Happy Thursday to you! Over in this part of the country, we are experiencing a mini heat wave, heat indexes approaching 100 degrees, with temps in the high 90’s. Thankfully its due to end in a day or so. However, I will still take it over winter (come August I may be singing a different tune). Busy week here with lots of house appts. and various other things, so happy summer is here at last! I start my post off with some house update pictures. The breakfast room paneling is done, and now we are selecting stain colors…thinking of going with a limed oak finish. Its a nice contrast to the dark wood beams. Bathrooms are getting completed and installation of plumbing fixtures has begun! Things are getting done and its very exciting to see us inch our way closer to completion. (still a long ways away) but we hope to move by August (yes, you heard right June is no more so now I am trying to be more of a realist) and will move to a small area of the house which will be completed and continue working.
HOUSE UPDATES. The laurels are in bloom!! I had to include a few pictures to show you how gorgeous they are! They line the entire driveway and are all over the property adding such beauty with their fabulous white blooms. Things really are moving along even if it appears to be painstakingly slow. The most progress has been made upstairs, all that’s really left is to finish the trim in the main hallways and paint! Then we will start installing the vanities and plumbing fixtures and voila we will actually have a few completed rooms…as hard as that is to imagine. The breakfast room is basically done, just finishing a few areas of molding (feel like I have saying this for weeks but it really is)! The family room is underway…saw my kitchen two days ago, they just finished priming it and are starting the paint and glaze today. With luck I will have this kitchen by the end of June, that is what we are aiming for. Fingers crossed.
Entrance with gorgeous laurels just starting to bloom
Family room paneling has begun
Breakfast room basically done..now we need to stain!
Husbands shower…
Trim upstairs
Door casings all complete upstairs!
Kitchen powder room, basketweave honed with mini subways and chairrail
Stairs is starting to look like a staircase…railing to come!
Living room floor primed and ready for floors
Dining room ready for floors
Mahogany paneled door on 1st floor
Favorite time of day..its so hot that there is a haze in the air!
Original columns with stone fruit basket..I love this
Laurels in bloom
Aren’t they pretty?
Breakfast room
Breakfast room
Breakfast room windows are done with their casing
Beams ready for family room
New batch of beams at the ready
Guest room shower done..ming green and thassos marble
A MUCH NEEDED VACATION. Since I originally was hoping to have moved at the START OF 2011, and clearly that is not happening…I could so use a vacation right now! I love writing about destinations both near and far. This one is very far, but so amazing looking, I couldn’t resist not posting it. I have always wanted to go to the Maldives, but not being a great flyer, the very long flight has kept me from going.This is the ultimate boutique hotel, with only 19 rooms and suites. Some day, maybe I will get there. But for now, this “virtual vacation” will have to suffice! So check out this gasp worthy resort, The Nalhadu in the Maldives….fabulous.
IVY. Always loved it, and figure I always will. We are just now discussing with our landscape architect the idea of growing ivy on the facade of the house. Apparently once this starts, you really have to be committed to the decision as it tends to “stay while” once it gets going. That is just fine by me, I love the age, character and charm it gives a new home and since we want our house to look like its been there awhile…why not! I love the look and these pictures I think underscore my point quite well.
Love this growing on a covered patio!
CHINOISERIE. Once again back into looking at chinoiserie which I have always known I am using in my dining room and maybe in our formal powder room. I had spoken with a few artists about hand painting my dining room but have since decided against it, first because its much more expensive and most have said it would take approx. 6 weeks and I just don’t want anyone in my house that long every day working on my dining room. So back to looking at a few manufacturers and I have narrowed it down to two. But the even bigger problem I am having is figuring out which color I want. I go back and forth between staying neutral and “earthy” to pale blues and greens to a more dramatic metallic paper. Too many gorgeous choices! So here are some ideas…does one really jump out at you as a clear cut favorite?
This metallic paper is stunning…love the glow but not sure for a big dining room
This color green is so light and airy and fresh, probably never gets old
Or do I think outside the box and go with a pinky peach color? This is just too gorgeous!
Then I see this yellow and its so beautiful and soft and welcoming
Or do I go neutral and stay with the golds and beiges?
All you style mavens…feel free to weigh in and give me your opinions!
