also become a wonderful place to buy serious furnishings - good upholstered pieces, classic chairs and sofas, dining tables and beds.

In addition, the unusual or quirky vintage piece makes the visitor smile, and adds interest to a room. These are often finds from the great Texas antique shopping excursions the girls go on. The store is a happy place to visit, with the ever present smile of sweet, creative display talent, Theresa, greeting me when I stop by for a visit to see what's new!

Designers and homeowners come in to order rooms full for new homes in the area. (Did I mention the hill country is booming with new construction and renovation?!)

On another note, but definitely related to this story, Fredericksburg has been known for many years for it's abundance of charming bed & breakfast accommodations. Carolyn built a sweet cottage next door to her house years ago - in fact, friends of mine stayed there even before we moved here and Carolyn and I became friends! The cottage has been published several times in various home decorating magazines, and has taken on a new look in the last year as Carolyn has grown as a designer and store manager, as well as b&b hostess. Abby's will be recognized soon in a national magazine and I am here to share the news !

Abby's will be featured in the next Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion and here is a preview of the article. I am afraid we will all have to wait for the magazine to hit the news stands to actually read the fine print, but what a great feature it promises to be!

For the full scoop, go to www.redinfred.blogspot.com and read Nikki's comments on the whole event.

Way to go red!! Puttin' Fred Patch on the map once again!!

Tropical Wedding Bouquet

Anna of Absolutely Beautiful Things inspired me to share this photo with you. She has some lovely bouquet shots on her recent blog posts.

It has been a wild month here at hill country house with no time for posting. The highlight of the past weeks, however, was a trip to Costa Rica for a dear friend's wedding. It was the stuff of dreams; full of fabulous food, fun, laughter, good conversation, all climaxing with a beautiful wedding on the beach at sunset last Saturday evening.

The Four Seasons on Papagayo Peninsula did a glorious job of making the arrangements and taking care of our group of 45 for three absolutely perfect days. My daughter articulated it perfectly when she said "Mommy, you know we really did live a fantasy for three days". Re-entry into real life has been a challenge this week!

Here is the bouquet that my friend carried as she walked through the trees to meet her husband to be under an arch covered entirely of more tropical flowers. Exquisite.

New Slips, New Bed!

A while back I mentioned that I was going to get new slipcovers made for my jumbo wing chairs. They have moved from house to house with us. They are too big and often awkward to place, but oh so comfy for pulling my legs up in and snuggling in by the fire with a good book, or a good glass of wine. They were one of the first pieces of furniture my husband and I bought together, and I have one friend who reminds me fondly of the days when we would sit in "the chairs", sip wine and talk for hours while our girls played - only on Friday afternoons, of course! (ignore the random items in the dining room - I was in the middle of playing with my pillows, furniture, etc. when I snapped this photo!)


So, inspired by Joni's post about Mimmi O'Connell, who often uses lots of casual fabrics like ticking, I designed new slip covers for two sofas and the two chairs using a blue ticking. I love ticking and the way that it mixes with so many styles - country, contemporary, Southwestern,and more.

However, the chairs have ended up in the bedroom, and the red leather chairs from the bedroom have landed in the living room. The scale of the big chairs fits the bedroom better, and while I would eventually like the look of a sea grass rug and all ticking in one room, this will suit us just fine for now.



Meanwhile, I had been intending to do a post on a wonderful store here in town called Villa Texas. They have great gifts, tableware,linens, and all things Italian. Much to my dismay, and on the other hand, quite fortunately for me, they have recently decided to downsize and move to a smaller space.

Consequently, they have had an incredible sale going on! I fell in love with this custom designed iron bed several months ago, but just hadn't made the big decision to go for it, financially speaking. Well, good thing I waited, because it was on sale for 40% off - need I say more?

Obviously I need to re-think the art above the bed - either that or remove the giant picture hooks still in the wall!

I do think that in the future, and in the new house that I hope to design,(more on that soon) I will want to have linens just a little bit dressier -maybe some linen, some matalesse? What do you think?

Shopping in Fredericksburg - red in fred!!

One of my favorite stops when I have the pleasure of shopping our main street is red, a fresh new face on the block. My good friend, Carolyn, manages the store and is the creative genius behind a lot of the store's new, trend setting style. She has a talented staff and is fortunate to also get to work with her two daughters on many projects. Check out the website for more information on these talented women and on the store.

red carries a lot of great new home accessories, dining and occasional tables, chairs, as well as upholstered furniture. Remember, we are a small town, and in the past it was necessary to travel to to San Antonio or Austin to find a variety of design sources.

So, one of the things that is now available here is that anyone, not just designers, can come in and choose a sofa or chair and then choose from a vast assortment of fabrics to custom design their own piece. Of course, designers come in, too, and the staff is happy to meet their needs as well as those of their clients. While the store has a contemporary feel, many of the upholstered pieces can be designed in either a traditional or contemporary style, depending on the fabric chosen.

Carolyn has a long history designing and working for the famous Homestead stores and still consults and occasionally works with Carol Bolton of Homestead and EJ Victor fame. This is a small town and creativity runs rampant here. While the look is completely different from Homestead, and the intent is to be different and fresh, I still see regular local design customers shopping at both stores! It is all about creativity, style, new ideas, and some tried and true ones, too.

red has loads of new, modern pillows, bedding, lighting and accessories, throwing in all kinds of funky, vintage goods, creating a lively mix!

Love the hour glasses and the great zebra pillows behind them.

My weakness - anything faux bois - these are slender little vases of china or porcelain - delicate, and just lovely.

I want the lamp and the mirrored chest beside the chair! Oh, and you can throw in the leopard pillow too! Love it with that blue mixed in the spots!

Don't miss the fabulous limestone walls as you are looking at everything else. This is one of the great old historic buildings in Fredericksburg. It was restored for the store on the ground floor and a residence an the second floor. It is one of the prettiest buildings in town.

Oops....... Carolyn was happy that a mirror had just sold before I took this shot, but sorry for the bare spot above the shelf - that's okay, there is still plenty to drool over. Notice all of the great lighting scattered about the store - some modern and some vintage.

A beautiful old chest with a great display of blue items, new and old, and great hanging lights above - so pretty.

Couldn't you just curl up in this big cozy chair for a snooze - the pillows are appliqued with fun, bright fabrics.
Too funny and too cute! The big cushions are made by Fat Boy and the background pieces are old carnival cut outs for photo ops!!

An assortment of goodies and one very cool lamp. The art work above is actually a torn paper collage by Nikki Moore.

Visit red next time you are in the hill country or check out their website and give them a call if you see something you can't live without! I will be back with more shopping in Fredericksburg soon.