An English Tudor Adds a Conservatory Kitchen

I adore English Tudors. I wanted so badly to live in one when I moved this last time (our ninth move!). But, we had a short window of time and none were for sale that would work with our family. We ended up buying a lovely 1930's Royal Barry Wills Center Hall Colonial. Beautiful and historic, but my heart still belongs to the Tudors.

.

A common complaint is that they are dark. Yes, the smaller windows, sloping ceilings and dark wood can make them feel dark, but I find with the right decor and some modifications they can be sunny, beautiful, and very cozy.

.

Still, I hold fast to my dream that some day I may own an English Tudor. I follow the MLS listings and am always on the watch for ideas and inspiration. So imagine my delight when I saw this new Conservatory Kitchen Addition on this wonderful 1920's Tudor by Barnes Vanze Architects. The owner, a professional chef, wanted to add light to the home and have a "summer style" kitchen. They wanted the addition to have a true garden feel. The result is a beautiful space which incorporates all the conveniences needed for a professional chef and a tremendous amount of natural light which floods into adjoining rooms.
The center island is large and great for food prep, as well as entertaining, while the host prepares the meal. It is made of antique, reclaimed chestnut and has refrigeration drawers built into it. Additionally the owners wanted a dining table in the space and a banquette seating/lounge area. Notice the professional stove and striking hood with copper accents. I also like how they used furniture with the cabinetry. Notice how some of the furniture has strong colors so it doesn't disappear in such a large space.
The iron and glass shelves were custom designed and forged especially for their space. There are no over head cabinets. Notice the detail around the window and the ceiling - spectacular! I also love the soapstone sink and gray/green cabinet color.
The actual building lot dropped off in the back so the owners were able to create a room beneath the Conservatory. The new space houses a wine cellar, bath and media room. It also allowed the owners to create a new patio/entertaining area.

.

This is excellent example of how the right addition on an older home can completely transform it. Read more about the architects and the fabulous renovation here.

An 1826 Cambridge Workman's Cottage

Cambridge is a famous historical area of Boston. Today it is the home of Harvard and MIT, with trendy shops in Harvard Square. A beautiful area along the famous Charles River. But in 1826 Cambridge was famous for glassmaking. It was one of only three areas in the US that was producing glass, competing with England, which was the prominent glass producer of the time. Glass Workers in those days were apprenticed and generally in need of housing. When my friend Leonard, mentioned the history of his house I was immediately excited to visit. Leonard's house is one of six attached Row houses, or Workman's Cottages. They are on Cambridge's Historic Preservation Registry but are not as heavily bound by the restrictions as other designated historic areas. As such, Leonard has been able to move walls and renovate in way that truly brings out the flavor of this interesting old building. In anyone else's hands this building could have been ruined, but with Leonard's thoughtful eye and talent the results are fabulous. Let's have a look!

As you walk in the front door you enter the Great Room. Walls of exposed brick run along on one side of the room. Notice the incredible original ceiling beams.

Here is a closer look at the kitchen. The windows look out to a wonderful large courtyard and brick patio which I will show below. I was brought in to help Leonard decide once and for all if we should pop out the counters and put in soapstone. We are working right now to find the perfect stone for his kitchen. It will be a fabulous improvement. Notice his lack of upper cabinets, this clever design adds to the open feel and airiness of the space.

The original fireplace and brick oven on the right are in working order. Can you begin to imagine how many meals have been cooked by this fire over the past 180 years? I love the artwork that a friend of Leonard's painted. (he promised me he would lower it on the wall)

Leonard's mix of old antiques, industrial and painted pieces lend just the right feeling to this already fabulous space. He has done a great job of finding antiques with enough character to stand up to the wonderfully strong character of the home, without over powering it. Leonard has a gifted eye for antiquing. I have been lucky to spend time shopping at Brimfield with him. Notice the wide floor planks. This first floor area is Leonard's entry, kitchen and dining area.

Walking up to the second floor we see the results of his recent renovation. Leonard moved a wall and added full walk up stairs to the attic. By doing this, Leonard was able to create a Family room from one of the two bedrooms on the second floor.

Again the exposed brick walls add a special charm to the space. The old window in the the right corner turns into a wonderful art piece at night with addition of a small light in the back to illuminate the hand blown glass. This is a creative way that anyone can add architectural interest to dark corner of a room. Great idea, Leonard!

Renovating the attic and adding a dormer allowed Leonard to add a master bedroom suite to his home. You can see the dormer windows above which now houses Leonard's office nook. I love the antique tin moulding made into a shelf and the antique apothecary bottles which are sitting on top.

