Living With Antiques

Happy New Year!

Although I have not been posting a lot recently, I have been reading....

 I have been particularly inspired by many of the posts I have read regarding New Year' s resolutions. Most of the posts are more about living the life you have always dreamed of rather than getting rid of nasty habits or losing weight. I like the thought of honing in on the things that I find most important and spending more time simplifying my life and living with only the things that I find most essential.

While reading my email this morning, I clicked over to the latest issue of Lonny Magazine for a quick flip-through and discovered the enchanting home of Houston antiques dealer Kay O'Toole.

Five years ago O'Toole built her dream home in the courtyard of her Houston antiques shop, Kay O'Toole's Antiques and Eccentricities. The most amazing thing about her home is that it is just three rooms. She was inspired by a narrow, one-room deep home she once admired in the French Quarter in New Orleans. Maybe it's because I just celebrated my 50th year on earth but the idea of paring down and living with only the best and the things that I love sounds compelling.

Move over Kay...I am coming home!

But, seriously, Kay's home is such a lovely reflection of a life. Her home, filled with treasures collected over a lifetime, art from local artists and even rescued architectural elements from old Houston homes has everything that I have ever wanted - a home that feels serene and personal.

There's no doubt that there is only one home that looks like this....

The range hood is a renovated wooden altar from a 19th century french chapel.

The marble in the kitchen was rescued from a demolished Houston post office.

"Light, says O'Toole, is the ultimate luxury."

I was smitten with O'Toole's elegant bedroom the first time I saw it  {Veranda Magazine/March 2010}. I have always loved an all white bedroom!

A display from O'Toole's shop - Kay O'Toole Antiques and Eccentricities. 

Antique french garden chairs and an antique faux bois table grace the front courtyard.

A charming garden with more faux bois and a potted lemon tree in the her private garden.

Working with Murphy Mears Architects, O'Toole designed many of the architectural features around a large cache of steel windows and doors she reclaimed from a 1920's mansion being demolished in the exclusive Houston River Oaks neighborhood.

The upholstery throughout O'Toole's home are covered exclusively in Fortuny - How luxurious!

New Year's Resolution 2013

Simplify

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

Leonardo da Vinci

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