FUN DINNERWARE. I love the company Golden Rabbit. Have an enamelware dinnerware set from them that is several years old but still looks brand new. I just ordered the first set below and cannot wait to get them! I love their patterns, they feature so many wonderful summery looks, and have many coordinating pieces from plates, chargers, bowls, cups, mugs,etc…..Click here to see more of their fabulous collection.
HADDONSTONE STATUARY. I love Haddonstones exact replicas of period statuary and planters. Their line is quite extensive, all expertly cast from stone, with an assortment of fabulous finishes. There is even an “aging solution”, called Stoneage designed to speed up the aging process if you really want to get that old look fast (I do). Before you know it, moss and lichen creep their way onto the statuary to make it look like its been there for hundreds of years! Their statuary is so beautiful. Take a look and click here to see more of their incredible line.
WONDERFUL SOAPS. I just love bath products, give me great smelling soaps, wonderful scented candles, rich luxurious creams and I am a happy camper. One line I discovered when we were in Provence a year ago was this amazingly wonderful line, Pre De Provence. All their products are made in Provence, the soaps are French milled and last a LONG time! The scents are beyond heavenly and this is a product where you truly get what you pay for. The soaps are made from coconut and palm oil and are so rich and wonderful.(they are comparably priced to other higher end American companies) Click here to order.
Well that’s about it for this Thursday. Anything excite you? Is there something you are loving this week that you care to share? Please let me know, I love hearing about new things that have caught your attention! Hope you have an enchanted Thursday.
Thanks for keeping us up to date on your house! It looks great! I love the paneling! and I can use a vacation about now as well! It’s the last day of school today! yipee!! I used to have ivy growing on th efront walls of my last home and I loved it!
You might feel things are moving slowly but from my end, looks like a lot of progress is happening. Every detail is so beautiful, i hope you are taking the time to give yourself a lot of well deserved credit, my friend! Love the floors and details, the laurels are gorg! Ditto on all the wonderful goodies you are loving this week, especially love those planters. Enjoy your day.
Oh, sweetie. Your post are always of such quality!
I can’t imagine the feeling your must have every time you drive to your new home. It must feel like a dream. It’s so gorgeous. Not only the house is amazing, but also the surroundings. What a great choice.
Tina- It is all coming together beautifully! I love it. It always takes so much longer than you think to finish a new build…and even when it is done you keep finding liitle “things” here and there. The house is going to be absolutely breath-taking.
I love the dining room choices- I would have a hard time picking one too…but OOOOH..was number two with the soft palatte followed closely by the last one. I don’t think I would like the metallic long term in the dining area..although it IS pretty.
And the lauels? GORGEOUS…LOVE the way they line the drive! AND I vote a resounding YES for the ivy. There is nothing like ivy that says “established”.
Save me a corner room, will you? One that looks on the garden and statuary! xo Diana
I always look forward to your Thursday house updates! We were hoping to move in August, but our builder just told us to expect September. I am still hopeful for August – although there is so much that needs to be done. At least there is tremendous progress going on everytime I visit the house. My head aches at the end of every day, making all of the decisions, trying to keep things within budget (which is so hard!), driving here there and everywhere looking at knobs, countertops, flooring…
It sounds like you have things very much under control, though! Your house is looking beautiful.
The entrance to your home is soo beautiful!!! Your house is looking fabulous! So many beautiful details. I’m in love with all of your bathroom tile choices. Just stunning! The Maldives is on my list of places to visit someday. As for the chinoiserie, it’s all beautiful! I love love love the pink, but that’s one of my all time favorites (it may be in my blog post today for the second time). I also love the blue, but blue is a neutral in my house. Happy Thursday!
Hi Tina~I am in love with your house and just can’t wait for new pics each Thursday. And I can’t wait for you to move in and to see the finished product. It takes me back to the building of our home 12 years ago and how I felt and all the frustration AND excitement. I could see in your photos where all the wall sconces will be and I love how you have the outlets in the baseboard. That is so smart. For the chinoiserie, I love soft color for you and would choose either the greens or pale yellow. And lastly I am in love with concrete containers and statuary. I have them in my garden and on my patio. I hope to do a post on them this summer. Thanks for the tour and update. LOVE your driveway and the view to your house. I should go back through your posts and see if you have one on your property before you started the house. Have a wonderful, cooler weekend! Karen
Your beautiful new home will be ready before you know it! It looks stunning so far. Love everything on this list especially the ivy. My grandmother’s house has ivy running up the side and I love the feel it gives the house.
