Have you voted yet?

If you haven't seen this room in the last few weeks, then you haven't been reading the design blogs! Several of my favorites, including Mrs. Blandings, Visual Vamp, and others have been encouraging us all to go to the apartment therapy website and vote for our favorite window design at Bloomingdale's flagship store in New York City. What a fun way to get through the January doldrums.

I am such a color girl and have an attraction to so many different things, that this room really did catch my eye. It is just plain fun. It has layer upon layer of high and low, expensive and not so expensive, design items.

I also believe in bloggers supporting other bloggers, so count me in when it comes to voting for Eddie Ross. Everything I have ever read about this guy tells me he is the nicest person who is most generous with his skill and knowledge.

So, hurry over to the website and vote for Eddie. Tomorrow is the last day! I got an email from Eddie this afternoon and have copied it to my page below. The link to vote in his email won't actually work here as this is just copied over, but go to this link to vote, now!

Be Still My Heart

It will not come as a surprise to you that I am mad for this house. It belongs to Kevin and Jane McGarry of Ft. Worth, Texas. Jane is an anchorwoman for NBC-DFW, Channel 5. She and Ft. Worth designer Ken Blasingame found they were sympatico and between his skill and their mutual taste,  they created a beautiful home full of texture, color and soul.

To read the entire article go here to the recent D Magazine issue.

Fabulous green doors, Spanish tiles, great lantern, sweet dog.....

Oh yes, Mexican pottery.....Gorky Gonzales (www.gorkypottery.com) and those sconces!

 

Oh my........this for a girl who just wanted to add a little color to my kitchen.

 More Mexican pottery - vintage , too!

Gorgeous - every detail.........

I wish I could run on over for a margarita on the back porch this afternoon!!

All Photos from D Magazine, photographer Aimee Herring

Final Word on Painting My Kitchen

My original post about painting my kitchen cabinets elicited many comments from readers. I was delighted to read so many differing opinions. No where else could one get so many passionate arguments, both for and against, than in this wonderful world of design lovers and bloggers.  Thank you all!

After much consideration and a fighting a very strong urge to DO SOMETHING, I have decided to take the advice of some: sit tight, put my efforts  towards selling my house, and save my time and money for our next house.

I heard everything from "PAINT! PAINT!PAINT ! and never look back!"

to a serious warning that antique long leaf pine is no longer available and it would pretty much be a crime to paint it.

Then,  I moved on to the possibility of painting my floors and wrote a post about that here.

I had one blogging friend ask me, most emphatically, "Ann, what can you be thinking??!!"

Another dear friend reached across the table one day at lunch and took my hand and said "I looked at your blog last night......Ann, are you okay?"

Do I sound crazy? Don't answer that.

 I am restless and wanting a change................a new creative endeavor. We plan to design and build a smaller, more contemporary house when we sell this one. We are staying here in Fredericksburg and hope to find a smaller parcel of land just outside of town.

Patience is my challenge, patience.

One thing I do know and probably knew all along, but just buried my wisdom somewhere deep inside so I would not have to acknowledge it, is this:

The materials used to build this Texas hill country house are to be respected. Indigenous limestone, antique long leaf pine, (everywhere! oh... did I already say that?), old pine floors, some old beaded board ceilings and some beamed ceilings, large, wide porches,  a standing seam metal roof  - they are all a vital part of the hill country style, both historically and aesthetically.

All these things make this house WHO it is, so to speak. I keep wanting to change it and make it more my house and my design, but what I must do is love it for what it is, and hope that someone else will come along who loves it, as it is, as well.

Meanwhile, just one last thought and then I must move on from this obsession! In the latest

 Traditional Home magazine, one of the top twenty young designers to watch is Emily Miller from Dallas. While perusing her website I came across this fabulous kitchen, with, of course, PAINTED FLOORS!! Isn't the subtle, aged pattern great!?

I know, I know, maybe in my next house.

Photo from Emily Miller Interiors website

Painted Floors

I posted a month or so ago about my kitchen dilemma - to paint or not to paint, that was the question I put out there.  Unlike some of the "big bloggers", I do not get tons and tons of comments every time I post. That is fine - I am regional (except when I travel and can't help myself) ,  and pretty random in my topics. I blog because I love the process and the sharing with like minded souls, so I don't really worry too much about how many comments I get each time.

It is fun to see what topics people respond to and are passionate about, though.

So, with the kitchen post, I certainly found out how to get more comments - ask people for advice! I loved each and every comment and have seriously considered all suggestions. So here it is - 2010 and I am still debating over the kitchen and what to do with it.

