Details I love: Antique Shutters

The next detail I am exploring as I search for charming ways to update my 1970's mountain house is the addition of antique shutters to the pantry in the kitchen. 

As I explained in my last post here, the bones of the kitchen will stay the same - the cabinetry, the black appliances and the basic floor plan and layout. I will be adding hardwood floors, a plank ceiling with old beams, recessed lighting and new pantry doors and shelving. I am also planning to paint the cabinets a soft gray similar to the picture above.

Can you see it?

{Mountain House Project, Before: Pantry Doors}

I am always very shy about showing before pictures especially when I don't have the after pictures to give you that eureka moment...but here is a picture of the bi-fold pantry doors that we will be replacing with old shutters. My fabulous sister is en route to Atlanta as we speak, on her way to the Scott Show, with measurements in hand! I am dying with anticipation!

We are also planning to add new shelving to the pantry's interior. It currently has old wire shelving. The new look will have modern, clean lines with a wide, flat stile like the image above and rolling baskets for paper towels and basics.

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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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The Language of Doors - Knock, Knock

I have always had a fascination with dutch doors and fell hard for this beautiful side entry decorated for the holidays by Nashville resident Jeannette Whitson. She has recently opened a new online store specializing in garden inspired antiques - Garden Variety Design.

You'll love her tips and advise...

to see more beautiful photographs and learn more visit: Style Blueprint.

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Wabi-Sabi What?

I have heard the term Wabi-Sabi used to describe a certain bohemian design style but never really understood what the philosophy embraced. I was doing a little research on the photo above from Axel Vervoordt's farmhouse in the Swiss Alps and learned a view things that I found interesting.

Axel Vervoordt, based in Antwerp, Belgium, is respected the world over as an antiquarian and interior designer. He began collecting antiques as a teenager with money loaned to him by his father, a sophisticated man with sophisticated friends, all of whom influenced Axel from an early age. His well-honed eye is drawn to objects from all cultures, continents, and time periods. It’s the mix he is after, as well as authenticity.

I really never knew that wabi-sabi was part of my own philosophy until I read this:

"Pared down to its barest essence, wabi-sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection and profundity in nature, of accepting the natural cycle of growth, decay, and death. It’s simple, slow, and uncluttered – and it reveres authenticity above all. Wabi-sabi is flea markets, not warehouse stores; aged wood, not Pergo; rice paper, not glass. It celebrates cracks and crevices and all the other marks that time, weather, and loving use leave behind."

{via} 

I have noticed over the years that antique-lovers also seem to embrace the organic. I love the simple beauty found in nature and never really understood how the two passions were related....

 maybe the wabi-sabi philosophy explains a few things.

I actually don't know if I could live this simply but it has a certain 'je ne said quoi?' that attracts me.

Fall is barely making a presence here in the South yet I can't wait to build a fire.

This might be my favorite shot of all - I love those rustic shutters and the idea of having an al fresco meal, with wine of course, slope-side under the eaves.

This post must seen strange coming from me right on the heels of yesterday's post of modern, edited black and white spaces. The two posts actually have a lot in common. Wabi-sabi embraces living a simpler, more edited lifestyle. I think the black and white interiors from yesterday were the perfect backdrop to display timeworn antiques, rich with patina, from a well-loved life. It was that black and white, edited environment that turned those imperfections into art.

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Antiques and Design Center: Sneak Peek

{French Market Baskets from Sleepy Hollow Antiques}

Are you planning to attend the High Point Furniture Market?

Just a reminder that the High Point Furniture Market is a great place to source Antiques. I will be setting up this market in the Antique and Design Center in Market Square this year and since I live just twenty minutes from High Point, I drove over on Friday and took a few pictures to entice you to stop by. Lots of dealers were moving in on Friday, and I loved being the first one to see all the amazing covey coming in the door. Please stop by and say hello. The doors open on Friday, April 20th at 9:00 AM.

Any decorators working on the design of an investment banker's office? This hand carved, rustic gray painted bull would make an exceptional decorative object.

{Carved Wooden Bull probably from an antique nativity scene from Tuesdays on the Boulevard}

The Antique and Design Center is filled with unusual things with great color, original paint and personality, like this old door from La Donna Antiques and Interiors.

Here's a sneak peek from our space {above} and the next two photos {below}. You can expect to find beautiful french and continental antiques in a pale palette with lots of gorgeous old paint, luxe handmade Fortuny pillows, french baskets with the original enamel bin numbers, french oyster baskets, chandeliers and an eclectic mix of decorative smalls. I'll be sharing a space with my sister, Tracy Collins Antiques and Interiors, Chris Phillips from Isle Antiques and Kathy Purser Antiques. The "after" pictures, coming soon, should showcase our loot in a better light. Sometimes I choose not to show the "before" view because I want everything to look perfect.

I couldn't wait to show you this coastal display from Karen Luisana Antiques. These soft antique Dhurry rugs remind me of the movie "Somethings Gotta' Give."

Wouldn't this piece make a great island in a beach cottage?

I'll add the dealer name for this vignette when I learn more about them during set-up. I loved this display of ulitarian farm pieces turned into graphic art.

I loved these chairs from A. Tyner Antiques.

The bird sconces {above} will be for sale in my both. They are antique 'Maison Bagues' from France and the birds are made from rock crystal.

A little vignette of some of my smalls for market.

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Collecting

"Collecting allows your love of design to grow over decades. By its very nature it can become a constant in your life while you develop your sense of style... Collections - whether books, art, seashells, or ceramics - help to define the personality of the room and tell the story of who you are, where you have been, and what tickles your fancy. And these cherished items will move effortlessly with you from home to home, like a loyal best friend."

Bryan Batt  - Big, Easy Style: Creating Rooms You Love to Live In   

My friend Lucie sends me inspiring things from time to time. She is an interior designer and furniture designer and subscribes to the daily Interior design Quote of the Day. She sent me this quote and I thought you might enjoy it as well. This stunning picture of a French pastry table and collection of silver food and blown glass cheese domes found me today while browsing Pinterest.

And this gorgeous display screams texture and a love for beautiful old things.

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