Day 822's inspiring showhouse

If you enjoy spare, Belgian- and French-inspired design, check out Canadian House & Home's Showhouse. H&H designer Lynda Reeves' guided video tours of the home are much better than my sad screen grabs!

Day 803: my dreamhouse

Mix all of this together, and you have my dreamhouse (for this week, at least).






Photos: Victoria Hagan, via Brilliant Asylum, Martha Stewart (and again), a friend, and unknown (oops!).

Day 796: less is more

Proof that sometimes less is much, much more.








See more from Domestic Architecture.

Day 670: more on Chattanooga

Wes must really love me, because he lets me drag him all over most of the towns we visit to scope out the local decorating/antiques scene. Sometimes, he enjoys himself as much as I do, which was the case at Architectural Exchange.


It's essentially a salvage shop, full of goodies from old homes and buildings just waiting for some love and refinishing and a new lease on life. Check it out:








While we were looking for Architectural Exchange, we accidentally found Dwelling, a brand-new consignment shop for the home.


It had only been open for three days when we visited, so the top level of the restored building that houses the shop was a little bare. There was some great stuff though, and we came home with a couple of framed items that we'll show you soon.


I thought the bathroom vanity was great, and was just begging for an antique venetian mirror above the concrete sink! Dwelling is so new, that I can't find an address for it -- any locals know?
Edit: 3301 Brainerd Rd.


On Sunday (after a delicious brunch at Mercatino) we hit up The Knitting Mill -- all 20,000 square feet of it. Didn't spend any money here, but definitely could have.

You all seem to love Chattanooga, too. What are your can't-miss spots for eating and shopping?

Day 635's good read

While we're on the subject of old and new neighborhoods and houses, let's talk about this article by Richard Thomas, found today on gus & other things. It talks about the shift from a style of homes with prominent front porches to that which we see more often today, where the primary outdoor space is in a more private location on the back of the house. Of course, there were social and economic reasons for the change, which Thomas is much more adept at describing than I.

I took a class my senior year at Auburn called Landscape and Culture, which discussed the impact cultural issues (war, famine, prosperity, etc.) have on art and architecture. I found it so fascinating that I almost changing my life's plan and applied to a Master's program on historic preservation at Savannah College of Art & Design.

Instead, I came to Birmingham and bought a house with a front porch that seems like a totally gratuitous move just to keep me out of the rain while walking from my car to the front door. I would love a nice, deep front porch, of course, complete with a swing for sittin' and lemonade for sippin.' How about you? Are you a front porch kind of gal (or guy), or do you prefer the privacy of a back patio or deck?

Day 633: neighborhood love

I've talked before about my love for new old houses and for Beaufort, South Carolina. The two have merged in the form of a New Urbanism community (think Seaside, Florida) in Beaufort called Habersham. The homes have the charm of the historic district, without the unpredictable plumbing and sagging floors.

But moreso than the homes, the plan for the community is what really makes Habersham (and others like it) stand out from the crowd of new developments. The goal was to "create a place built for the human scale," where people can live and work in one place. A place "of sustainable character and charm, a place that protects the present while preserving the values for future generations to come." I've been thinking a lot about this kind of lifestyle lately, and how much different it is than mine.

This led, naturally, to entirely too much time spent browsing the real estate listings in the area. Here are two of my favorites.


16 West Manor is listed at $999,000, so not exactly within our (fictional!) price range.


I actually really like the way this house is furnished, though it looks kind of unfinished. Then again, maybe it's just been cleared out in preparation for sale.

The kitchen is simple, with antique rugs on the floor and industrial-style bar stools.


The living room is pretty, but could use a bigger rug! The architectural details are appropriately subdued and I love that the trim is the same as the wall color. I'm kind of over white trim; it's very harsh.

Antique furniture looks right at home, and I love the wicker basket used as a table.

Love that lamps! And it looks like Dwell bedding.

The master bedroom is soothing and neutral. How luxurious to have a fireplace in the bedroom!

It's a little hard to tell what's on the floor in here. Any guesses? I love this bed, too. It looks like the one that Granny Smith Green spotted at Blackberry Farm. Anyone know who makes it?


I also love 12 South Eastover for its farmhouse-like charm. "The Joseph" has details that "recall building traditions of the past, with its board and batten siding and steep pitch roof." This one is definitely going into the "for building/extensive remodeling" inspiration folder.

Gorgeous porches! This one opens to the living and dining rooms.

Simple, light-filled kitchen. Some of the houses have unfortunately been outfitted with some tragic-looking tile, but not this one. Mexican ceramic tile has no place in a low country cottage!

Here are the doors to the porch, the view is looking back toward the dining space and into the kitchen.

Lovely stairwell. I love the tall baseboards and the simple molding.

And a bath tiled appropriately, I think. Again, love the molding around the doors. When can I move in?

Images courtesy of Habersham Land Company.

Oh, I almost forgot! Southern Living and MyHomeIdeas are giving away a house in Habersham. Well, maybe. The winner gets to choose among four houses, one of them being in Habersham. Click here to vote on your favorite and enter for a chance to win.

Day 591's favorite architect

Photo by Phil Mansfield for The New York Times

Several bloggers posted recently about a Greek Revival house built to look old in Dutchess County, New York (read the write-up in The New York Times and be sure to check out the slide show of interior images). Manhattan architect Gil Schafer designed his house (built in 1999) to blend in with its 150-year-old neighbors after a three-year house hunt turned up nothing but out-of-budget mansions in need of a remodel. I love this concept, and especially love that seems to be gaining popularity.

Photo from New Old House magazine

My favorite architect is Russell Versaci, whose book Creating a New Old House outlines what he calls the "Pillars of Traditional Design," a set of principles for architects and homeowners to use to create new, authentic traditional architecture.

A devout lover of old homes, his new houses are some of my all-time favorites. Especially this one, called Fall Creek Farm, in Damascus, Maryland. The main house is stone, while the addition is stucco and the guest house is clapboard, giving the impression that the house was added to over time.

In this latest book, Roots of Home, he explores the "old-world influences" that have shaped American architecture, and talks about building green with an eye to tradition.

Julie Cole Miller of Southern Accents recently asked him about his own house, and I loved what he had to say: "I live in a tiny 1740s Virginia German stone farmhouse, the original home on an old farm that now sits right on the fairway of a golf course. It’s 1,600 square feet with well-worn heart-pine floors, beamed ceilings, and cast-iron rim locks, and nothing is plumb or square. I’m in traditionalist heaven. When I moved there 10 years ago, I thought it would be a temporary roost until my fiancée and I could find a large, gracious old Southern home, or the right land on which to build. But that hasn’t happened yet, and, actually, it’s been a blessing. Our ideas of what we need and want in a house have changed a lot in the past decade."