I think I had better tell you the whole truth now.

Our house is for FOR SALE...... so I am not sure this is the best time to make such a major change. With the way my life goes, I would paint the kitchen some fabulously wild color combination like this.............

and just the almost right buyer would come along and say "oh, if only she hadn't painted all that beautiful antique long leaf pine" and the deal would fall through.

I thought about a safe, but still lovely, color like this ...... (I have the black counter tops)

but I am not sure the flow is right with my dining room which looks like this..............

with the blues and greens and aged beaded board ceiling.........

Sooooo, my next thought is, painted floors! I love them and here are some of my favorites.

Love this large design like a hex sign from a barn in the northeast.

Big stripes would be fun.

 

Of course, painted floors might not be to someone's liking, either. I have mixed feelings about making changes to my house. Sometimes I think it doesn't matter - that we should do what we love and when the time comes for someone else to live here, they can do what they love.

Other times I worry about the whole "resale factor" and it really goes against who I am. Some people can live in a fairly vanilla house, or one that is safely decorated, but it is so not me. I am constantly moving furniture and accessories around and wanting to change things. I sell things out of my house and at antique shows, and then come home with new things.

I think about space and how we use it, and want to create rooms that are warm and functional and make me happy to live in them.  I think a home is a huge reflection of the people who live there. I know I am stating the obvious to anyone who is reading this, but there are people out there - I know them - who just want a nice, clean house to live in, but their passions lie elsewhere. I am not them.

So, do I follow my heart, and paint those floors or cabinets, or just the island, whatever - have some fun with it all,  or sit tight and wait for that person to come along who adores ALL the old pine and rock and antique, scraped dark floors and doesn't have that fundamental need for color?

Then I can design my own house and make it just like I want it - maybe something like this from Jon Pankratz, AIA......

 

or this, from my new friend and another favorite architect, Reagan George, AIA........

yes, another hill country house, but smaller and and tucked into the woods somewhere, designed just

 perfectly for my art and treasures.

Or maybe something like this...........

 old and quaint and distinctly old German Fredericksburg..........

so, my dilemma continues. Of course, comments and opinions are always welcome!!

All photos either from House Beautiful or from my collected files. I apologize that I do not have photographer credits.

Who Knew? Terrain.............I want to go there!

Photos from terrain website unless otherwise noted

 

I may be the last to know, but a friend mentioned going to a wonderful new shop, 

terrain, a new concept of the Urban Outfitters/Anthropologie group of stores, while she was visiting her daughter in D.C. recently.  I believe her exact words were" Ann, you would just die there!"

I have never even heard of this wonderful place! So, I did what we all do when we want to get information these days - went straight to my computer and did a search.

 Apparently this wonderful shopping mecca is a new concept for the company and is called Terrain at Styer's.  From the photos it looks like a charming place to visit, to wander through for hours, and probably to fill a shopping bag!!

Terrain sells similar housewares you might find at Anthropologie and also carries lots of garden related items.  The shop itself is set in an antique greenhouse on acreage in Concordville, PA, just outside of Philadelphia.

I found several sites for information about the new shopping brand.  One great source is a fun blog called Shelter Pop. Visit for all kinds of scoop in the fashion and design world.

What I would give for not only the dishes here, but the incredible faux bois pot they sit in!

I stumbled across these beautiful photos while searching the web. I contacted the ever so friendly Laura Novak  to ask permission to share them with you here.  Check out her blog for more great photography and interesting features.

Hmmm...........trying to think of a reason I need to Philadelphia soon............... meanwhile, visit the website for tons more amazing photographs. What a teaser - I hope they decide to open in the southwest one day soon!!

Skye and Henry's - where vintage and modern meet!

What is it they say about good intentions? I meant to post about Skye and Henry's well before Christmas! This new, but not really new, shop on Main Street in Fredericksburg, is owned by my friend, Margo.

Margo formerly owned Threads, but when an opportunity came along to move down the street into a space next to an antique shop, she took it.

Along with the move, she decided to change the name of her shop to reflect her style and inventory. Threads was originally a fabric shop exclusively, but with her love of all things antique, as well as her design talent, Margo expanded her inventory and services.

 Skye and Henry's is named after Margo's grandchildren, and reflects a love of vintage decorative items as well as some new, fresh items. Organic bedding,  custom iron beds, antique furniture, soaps, candles, books and more - all combined with her great fabric selection - make this a great source for designers as well as anyone looking for a special gift.