No detail is being missed in this project, simply adore all the millwork. Doing things to this level simply takes time, in the end you’ll know it was all beyond worth any delays I’m certain. Enjoy the process! Janell
You are reading my mind again! There is a house I pass every day on my way into the office that I have always admired, a traditional Georgian with gorgeous “columns” of ivy growing up the facade. It was recently sold to new owners who removed the ivy this week…turning it into a very ordinary looking house that isn’t at all exciting anymore. That unfortunate decision has had me collecting ivy photos all week!
I just adore that you all have left things like the original drive columns, gives the property such character and tells it’s story so much better than if you had scrapped everything!
Another wonderful post Tina! I’d love to hear what your landscape architect recommends for the ivy. We’d like to do that as well (I share your love of it!) but I have heard it can be tricky so the vines don’t damage the house, etc. Would love to know any tips you learn! Another idea for soaps that I discovered in Portugal – Claus Porto and Castelbel. Check out this post if you’re interested (if you don’t already know about them :)) http://bjdhausdesign.blogspot.com/2010/12/loving-portuguese-soaps.html. They are divine!
Oh Tina, what progress has been made! The paneling in the family room is just a great look, very elegant but understated, not overpowering or destroying the mood I know you are looking for in that room. I really like how it is looking. And all of the other things coming together, the powder room off the kitchen and your husband’s shower, it all seems to be ‘getting there’!
It’s wonderful to see the foliage in bloom, the laurel is such a beautiful sight this time of year. You were so smart selecting a site with mature trees and shrubs.
The Golden Rabbit is a delightful shop, their boxed sets have made great gifts in the past, I like the bright colors and designs they use.
Oh Tina where does one begin with such a wonderful post full of eye candy. I guess at the entrance, Oh my the laurels are gorgeous and the more I see of your home the more I am in awe. All the gorgeous moldings are beyond beautiful. You my dear have so much to look forward too. It is so fun going through the process with you. Thank you for your comment on my post today, it sounds as if you and I are on the same page!! Happy Thursday,Kathysue
In about a year I’ll be moving out, getting a new teaching job, and needing to find my own place–maybe I could move in with you!?! Hehe, I could take a back closet for a bedroom! It’s all looking gorgeous!
Also–that bed right by a swimming pool, how fabulous! I also love the dining room with the blue floral wallpaper, gold mirror, and overflowing flowers on the table!
I always look forward to Thursdays to see your house updates! It is really coming along-August is not so far off-you are almost at the move in stage that is great!
As far as the chinoiserie, I love the metallic for a powder room! And the last photo pictured for the dining room-so beautiful!
First off, your house, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! I love to live vicariously through youÙ And that breakfast room is not the type of place where you eat Captn Crunch, lol! You need a chef, dahling, you must have croissants and eggs benedict everyday!
I agree with growing ivy, very pretty, very stately.
I think the peach chinoiserie is my favourite.
And the mossy statuary will be a nice added touch! Looking forward to seeing more.
First thank you for stopping by Ideezine and being the first to comment so often you are such a treasure treat for me. Hugs!
Onto your post of goodies which I love love love:
House updates: the laurels look amazing and are so welcoming as an entrance and exiting greeters.
Vacation so easy to slip away isn’t it? #2 photo should be a screensaver it’s so beautiful. You could pull up this screen and do your breathing yoga or mat pilates at home to this picture. Just breathe…in..and out…again lol
Ivy love is about commitment and as long as the garden crew know how to tame it your in good hands and beautiful images I love picture #5.
Chinoiserie #2 timeless in it’s calm presence and you want conversation and food to add to the room not compete.
Enamelware love it too! I have many favorites among these designs.
Haddonstone Statuary is so wonderful to dream through loving all their goodies. The urns and the big birdbath…oh my the lion head fountain yummy I am working on a landscape project as well…small but very fun.
Great soaps and oils they keep your skin very well moisturized summer through winter. I have added an oil to my unscented body lotion for years to combine the moisture with oil to soak in and retain as much moisture as possible. You never get dry skin and always look refreshed and soft.
I love how organized you are day after day with your posts, house managing of current home and new construction of future home, emails, family, pet, friends and I want you to know should feel so good about this well formed habit.