The natural contours and design of the original brick lend itself to be a perfect headboard. Notice the grainsack pillows - the gold stripe is rare and hard to find.

Using every bit of available space Leonard even created a small closet under the eaves.

His new master bathroom is to die for! Here is a shot of the back of the house. You can clearly see where the dormer was added to increase the size of the master bedroom and make the office nook.
Finally a closer look at the brick courtyard off the kitchen. This amount of property in Cambridge is unusual and Leonard has done a wonderful job of making it a wonderful outdoor entertaining space.

Thank you, Leonard for letting us tour your beautiful home - we will be back in month or so to see the new soapstone in the kitchen!

To my Friends Around the World!

To my friends around the world!

Bonne Année ! Godt NytÅr! Buon Anno! Gott Nytt År! Feliz año nuevo! Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! Feliz Ano Novo! Onnellista Uutta Vuotta! Gutes Neues Jahr! Godt Nyttår!

Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays!

From my home to yours, wishing you all a very happy holiday!!

It has been a great gift to travel this road with you.

Thank you so much for reading, commenting and continuing to inspire me.

Wishing you peace and happiness in the New Year!

xxx-Gina

My Living Room Evolution

I wanted to share with you the evolution of my living room.

(click on any photo to enlarge)

My living room is a warm and inviting room with windows on two sides and sun coming from a third side through the Conservatory. I have always been hesitant to cover the windows with any window treatments - as I hate to block any light. But, clearly my living room needed some softening. Above is the before.

After a long search for perfect Belgian linen and a tutorial from Joni at Cote De Texas on curtains (do click this link - it is a fabulous resource) the day came to have the drapes installed. I hired a professional drapery installer. I am a good at many things, but this area is best left to a professional.

Here is the after (please disregard the wreaths in the windows as they are part of my holiday decor.) The curtains are Parisian pleat tops, double window width with a trouser break bottom. The rods are hand forged iron and sent up from New Orleans by my dear designer friend, Millie. You can see the richness and softness the new window treatments bring to the room.

Here is the living room from another angle. You can see my cherished Mora clock to the right. For the story on how I acquired that clock click here. Notice the sweet Gustavian chair in the bottom right of the photo.

Here are the Gustavian chairs from another angle. The painting is a lovely work by Cape Cod artist, Anne Packard. We usually put our Christmas Tree here.

This angle is taken by standing at the Mora clock. Also notice my new "soft" seagrass rug- which really is very soft with white cowhide rug overlay - to learn more about cowhide rugs click here.

I added a few more holiday decorations in this shot. Notice the garden urns by the fireplace filled with berries, branches and evergreens.

I added more oversized mercury glass ornaments to compliment the ones on the mantel and also to pick up the sparkle from the mirrored trees in the Conservatory. I also love the texture and smell of the Rosemary Topiary trees.

Finally here is a close up of a reliquary and pedestal, as well as a close up of the garden urn. I love the warm colors and the way that the evergreens and mercury glass add a holiday sparkle to my room. Let me know your thoughts, should I add more holiday decorations or leave it as is?

(all photos property of Willow Decor)

My Conservatory, Framed Intaglios & Holiday Decorating

One of my favorite rooms in my home is the Conservatory. It's sort of a Garden Room and Music Room in one.

(click on any photo to enlarge)

It sits directly off our Living Room. You can see a bit of the green Living Room couch in this photo. The Conservatory is fairly large as it houses both a seating area and baby grand piano.

My favorite features are the mouldings and the huge arched french doors which lead out to our brick patio. Sun pours in from three sides of this room, including the front windows in the living room. It has gorgeous light through out the day.

Here is how it looks most of the year. You can see the greenery through the windows. The light in the photo is not the best, but it gives you the general idea.

On the wall opposite the piano I recently purchased a set of nine intaglios from Things that Inspire's new business venture, Quatrefoil Designs. TTI was so helpful to me. We decided on a "gliver" frame color (a cross between silver and gold) which really compliments my other artwork in the adjacent living room. Instead of paper matting, TTI was able to use the remnants of my 100 year old antique linen from my Swedish furniture re-upholstery project, as the background mat for the intaglios. They turned out stunning.

Hanging them proved to be a tedious task. My sweet husband spent several hours making sure they were straight and symmetrical. He's so good at math and so patient! Thank goodness opposites attract!

The finished wall turned out better than I could have hoped. The texture of the antique linen mat is such a wonderful compliment to the Swedish furniture. I hope to eventually find some beautiful sconces to hang on either side.