As always, click on my photos for much more detail!! 

I love the old painting tacked to the wall and the sweet nightstand in old turquoise paint.

 

 Margo had a lovely open house one morning during the holiday season. Of course, she had wonderful Christmas decorations and they are included in many of my photos.

One of the highlights of my visit to the shop that morning was meeting one of my blog readers, and we live in the same neighborhood!

She emailed me about my blog and told me that she, too, has a house in Fredericksburg. One email led to another and we discovered we live less than a mile from each other! We met at Margo's Christmas breakfast and had so much fun finally putting faces to our email conversations! Her name is Debbie and I so look forward to getting to know each other better in 2010. One of the first things we plan to do is visit each other's homes - not really a surprise, is it?

Turns out, she is also a friend of Margo's AND sells her own line of coffee in the shop!!  The Yellow Rooster Coffee Company is one of many of Debbie's projects and the coffee is really good. Of course, I had to bring home a pound of coffee beans!

You may remember from this post that Margo has a background at Homestead. She carries a lot of similar fabrics that the eponymous store once had, but her shop definitely has it's own twist.

If you find yourself in Fredericksburg, or even close by in Austin or anywhere in the Texas hill country, I suggest you take the time to visit this charming shop. Every time I visit, Margo has something I want to bring home!

A Christmas Table......times two!

We have an annual Christmas dinner with a few close friends at our house a week or so before Christmas day.  The gathering began a few years ago (how many years? I lose track these days...) as an informal get together  of just a few couples who have been our friends since we moved here 15 years ago. We wanted it to be adults only as we have spent lots of time with with these families over the years with kids and this one time we wanted to have a quiet, grown up dinner with good, uninterrupted conversation.

Over time we have begun to include the kids again as many are in college or have graduated from college. So, the no kids rule has been stretched a bit - we still do not invite the little ones, and it is great fun catching up with what all the older kids - actually young adults -  are doing now. Fortunately they actually seem to enjoy us, too! However, the numbers have grown and what was once about 8 people (just 4 couples) is now almost 20.

Each year the menu is different - sometimes more complicated than others. The point has always been to keep it simple and make the focus on friendship and time together.  The meal can vary from chili and cornbread with margaritas and beer, to seafood gumbo and specialty drinks. Knowing exactly how many people is often a challenge as different families have different things going on each year, and some children come home with friends or significant others

(whom, we of course, include!) So, we add two folding tables to our dining table, which normally seats 10. The most we have fit around our make do gigantic table is 20, and this year we had 19. I pull out different sets of dishes and do my best to put together a pretty table without a lot of planning or preparation. This year I found beautiful orange roses and used them along with some greenery and candles. The top picture is the table for the party. The dinner was on the 23rd so I left it decorated for the next night as well!

On Christmas Eve we had some of our very closest friends over for dinner. My friend, Alice, has had her brother visit for Christmas the last few years, so he has become part of our small, intimate Christmas Eve tradition. I was up bright and early on Christmas Eve to continue the clean up from the night before, and re-set the table for that night's dinner. I picked up these fun dessert plates from Anthropologie and wanted to vary the setting a bit from the night before. I love how they look with the roses too! The glasses were turned upside down as I set the table about 9:00 that morning and with kids and dogs and cats running through the house all day, I didn't want anyone to find any strange things floating in their drinks later that night!

Both nights were very sweet and great fun and I am still enjoying my orange roses. I will clear the table later this weekend and look forward to another Christmas dinner, or two,  in 2010, in the blink of an eye, I am sure!

Vintage Christmas Monday

I have collected these vintage Christmas boxes for years. Sometimes I stack them on the coffee table, sometimes under my feather tree, sometimes mixed in with my Santa collection. I love them and still hunt for them at antique shows and flea markets, trying to find different sizes and patterns to mix with the ones I have.

Merry Christmas and a very happy and healthy new year to everyone!

Vintage Christmas

I stumbled upon a great blogger named Joan who writes  anything goes here . Joan is featuring  Vintage Christmas Mondays and if you like old Christmas things, you will love her blog and the others you will find through it.

 This is my German feather tree trimmed in vintage ornaments with old Christmas boxes, a few old Santas and bottle brush trees piled around the bottom. The tree is not antique, although I have bought and sold some antique ones over the years. I bought this one new when we moved here 14 years ago. We lived in a tiny farmhouse, and given we had just moved to this sweet town of German heritage, I thought it fitting to have a small German feather tree for our little house, to celebrate our first Christmas here.