I have and do work with many people who just don’t/can’t organize themselves…it’s a work style, habit, a courtesy, consistent with etiquette, it’s really refreshing and so rewarding…you have it and I so enjoy coming here and reading, taking notes (I love learning about everything). Yet knowing that across many many miles your working diligently with creative style and grace every single day. Blessings!
What can I say. Your house is growing everyday into the mansion it’s meant to be. Amazing. My favorite of today’s roving wishes is the trip to the Maldives. I have pics of the Maldives that I’ve saved and I’ve dreamed of going there.
I thought I was never getting to your blog to comment. I ma so tired of blogger. They have me so messed up I don’t know if it will ever get straightened out. Thank goodness I have a website for future use. This post is gorgeous, Tina. You are building a castle, not a house. It is absolutely stunning. You are so fortunate. Thank you for the sites to visit. I have bookmarked them. Great post! Teresa xoxo
The laurel bushes are lovely and every element of what is going into your home is as well. My head would be spinning with so many choices and so much excitement. I do love ivy covered buildings but I also know that it can damage a homes exterior. I’d be wanting the ivy! Thanks for sharing your beautiful home updates. Have a lovely weekend, hopefully not as hot? Cheers ~ Deb
I’ve followed your blog since you were featured on Homes of the Rich and absolutely love it! Your house updates look incredible as always! I’m sure this has been asked before but have you considered posting floor plans? I would LOVE to see how your beautiful home all flows together!
Tina What an amazingly stunning home. Love every detail in it. I am sure I will check it out now regularly. Thank you so much for your lovely comment X Viera VT Interiors Blog …sorry, looks like my Google account does’ want to access your blog automatically.
I am loving those laurels, so gorgeous! The scent must be amazing! Re the chinoserie, I would go with the golds in the dining room, it just looks so beautiful and timeless. The stone planters are wonderful too. In our pond we have placed pieces of moss on ricks and it grows so beauitfully and really MAKES the pond. Thanks for taking us along with you on theis adventure. Oh speaking of adventures, I am not a good flyer either but that destination is GLORIOUS!!!!! XO, Pinky
We are in love with the entrance to your property. The laurels and the stone columns with the stone baskets are beautiful. Each week we see a new detail and are blown away by the house. Fabulous!
Tina, like Holly’s comments re: Thurday’s posts, I look forward to seeing and reading about the progress of your house.
Today I am weighing in on your request for comments regarding your dining room walls and the aged ivy covered exterior stone walls.
What I most find comforting in a lovely home is walking in and discovering suitable decor, perhaps decorating materials that are timeless and are never changed through a lifetime. Grand or semi grand homes are timeless when suitibilty is the foremost criteria. Thus, I am voting for the de Gournay bluish green chinoiserie wallcovering for your dining room. How serene and gorgeous the paper will be in years to come.
My childhood memory of Virginia Creeper, ivy and assorted vines recalls too frequent trimmings, and ultimately total removal of all to repoint all the mortar and lots of replastering of interior walls due to all the moisture seeping in through the years. The old Georgian Revival house would not be standing today if Pop had not be diligent maintaining it, and spending a fortune in doing so.
Sadly as a student in architectural design in Virginia, my father reached his limit during the ’60s, and sold and moved us into the then newly built pseudo large Palladian inspired “ranch” without a vine to be seen. Large English boxwoods and various large trees were culled from all over the state to establish some dignity and style for the grounds. Ivy was sprigged where large areas of the grounds was deemed correct at the time. But in time it too became harder to manage, as well as a four plus acre lot. We all have forgoten the simplicity of landscape design found in France and in Colonial Williamsburg which makes aging in place far more easy!
Today at age 65, I fondly remember my childhood home, and admire the almost beautiful one story home which I have recently moved my Mother from.
Your home should age well, and remain oh so perfect for life’s challenges if you ignore all the now chic colorways, and avoid the plantings of wall vines other than for use on pergolas and other outdoor structures.
My best wishes to you, and do take that trip! Even I did during my involvement with projects such as yours!!! One returns from wherever totally soothed and ready to get on with the challenges and demands you face daily.
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Thanks for keeping us up to date on your house! It looks great! I love the paneling! and I can use a vacation about now as well! It’s the last day of school today! yipee!! I used to have ivy growing on th efront walls of my last home and I loved it!
