We are home! Come on in!

Ahhhh. There is NOTHING better than leaving 102 degrees (with yucky humidity) in Houston for cooler days in Seattle.  When we landed on Saturday, it was a rainy 51 degrees and completely freezing (comparitively speaking of course).  So, after a quick trip to buy JACKETS, we came home and settled back in for two months of summer fun!  There are so many projects that I can't wait to tackle.  But here's a glimpse for now...

Circa 1908

I can't wait until it's warm enough to repaint the porch and freshen

everything up with flowers!!

Our living room... I've got big plans for this coffee table but for now, it's still doing the job. Oh, and the TV is tucked away when we are in Houston. It looks so much nicer hidden away behind those armoire doors!

When we bought this house it was a complete gut-job. But the fireplace was enough to make me want to stay.

Sofie the cat has claimed her spot on the sofa

another view

My favorite armoire, purchased for $200 at a San Francisco estate sale 8 years ago

I have a thing for vintage suitcases. 

They are particularly useful for storing Christmas ornaments!

Pocket doors mark the entrance to our dining room

We boxed in the radiators to keep little fingers away. 

The bonus is that kitty has extra lounging space!

An old shabby dresser works perfectly for wine & spirits when guests are here

I'm a huge fan of gallery walls for hanging photos. 

I love the uniformity!

Welcome to our kitchen~ 

we took it down to the studs a few years ago and here's the result

We opted for store bought cabinetry over custom and I love how it turned out!

another view

The breakfast area~ where we spend most of our time

Needs a tablecloth, don't ya think? Maria from Dreamy Whites is having a contest
right now to win a lovely tablecloth & napkin set from Cabbages & Roses...
check it out when you are done here!

Fresh peonies straight from our little garden

I found the phone hidden away in the garage when we moved in

Now let's head upstairs! 

I won this very cool canvas just last week from a giveaway offered by My Sweet Savannah. The artist Melissa, can be found at Momma Rhyne Designs. She did this custom canvas just for us, with our wedding date.

Here's Betsy's room. Another complete re-do! 

There are two giant closets so I removed the doors from one to create a special little hideaway just for her

An old measuring tape finds new life as a curtain tie-back

the reading nook

special treasures

Raggedy Anne & Andy from my husband's childhood home

We ordered this decal years ago from France, and it hangs above the second closet in her room

another shot of the secret hideaway. I painted the wall inside with chalkboard paint and then used white paint to create a "frame"

she loves it in here..

Every girl needs some sparkle!

and onto the master bedroom

Our garden shed, which is completely covered in white lights..

a perfect backdrop for evening get togethers!

our little backyard "green" space

That's it, that's all.

Thanks for visiting!

Please excuse my drool.

Hello friends!

Today I stumbled upon the most wonderful home (and blog!).  I just love Brooke's design style.. and her bedroom~ oh her bedroom! Wait until you see it! She is one super talented interior designer who effortlessly mixes old and new. Check out her blog Velvet & Linen for more inspiration.  But in the meantime, join me and drool over the photos below..

February 16, 2009

our home

Several of you have asked to see the inside of our home. 
Although I have done several posts about parts of our home, 
I have never given you a tour in a single post. So here it is...

The stacked cement pillars as well as the pathway are made up 
of the broken concrete pieces that once were our old driveway. 
I found the vintage gate and the pair of urns at a the 
Santa Monica Flea Market.

Our little green dutch door allows us to open the door 
without losing our pups. It also works well on Halloween!

Welcome to my home! It is a casual place. 
We built it 7 years ago, but Steve and I wanted it to feel 
like an old beach cottage. We incorporated many vintage 
architectural pieces in the design including these old columns 
and the blue corbels. Everyone in the family has their own "locker" 
for their stuff by the front door.

There are actually 3 of these Murano glass ceiling fixtures 
that illuminate the downstairs. I found them on 1st dibs when 
Michael Bruno first started his wonderful site. 
We have no recessed ceiling lights, so our whole home 
is lit with ceiling fixtures, wall sconces and table lamps.

