1st Dibs Comes to Houston!

1st Dibs just keeps getting better and better.  What started out as small online shopping site with links to a few antique shops around the United States and Europe, has grown into a one-stop web site for everything a decor fanatic could want.  Besides showcasing the best antiques available, every Wednesday 1st Dibs presents a collection of wonderful stories and interviews with interior designers, furniture creators, bloggers, authors, and all sorts of other must-reads.  The list of cities now represented are the cream de le cream of shopping destinations:  Among these are San Francisco, Atlanta, New York, The Hamptons. Paris, New Orleans, and now, my favorite city of all - Houston!  Some of the antique stores in Houston have been featured on Cote de Texas, such as Chateau Domingue, and some have been featured on other Houston blogs, such as Found, but all chosen to be on 1st Dibs, bar none, are personal favorites of mine. I'm so excited to finally have my town on 1st Dibs.  It sure is going to make sho pping for clients a lot easier.  Oh, and that other big city in Texas is now on 1st Dibs too:  Dallas.    Here are some of my picks from 1st Dibs Houston this week:

 

Readers of Veranda may recognize these pictures - taken of Kay O'Toole's former highrise apartment.  Kay O'Toole's antique store specializes in French, Swedish and Italian wares.  Housed in a crumbling, brick building on Westheimer, expect to see the finest here.  O'Toole is a gracious host - and if you're very lucky, she may even take you to see her new chateaux, located right behind the store.

In choosing my favorites from the Houston 1st Dibs stores, I will be furnishing an imaginary salon in a beautiful, old home located in River Oaks, Houston's toniest neighborhood - right down the street from Kay O'Toole's.  Here, a painted French commode will be placed between two French windows, which are draped in the most gorgeous ice blue silk taffeta (imagine, people!)

Atop the commode, this beautiful Venetian mirror, from Italy, 19th century.

And at each side of the commode, in front of the windows, will be these Northern Italian bergeres.

 

 

Next, Found, a unique store - selling both fine antiques and old industrial wares.  Somewhat new to Houston, Found is located in an old refurbished factory.  Above the stores are offices where some of the best of Houston's interior designers have leased space.

This Italian settee will be floating in the salon.  Fabric, to be determined!

 

 

Bill Gardner sells his fine European antiques from a home on a charming street filled with other antique shops interspersed between townhouses.

This French upholstered bench will do double duty as a coffee table and extra seating.

These large, French, zinc roof finials will be placed on either side of the fireplace, maybe.

 

 

Cindy Neal, proprietress of Neal &  Co. located her store on Bissonnet at Greenbriar - a busy corner for upscale antiques in Houston.  Besides selling fine antiques, she also sells French candles and soaps.

This boiserie mirror will go above the fireplace mantel.

And Neal & Co's beautiful Swedish chaise will take center stage in the salon.

 

 

 

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Right across the street from Neal & Co., Babs Watkins and her daughter sell exquisite European antiques.  Watkins and Culver are known as much for their interior design projects, which are regularly featured in Veranda and Southern Accents, as they are known for their antique store.  Be sure to remember to step out back - half the store is located across the parking lot!

 

This French painted sideboard will be placed on the back wall across from the fireplace.

And this Venetian mirror will be atop it.

 

 

Chateau Domingue, featured in Cote de Texas last year, specializes in European architectural antiques.  It's THE place to go if you are building a home and want some authentic materials such as old tile floors or roofs, limestone fireplace mantels, or door surrounds.

These early 19th century Dutch painted panels will flank the fireplace.

This late 18th century "Garde Manger" from France will be placed on the wall behind the settee - inside a large collection of creamware will be showcased here.

 

 

brown, owned by Jill Brown, started as a lighting fixture store, but Jill quickly increased her inventory to include just about everything unique.  Specializing in Belgian antiques (she once lived there), her hand-picked antique lighting fixtures are beyond comparison to anyone else's in town.

This Empire bronze and glass chandelier will hang from the center of the salon.  This particular fixture may be too small, but Jill will be able to place the exact sized chandelier I need.

 

OK - is there anyone interested in this Salon for their house?  Email me, I"ll be glad to help!

Stalking the Wheats

As most of my friends know, I have a slight (well, ok - it's not so slight) addiction to Starbucks coffee.  Two or three (sometimes four or five -  I can't lie) times a day I go to the drive-through Starbucks in my neighborhood, West University.  Instead of driving there on the main streets, I drive down the side streets, admiring the homes on my way.    I have a few favorite houses on my route and one,  in particular, caught my attention as it was being built.   At first it was the white stucco exterior with its stone foundation that I noticed.   As time went on and the building progressed, each detail the owners added made it seem like a special home, one that I would love:   they added gray, french wood shutters to the  windows, and then they added a most charming wooden gate for the driveway.   Next - the owners put in French styled landscaping - all green - with box woods.   After they had moved in, whenever I drove by the house, I would slow my car to a crawl, craning my neck to try to see inside the white stuccoed home that had so captured my imagination.  Through their windows, I could make out some of their furnishings -  first, there was a screen in the living room, and then I could see an oversized mirror.  Next - I noticed the dining room's antique light fixture which furthered my suspicions that this was a house I would love - inside and out.  By the time the sheer, linen curtains were hung - the deal was sealed - I was an official stalker and somehow, I had to finagle my way into the home to see it first hand.

As luck would have it, Anthea, my sister-in-law's sister (Cote de Texas readers may remember her house featured here) lived almost across the street from my stalk-ees.  One day, Anthea casually mentioned to me that her new neighbor read my blog and wanted to meet me.  Emails were exchanged and we set a date - finally,  after stalking these poor people and their house for over a year, they were actually going to invite me inside.  I'm sure had they known of my obsession with their white stuccoed home, the invitation would have been rescinded.