I love the images you shared, they are all so lovely … the things that you’re loving right now.
Your house is definitely going to look so fabulous… love the stairs ♥
You might feel things are moving slowly
but from my end, looks like a lot of
progress is happening. Every
detail is so beautiful, i hope you are taking
the time to give yourself a lot of
well deserved credit, my friend! Love
the floors and details, the laurels are gorg!
Ditto on all the wonderful goodies you are
loving this week, especially love those planters.
Enjoy your day.
Oh, sweetie. Your post are always of such quality!
I can’t imagine the feeling your must have every time you drive to your new home. It must feel like a dream. It’s so gorgeous. Not only the house is amazing, but also the surroundings. What a great choice.
I hope you enjoy your day.
xo
Luciane at HomeBunch.com
Tina- It is all coming together beautifully! I love it. It always takes so much longer than you think to finish a new build…and even when it is done you keep finding liitle “things” here and there. The house is going to be absolutely breath-taking.
I love the dining room choices- I would have a hard time picking one too…but OOOOH..was number two with the soft palatte followed closely by the last one. I don’t think I would like the metallic long term in the dining area..although it IS pretty.
And the lauels? GORGEOUS…LOVE the way they line the drive! AND I vote a resounding YES for the ivy. There is nothing like ivy that says “established”.
Save me a corner room, will you? One that looks on the garden and statuary! xo Diana
I always look forward to your Thursday house updates! We were hoping to move in August, but our builder just told us to expect September. I am still hopeful for August – although there is so much that needs to be done. At least there is tremendous progress going on everytime I visit the house. My head aches at the end of every day, making all of the decisions, trying to keep things within budget (which is so hard!), driving here there and everywhere looking at knobs, countertops, flooring…
It sounds like you have things very much under control, though! Your house is looking beautiful.
The entrance to your home is soo beautiful!!! Your house is looking fabulous! So many beautiful details. I’m in love with all of your bathroom tile choices. Just stunning! The Maldives is on my list of places to visit someday. As for the chinoiserie, it’s all beautiful! I love love love the pink, but that’s one of my all time favorites (it may be in my blog post today for the second time). I also love the blue, but blue is a neutral in my house. Happy Thursday!
Hi Tina~I am in love with your house and just can’t wait for new pics each Thursday. And I can’t wait for you to move in and to see the finished product. It takes me back to the building of our home 12 years ago and how I felt and all the frustration AND excitement. I could see in your photos where all the wall sconces will be and I love how you have the outlets in the baseboard. That is so smart. For the chinoiserie, I love soft color for you and would choose either the greens or pale yellow. And lastly I am in love with concrete containers and statuary. I have them in my garden and on my patio. I hope to do a post on them this summer.
Thanks for the tour and update. LOVE your driveway and the view to your house. I should go back through your posts and see if you have one on your property before you started the house.
Have a wonderful, cooler weekend!
Karen
Your beautiful new home will be ready before you know it! It looks stunning so far. Love everything on this list especially the ivy. My grandmother’s house has ivy running up the side and I love the feel it gives the house.
No detail is being missed in this project, simply adore all the millwork. Doing things to this level simply takes time, in the end you’ll know it was all beyond worth any delays I’m certain. Enjoy the process! Janell
You are reading my mind again! There is a house I pass every day on my way into the office that I have always admired, a traditional Georgian with gorgeous “columns” of ivy growing up the facade. It was recently sold to new owners who removed the ivy this week…turning it into a very ordinary looking house that isn’t at all exciting anymore. That unfortunate decision has had me collecting ivy photos all week!
I just adore that you all have left things like the original drive columns, gives the property such character and tells it’s story so much better than if you had scrapped everything!
Another wonderful post Tina! I’d love to hear what your landscape architect recommends for the ivy. We’d like to do that as well (I share your love of it!) but I have heard it can be tricky so the vines don’t damage the house, etc. Would love to know any tips you learn! Another idea for soaps that I discovered in Portugal – Claus Porto and Castelbel. Check out this post if you’re interested (if you don’t already know about them :)) http://bjdhausdesign.blogspot.com/2010/12/loving-portuguese-soaps.html. They are divine!