The living room is in the front of our house. It used to be all white, 
but I wanted it to feel cozier. I warmed up the space by putting 
grass cloth on the walls and painting the back of the bookshelves 
Vert de Terre by Farrow and Ball. 
The color matches the green stripes in my Bennison drapery fabric. 
The bound sisal carpet  with a small hook rug on top also added 
warmth and texture. 

Here is a close up of my Bennison pillows. 
I found the painting on the wall at a flea market. I just love her.  
I have several English bamboo pieces in my home, 
like this book book case. 

 

Behind the living room is my dining room. 

Here is the another view of the dining room. 
As you can see, our home has a very open floor plan. 
It works well for a home this size and makes our home feel nice and airy.

The big mirror on the wall was once a church window, and the 
ornate corbel came from an old home in New Orleans. 
I found both elements at a flea market when we were building our home.

My kitchen is behind my dining room. We lit the kitchen with 
school house fixtures and old holophane pendant lights. 
The ceiling is covered with tin ceiling tiles painted white. 
Windows behind the cabinets allow the light to illuminate my pink 
depression glass. Cups and plates are displayed on open shelves.

The counter tops are honed Carerra marble, and the backsplash is 
white subway tiles.

We paneled the refrigerator and used a Victorian screen door for the pantry.

The island is painted a light green and has a butcher block top. 
We inset Carerra marble around the island sink to keep the wood away 
from the water. My little desk is to the left, but it's always so messy 
that it never gets into the pictures!

We used all green glass knobs and pulls on the cabinets.

I love my little skirted farmhouse sink.

 

Across from the kitchen is our family room. 
My globe collection sits above the TV. 
My 1920'a carnival chalk dog collection found a home in the shelves 
by the window. 

 

A little computer desk sits in a nook to the right of the TV.

The window seat to the left lifts up for game storage.

 

This enclosed garden room used to be my back porch.  
We added all of the windows about a year after we built our home 
when we realized it was too chilly to eat outside most of the time. 
The farm table is huge and allows the kids to have tons of friends 
over for dinner.

This cozy seating area is at the other end of the garden room. 
It is a great place to sit and watch the kids in the pool or just read a book. 
I keep dreaming of putting  a little desk in here. I would love to work 
and look out into the garden.

In case you were curious, this is what the back of my home looked like 
before we enclosed the porch.

Time to go upstairs...

 

I recently did a post about my wallpapered  laundry room, 
but I will include a couple of images here as well since it sits at the top 
of the stairs behind a pair of french doors with frosted glass.

 

Like the kitchen, the counter top is Carerra marble and the 
backsplash is white subway tiles. All of our faucets in the entire house 
are from Newport Brass.

 

For Leila, Steve designed a little bed nook with shelves for her books 
and stuffed animals. We found some corbels to put in the openings.  
I bought the lighting on E-bay. 
We used lined match stick blinds in all of the kids' rooms.

 

Leila's bathroom was in the wallpaper post as well, 
but it is too cute not to include in the tour.

 

Sorry, the boys' rooms were too messy for photos....

My bedroom is my favorite room in the house. 
It really does feel as if you are up in a treehouse. I found all of the rugs 
at flea markets, and all of the chandeliers were either purchased at 
flea market or on Ebay. It was a wonderful way to furnish my home, 
but an impossible way to furnish anyone else's home. 
Because Steve and I are early risers, I was able to use unlined white linen 
to cover all of the windows. 

 

I found the mantle on Ebay as well 
(again, something I could never do for a client). 
The doors lead out to a small balcony.

 

My pretty little antique vanity sits on this side of my bedroom. 
The wall is covered with Steve's beautiful drawings.

 

Thank you for stopping by!

 

xo

Brooke

Wishing you all..

a very happy Mother's Day! 

It has been a relaxing day here.

just perfect in fact

Tom and Betsy are over at the pottery painting studio

 creating something special

I'll have to wait 7 days to see what it is!

But she also made me this, with the help of a very kind babysitter

who found plenty of old stickers lying around our craft closet

Happy, Happy Mother's Day to all you great MOMS out there,

including my very own!!!