The Intaglios are very high quality and the price is very reasonable. If you are thinking of adding a set to your home do check out out Quatrefoil Designs.

As I mentioned the French doors open to the backyard and the brick patio.

I love the mossy brick and old stone walls. Both are original to the house; over eighty years old.

I have posted so much about not over doing the holiday look but working to enhance your already beautiful rooms. I wanted to share with you some of my Holiday decorating. The "bones" of my house are so lovely. I also adore my antiques and do not want to have them get lost because of over zealous holiday decorating. Each year I edit and use less decorations, but it seems my house still looks festive. Here is the Conservatory as it looks most of the year. (Well actually without action figures, ipods or dog bones laying around)

Here is the room decorated for the Holidays, just after we got a few inches of snow. I have a collection of antique Mercury glass, mirrored and silver glitter trees. They look gorgeous on the piano and the pedestal. They catch the light and all the day the room just sparkles.

Here is a close up of the piano during the year. The crown sits on its own pedestal behind the piano.

I just replaced the fresh flowers with the silvery trees and relocated the crown to the table in the seating area. Notice the sparkles of light on the doors to the right. All day the light sparkles move around the room.

And here is a close up of the newly upholstered Swedish chair (read more here) and Tara Shaw Maison iron table (read more here). I just added another needlepoint holiday pillow and a mint julep glass with holiday greens for a festive touch. Simple, but beautiful.

Over the next few days I will post the rest of my house decked out for the holidays. And if you hear singing, its most likely me Fa la la la-ing!!

(all photos property of Willow Decor - please link)

Holiday Decorating in White - Part II

One of my most popular Holiday posts last year was the piece I did on Holiday Decorating in White. Why are we so drawn to decorating with white? Is the simplicity? Or perhaps the way it sets our everyday things off with a magical glow? My favorite part of decorating in this way is that it enhances your rooms rather than overpowering them. They become more elegant, more festive, more magical, but all the while still remain your same beautiful rooms.

(studio house design)

Let's try to picture the room above with out any Holiday decor. It is a lovely room - neutral with a bit of sparkle from the crystal lamps and silvery wall coverings. Perhaps the mercury glass is out all year. Now, look how the holiday accents add to the beauty of this room. The tree adorned in white, glass and silver ornaments and really becomes a focal point. Then add in the glittery branches and small wreath on the mantel; and the white roses and silver wrapped packages and you have an elegant room for holiday entertaining.

(hgtv)

This homeowner must have a large home to have a room set aside for a winter wonderland. I generally do not like white flocked trees, but these look lovely as a backdrop for the large green tree and winter white Santa. Perhaps this is a sunroom or conservatory that rarely gets used in the winter months.

(Country Living)

I love this room. Here just a few items set off this neutral room with a holiday glow. The mantel is adorned with branches and a white wreath, while a white decorated tree stands front and center. I like the packages all wrapped in coordinating paper.

(studio house design)

Here is another room with silvery branches. I really like the ornaments hanging in front of the mirror and the addition of eucalyptus. Again a predominately white tree and coordinating wrapped packages add elegance.

(hgtv)

This room comes alive with addition of white linen, white lights and greenery. The two trees on the mantel really add a lot of interest and sparkle,but my favorites are the white stockings by the fire and stocking adorned with greenery hanging on the shutters.

(Country Living)

Here is a simple vignette worth looking at because it can be adapted to any decor. This home owner has a lovely collection of white pottery, by adding small boxwood wreaths and a few ornaments you instantly create a holiday display.

(Country Home)

This room, adorned with long white chair skirts and gorgeous table cloth is perfectly accented with small burlap wrapped trees under glass. I love these Holiday terrariums and also the greenery tied with jute string on the backs of chairs.

(Country Living)

Another table set with items that bring the outdoors in. Here glass apothecary jars are filled with pine cones and small vases hold flowers and evergreens.

(Country Living)

I love the use of cast iron garden urns as vases. This one is lovely filled with lilies and flanked with evergreens.

(Country Living)

Here a white washed cast iron urn is filled with moss. Coordinating colored ornaments become more special displayed in silver bowl under glass. This simple effect can be added to any room and any color scheme.

(Country Living)

I love when people carry holiday decorating into the bedrooms. Here guests wake up to white trees, garland and white linen stockings draped along the footboard.

(Country Home)

Finally some cream and white antique linen stockings. Each tucked with sprigs of boxwood create a special holiday look that can be used in any area of your home.

For more ideas click on Holiday Decorating in White -Part 1. I love the simple and elegant style of decorating that enhances your home for the Holidays.