I love Grisaille wall coverings….monochromatic usually in tones of gray.,
Oh Tina, what progress has been made! The paneling in the family room is just a great look, very elegant but understated, not overpowering or destroying the mood I know you are looking for in that room. I really like how it is looking. And all of the other things coming together, the powder room off the kitchen and your husband’s shower, it all seems to be ‘getting there’!
It’s wonderful to see the foliage in bloom, the laurel is such a beautiful sight this time of year. You were so smart selecting a site with mature trees and shrubs.
The Golden Rabbit is a delightful shop, their boxed sets have made great gifts in the past, I like the bright colors and designs they use.
It’s another fabulous Thursday post, love it!
tp
Oh Tina where does one begin with such a wonderful post full of eye candy. I guess at the entrance, Oh my the laurels are gorgeous and the more I see of your home the more I am in awe. All the gorgeous moldings are beyond beautiful. You my dear have so much to look forward too. It is so fun going through the process with you. Thank you for your comment on my post today, it sounds as if you and I are on the same page!! Happy Thursday,Kathysue
August will be here before you know it. I love the house updates and the gardens around the home and coming up the driveway are gorgeous!
Love it!
Heather
In about a year I’ll be moving out, getting a new teaching job, and needing to find my own place–maybe I could move in with you!?! Hehe, I could take a back closet for a bedroom! It’s all looking gorgeous!
Also–that bed right by a swimming pool, how fabulous! I also love the dining room with the blue floral wallpaper, gold mirror, and overflowing flowers on the table!
I always look forward to Thursdays to see your house updates! It is really coming along-August is not so far off-you are almost at the move in stage that is great!
As far as the chinoiserie, I love the metallic for a powder room! And the last photo pictured for the dining room-so beautiful!
First off, your house, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! I love to live vicariously through youÙ And that breakfast room is not the type of place where you eat Captn Crunch, lol! You need a chef, dahling, you must have croissants and eggs benedict everyday!
I agree with growing ivy, very pretty, very stately.
I think the peach chinoiserie is my favourite.
And the mossy statuary will be a nice added touch! Looking forward to seeing more.
Tina,
First thank you for stopping by Ideezine and being the first to comment so often you are such a treasure treat for me. Hugs!
Onto your post of goodies which I love love love:
House updates: the laurels look amazing and are so welcoming as an entrance and exiting greeters.
Vacation so easy to slip away isn’t it? #2 photo should be a screensaver it’s so beautiful. You could pull up this screen and do your breathing yoga or mat pilates at home to this picture. Just breathe…in..and out…again lol
Ivy love is about commitment and as long as the garden crew know how to tame it your in good hands and beautiful images I love picture #5.
Chinoiserie #2 timeless in it’s calm presence and you want conversation and food to add to the room not compete.
Enamelware love it too! I have many favorites among these designs.
Haddonstone Statuary is so wonderful to dream through loving all their goodies. The urns and the big birdbath…oh my the lion head fountain yummy I am working on a landscape project as well…small but very fun.
Great soaps and oils they keep your skin very well moisturized summer through winter. I have added an oil to my unscented body lotion for years to combine the moisture with oil to soak in and retain as much moisture as possible. You never get dry skin and always look refreshed and soft.
I love how organized you are day after day with your posts, house managing of current home and new construction of future home, emails, family, pet, friends and I want you to know should feel so good about this well formed habit.
I have and do work with many people who just don’t/can’t organize themselves…it’s a work style, habit, a courtesy, consistent with etiquette, it’s really refreshing and so rewarding…you have it and I so enjoy coming here and reading, taking notes (I love learning about everything). Yet knowing that across many many miles your working diligently with creative style and grace every single day. Blessings!
Bette
So much good stuff in one post! The laurels are amazing….and the ivy would give your new home instant “patina”!
Love chinoserie – have a neutral pattern of it on my dining room walls. But, loving that metallic in the powder room picture.
Good soaps – can nevever have enough!
And….I’d go on vacation to any of those beautiful spots!
xoxo Elizabeth
What can I say. Your house is growing everyday into the mansion it’s meant to be. Amazing.
My favorite of today’s roving wishes is the
trip to the Maldives. I have pics of the Maldives that I’ve saved and I’ve dreamed of going there.
