Happy Halloween!

above and below, jeffey bilhuber




above, anne coyles interiors


miles redd, via peak of chic


miles redd


whitehaven interior design


wallace bryan interior design, photo by erica george dines


billy baldwin

In honor of the Pink month of October, interior photos of the Pink Palace

The pink month of October is winding down, but my last post of the month is in honor of all the brave women who face breast cancer, the doctors and nurses who treat women with breast cancer and the researchers who search for a cure. I give you the interiors of the Pink Palace, previously posted about here, designed by Neel Reid, Philip Shutze and the firm of Hentz, Reid and Adler. This is the Calhoun house in Atlanta, also known as Trygveson.

At right are doors in the living room, also called the ballroom.


detail from the entrance hall or loggia


Allyn Cox mural from the entrance hall


settee below the mural in the entrance hall


main stair detail in the entrance hall


the living room, also called the ballroom


detail from the living room


another set of doors in the living room


the library


magnificent library ceiling designed by Neel Reid and Philip Shutze


dining room mantel and plasterwork medallion of Michelangelo


view of the mantel with chandelier in the dining room


an upstairs room over the porch - I love the coloration of the plaster

This wonderful house is for sale, listed by Beacham and Co.


Have a great weekend everyone!

all photos by Whitehaven

What I'm reading right now....

I'm a book person. I don't have a Kindle. In know they are great for traveling, but I want to hold a book in my hands and turn the pages. I have stacks of books by my bed and magazines everywhere. It doesn't always have to be about the words - I like pictures of houses and interiors and cookbooks too! I recently read about these three books on other blogs and ordered them right away - and they are all wonderful! I recommend them all.

You can imagine how excited I was when I heard there was a new book coming out on Billy Baldwin! And the photos are wonderful. French cooking is my favorite and I have heard that this book is very cook friendly. The third book below concerned my husband who saw it and said "Oh no, now you have an excuse to be messy." Not true - the book is about balance and not obsessing on perfect cleanliness, but having a lived in, well kept, but not perfect, house.

Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator, by Adam Lewis.





Around My French Table, by Dorie Greenspan




A Perfectly Kept House Is a Sign of a Misspent Life: How to live creatively with collections, clutter, work, kids, pets, art, etc... and stop worrying about everything being perfectly in its place, by Mary Randolf Carter



All three are available at Amazon.

Wing Chairs

Love these and the fabric! And the garden stool in between. We are installing a similar garden stool and pillows (you know how we love those!) today at a client's house. More pictures of finished projects soon!


image via cote de texas

Planning for Thanksgiving

image via eddie ross

I know - it's not even Halloween yet and I'm writing about Thanksgiving. But I'm a planner and planning makes me feel happy - and in control (false sense of it). I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year and am thinking about how to set the table. There are several schools of thought on setting holiday tables. Some folks like a very themey table, others pull out all of their best china,crystal and silver and still others go with a more muted holiday table. Which do you prefer?

Some inspiration -

http://drawingroombeautiful.blogspot.com/


image via country living


image via country living


image via eddie ross


image via everyday beautiful


images here and below via martha stewart




image via my home ideas

I know which direction I'm headed with my table...will have photos at Thanksgiving.

House of the Week

I drive by this house at least 5 times a week. But it first really came onto my radar screen as one of my favorites in 2007 when it was being renovated. We were building our house at the time and I drove by it many times to be inspired by the color, the architectural elements, and the roof. I love the color of the slate. I also love the pea gravel courtyard in the front and the welcoming, large front steps. And those arched dormers are gorgeous!!! Proportional working shutters, quoins and large bay windows complete the picture for one beautiful facade.



















I can't seem to remember who did the renovation - architect or builder. Does anyone know? Leave it in the comments if you do. It's a fabulous house!

Pretty Pictures

It's been a long week and I am out of energy and time. So instead of researching and writing I'm just posting these pictures of a beautiful New Orleans house decorated by Hal Williamson.













To read the story and see the rest of the pictures - click here.

all images via House Beautiful

Pantry Redo and Inspiration

According to my architect, I have a relatively small kitchen. It's 15x15 - I guess that's small in the world of big houses today. It seems spacious to me compared to my old kitchen. And the eating area is not included in that measurement. Anyway, he told me that when you have a smallish kitchen it's important to have a big pantry. I have a big pantry - it's 10x9. I remember when we were framing and I couldn't figure out why it was so big - felt like a waste of space. But the shelves and cabinets take up a lot of room so it feels just right now. The pantry also functions like a hallway so it's nice that it has lots of room. There is pocket door at one end and the other end opens into my office, which leads to the kitchen. The way it was originally drawn, there were cabinets on all of the walls and a counter top too. I changed that while we were building and put tall cabinets on one side (as drawn) but on the other side instead of cabinets and a counter, I put open shelving. I figured it would be easier to access and it saved a lot of money. Now I wish I had put the cabinets and counter, but I can always add those at a later date. Above is my nice tidy, pantry that I cleaned and straightened yesterday.

I think the pantry that my architect drew would have looked something like this minus the window. I wish I could have afforded this, don't you love the ladder? He drew one of those in my plans and I loved it. Maybe once my kids are out of college!

image via houzz


image via Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles, architect Brad Heppner

or this one by Stan Dixon:

image via Things That Inspire

Or this one from House Beautiful:



But I have an open shelf pantry (my choice to stay in budget on the cabinetry). According to Remodelista the key to a beautiful open shelf pantry is the storage vessels.

image via decorators choice


image via remodelista

My pantry is fantastic and I love that I have so much storage room. But with the open shelves there is the challenge of keeping everything tidy - not a strong point for my family. I had it very organized right after we moved in, but recently it has been looking awful. Below, my messy pantry:


I realized that a good solution would be to use baskets to hide the clutter and get us organized. The beauty of baskets is that you can't see the clutter inside. So off to Target I went and came home with a car full of baskets.


I kept everything in the same spot - so the kids know where to look for things - e.g. - snacks! The other benefit of having a big pantry is that people bring you things because you have room to store them. My mother and grandmother keep giving me china (which I love), so I have to go get some more china storage containers and then this project will be all wrapped up - in time for the holidays.

Overall the effect is good and now when you walk through you don't notice the clutter. In fact, it looks pretty. A good day's work!


The other side of the pantry with the tall cabinets and second frig:





I love the color of these baskets and they were reasonable too.

The pantry is also a hallway, at one end is the powder room and at the other is my office:




My office:





For good pantry organization help - go to The Simplified Bee.