This photo is from last year.  Sometimes I repeat what I did the year before with my collections, and some years I create  a new mix. I haven't figured out what I want to do this year.  I love seeing what others are doing for inspiration, though, and maybe this week's blog reading will get me going!

Colorful Hill Country Restoration

I belong to an antique study group of women who are so knowledgeable about antiques and so talented in their design aesthetic, that I am always humbled after one of our gatherings. Some of them are purists about their antiques - they only buy and live with early, early American antiques - I'm talking 17th, 18th century, and sometimes, into the mid 19th century gets too new for them! Some love early American, but mix it up a bit with 19th and 20th century items.

Then.... there is me - boy, do I mix it up! I love very old antiques, and am excited when I get to see the really good, early antique pieces, but give me a great piece of old Mexican or Italian pottery, an old tramp art box, an African American quilt from the 1970s (maybe from Gee's Bend! ) with great graphic design, or a fresh new contemporary painting, and I am equally as delighted.

I had the pleasure of having lunch with this group the other day. We take turns hosting and this time we got to see the fruits of much labor!

My friends, Jan and Bill, are two of the most talented people when it comes to old home restoration. Bill can build just about anything, is very erudite about antiques, old buildings and materials.  Jan has an amazing, intuitive eye for color, be it paint or textiles, antique or new, as well as being very well informed about antiques.

Here are the wonderful old front doors on their current home. They have been working on this property for a number of years, gradually adding their special touch to each room and building.

 

  The two story part of the house is original. They added the one story addition, which is very historically typical in our part of the country.

 

 The property is classic old German hill country with random buildings and barns scattered here and there............the restored home is in the distance.

 

 

Indigenous stone and standing seam metal roofs are classic.

 Upon entering the main house, I walked straight through the entry to the back of the kitchen - mesmerized by the incredible wall of shelves, drawers, and folky cut out cubbyholes,  filling the entire space.

 

  

 Jan and Bill have a wonderful collection of pewter, among many other intriguing collections.

 

Everywhere I turned there was another another unique piece of furniture, built in to meet it's function. This multi drawer piece is tucked in a back corner of the kitchen.

 

This is a favorite feature of mine.  An opening above the built in refrigerator , it showcases a wonderful basket,  flanked on both sides by old seltzer bottles in netting, and the spot of light makes it a wonderful focal.

 Here she is - sweet Jan, the best hostess!

We were seated in the kitchen and in the dining room, shown in my last post.

 Here is a view of the dining room looking towards the front door. You can also see the old windows and a bit of the front entry.

 Jan told me she knew she didn't want a wall between the dining room and the living room, but she didn't want it to be open either. Isn't this the most creative solution to her dilemma? The old paint finish on this architectural piece is so right, too - it has been scraped, but all of the layers of paint look to be a gorgeous original  putty color.

Jan's love of fine American antiques is probably most evident in the living room. Her portraits, stacked potato stamped baskets,  and corner cupboard are examples of the treasures she and Bill have acquired over the years.

We all love antique German feather trees, and they are even better chock full of old ornaments. Our topic of study this time was antique ornaments, and as usual, this group did not disappoint.

 The colors used in this room are wonderful! This old apothecary is the best shade of salmon. Love it!

I love the blue paint inside the cabinet and the collection of old bottles -  and hanging the wreath full of vintage ornaments just completes it for this holiday season!

If you have read this far, and have not grown tired of my narration, you will understand why only a house nut would sit back on the sofa and take a picture of it while everyone else is busy chatting!  Don't you love the beamed ceiling? The walls and ceiling have this yummy plaster texture and creamy finish.

 

The fireplace is not finished yet, but the mantel and side panels are the best of old, original paint.  There is one of a pair of stunning needlepoint chairs!

 

 One more view of this beautiful combination of color and texture.

 

Turning back into the dining room,  notice more great paint on this old step back cupboard. 

 

 Glancing from the dining table, a wonderful area just off the kitchen and the dining room, I saw yet another example of great original paint on the old dry sink - of course, chock full of antique pantry boxes and antique molds, with lots of holiday greenery. Of course, I am crazy about the old hooked rug, too. Love that cherry color.

 

 Closer view - don't you love the lamb?

 

 I loved this window peeking into the kitchen from this spot.

 

Last but not least, upstairs, just off the master bedroom, is a precious room for the grandchildren. Called "Monkey Business" most appropriately!

Thank you, Jan and Bill, for allowing me to share your house. What a treat to have been a guest there and I can't wait to see what you do next!!