I am following your house updates with open mouth!! Fabulous!! I am in love with your house!
xx
Greet
I thought I was never getting to your blog to comment. I ma so tired of blogger. They have me so messed up I don’t know if it will ever get straightened out. Thank goodness I have a website for future use.
This post is gorgeous, Tina.
You are building a castle, not a house. It is absolutely stunning. You are so fortunate.
Thank you for the sites to visit. I have bookmarked them.
Great post!
Teresa
xoxo
Love Pre de Provence and only wish I could be in Provence to nejoy them and get away from this heat! Your laurels are truly magnificent!
Gorgeous post! Your house is looking fantastic and I cannot wait to see the finished product. Hope you have a great weekend. xx
gorgeous tina and very exciting to watch your dream unfold.
yes to ivy! and a definite yes to the maldives and that resort in particular
best!
debra
The laurel bushes are lovely and every element of what is going into your home is as well. My head would be spinning with so many choices and so much excitement. I do love ivy covered buildings but I also know that it can damage a homes exterior. I’d be wanting the ivy! Thanks for sharing your beautiful home updates. Have a lovely weekend, hopefully not as hot?
Cheers ~ Deb
I’ve followed your blog since you were featured on Homes of the Rich and absolutely love it! Your house updates look incredible as always! I’m sure this has been asked before but have you considered posting floor plans? I would LOVE to see how your beautiful home all flows together!
Tina
What an amazingly stunning home. Love every detail in it. I am sure I will check it out now regularly. Thank you so much for your lovely comment
X
Viera
VT Interiors Blog
…sorry, looks like my Google account does’ want to access your blog automatically.
I am loving those laurels, so gorgeous! The scent must be amazing! Re the chinoserie, I would go with the golds in the dining room, it just looks so beautiful and timeless. The stone planters are wonderful too. In our pond we have placed pieces of moss on ricks and it grows so beauitfully and really MAKES the pond. Thanks for taking us along with you on theis adventure. Oh speaking of adventures, I am not a good flyer either but that destination is GLORIOUS!!!!! XO, Pinky
We are in love with the entrance to your property. The laurels and the stone columns with the stone baskets are beautiful. Each week we see a new detail and are blown away by the house. Fabulous!
Wow Tina wow,
God bless your home it’s all I would say. Besides admiring your taste and the task. Your house will be “magazine worthy”. Beautiful.
p.s. today I’m starting a new series and would love your opinion.
Have a good weekend!
Tina, like Holly’s comments re: Thurday’s posts,
I look forward to seeing and reading about the progress of your house.
Today I am weighing in on your request for comments regarding your dining room walls and the aged ivy covered exterior stone walls.
What I most find comforting in a lovely home is walking in and discovering suitable decor, perhaps decorating materials that are timeless and are never changed through a lifetime. Grand or semi grand homes are timeless when suitibilty is the foremost criteria. Thus, I am voting for the de Gournay bluish green chinoiserie wallcovering for your dining room. How serene and gorgeous the paper will be in years to come.
My childhood memory of Virginia Creeper, ivy and assorted vines recalls too frequent trimmings, and ultimately total removal of all to repoint all the mortar and lots of replastering of interior walls due to all the moisture seeping in through the years. The old Georgian Revival house would not be standing today if Pop had not be diligent maintaining it, and spending a fortune in doing so.
Sadly as a student in architectural design in Virginia, my father reached his limit during the ’60s, and sold and moved us into the then newly built pseudo large Palladian inspired “ranch” without a vine to be seen. Large English boxwoods and various large trees were culled from all over the state to establish some dignity and style for the grounds. Ivy was sprigged where large areas of the grounds was deemed correct at the time. But in time it too became harder to manage, as well as a four plus acre lot. We all have forgoten the simplicity of landscape design found in France and in Colonial Williamsburg which makes aging in place far more easy!
Today at age 65, I fondly remember my childhood home, and admire the almost beautiful one story home which I have recently moved my Mother from.
Your home should age well, and remain oh so perfect for life’s challenges if you ignore all the now chic colorways, and avoid the plantings
of wall vines other than for use on pergolas and other outdoor structures.
My best wishes to you, and do take that trip!
Even I did during my involvement with projects such as yours!!! One returns from wherever totally soothed and ready to get on with the challenges and demands you face daily.
Nice article and great knowledge. Thanks for the share. I love this story and enjoy with your words!
Ming green marble Mosaic