And so this is how I came to be in Sally Wheat's home:  me - a total weirdo taking pictures of a stranger's house.  I can't imagine what her husband thought when he came home and walked into the scene.   Sally was delightful and claimed to be excited that I was going to put her in my blog;  but truthfully, I'm not convinced she meant it.     Her 7 year old daughter couldn't have been more friendly, even offering to show me the toilets.  As pathetic as it must sound, I was actually interested in seeing those, too.     Sally, an interior designer, furnished her own house, of course.   After such a build up on my part, the house could have been a disappointment, but it wasn't.   In fact, it was more charming than I had imagined.  Bathed in grays and creams and taupes, with gleaming white walls, and antique painted furniture - the interiors lean towards the ever-growing-in-popularity Belgian style of design.   The Wheats also own a beach house on Boliver Island which Sally admitted was "really cute."  Unfortunately, Boliver Island is a little out of the way for drive-by stalking, but Sally promised me we would get together this summer so that I could bring you pictures from their beach house.  Below, I hope you enjoy the Wheat's home in West University:

 

The Object of My Obsession:  The stucco exterior of the Wheat's house which first caught my attention.  I love the stacked stone foundation, the stone walkway, the boxwoods, the wisteria, the paneled wood door, and the gas lanterns. - all details which make the exterior special.

 

  When these french styled shutters were installed, I knew the house was going to be unique - not your typical, everyday, West University stucco house.

The clincher:  the driveway gate.  Most West University homes have iron gates on their driveways.  This wooden gate is utterly charming.   A matching gate on the opposite side of the house leads to the back yard.

The stalker is actually allowed inside!  The front room - instead of a sofa, Sally has four chairs.  The rug (probably seagrass) is on hold until the puppy is housetrained.  The drapes throughout the house are unlined Belgian linen which were purchased at Indulge Decor in Houston.

The antique screen which is visible from the front window.  I would drive by and see the screen and know that I would love the interiors!  This screen was purchased at Thompson + Hanson in Houston.   I actually remember this screen from when it was for sale there.

An iron table sits between two white chairs.  A trendy crown shares space with pottery.

The French lantern in the entry hall was purchased from Chateau Domingue.  The dining room is to the right of the front door when you walk in.

 

A vignette in the entry hall - antique bench, pottery, and mirror.

The dining table was custom made, copied from a picture found in The World of Interiors.  French mouton leg chairs are slipcovered.

The large mirror that caught my eye as I did my drive-bys.  The darling puppy looks out the front window - maybe guarding against other stalkers driving by with craned necks?  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

The beautiful antique chandelier is the focal point of the dining room.

A wall of framed botanicals in the dining room.

Two vintage starburst mirrors are layered over the larger mirror.

 

The kitchen:  honed, statuary marble counter tops with white subway tiles for the backsplash.  The two pendant lights are from Belgium, via Brown, a fabulous Houston shop that specializes in light fixtures.  

 

The kitchen shelves are without doors. 

I love this faucet and the farm sink with it's single bowl.

The breakfast room has another light fixture from Brown.

Painted furniture and horns in this vignette.

 

The iron staircase was fauxed to resemble pewter.

Another vignette:  this one features a wall of portraits of strangers, not family!

A view of the family room overlooking the back yard.  The two slipcovered sofas are extra long, again reminiscent of the popular Belgian style.

The family room:  the two sets of doors are antique shutters from Bill Gardner of Houston.  The cross on the coffee table was designed by Sally Wheat using driftwood she collects on Boliver Island.

View of the family room looking towards the staircase.

The TV is hidden behind the antique shutters.  Also housed there is Sally's butterfly collection.

The backyard is mostly a patio.

The powder room is tiny, but there's room for a Louis Phillipe antique mirror, a chandelier, and antique tiles from Chateau Domingue.

The charming powder room sink is made of stone.  The faucets are installed in the wall instead of the counter.

The upstairs guest room, all in greens and reds.  All bedrooms upstairs have wall to wall seagrass in the basket weave pattern.

Sally's darling daughter's bedroom.  The chest was painted by James Farmer, from Houston.

The master bedroom is, like the rest of the house, all in cream, mushroom and taupe.  The headboard is tufted and upholstered.   Curtains here, as in the rest of the house, are from Indulge Decor of Houston.

Sally's painted white desk and Ghost chair.

The bathroom is all white carrara marble and mirrors.  I love how the doors are mirrored in this built in chest.

The cabinet doors in the vanities are screened.

The children's playroom over the garage connects through the master bedroom closet.  A work in progress, the carpet is the trendy antelope print.

 

I hope you enjoyed Sally's house as much as I did!  Besides being an interior designer (and if you are interested in contacting Sally, email me and I'll forward it on to Sally)  she has recently opened a booth selling antiques and decorative items at Antiques and Interiors on Dunlavy.  Below, are a few items from her booth:

A pair of beautiful antique, gilt arm chairs, upholstered in while muslin.

A Wheat designed cross, make from Boliver Island driftwood.

Painted white chest, assorted statutes and artwork.

Gilt bench, covered in linen.

A pair of vintage chairs newly upholstered in a trendy trellis fabric.

One of a pair of driftwood lamps, designed by Sally Wheat.

 

Finally, a standing lamp, made of driftwood, designed by Sally Wheat.

Looking around at other booths at Antiques and Interiors on Dunlavy, I spotted several items that reminded me of Sally's home:

Antique shutters - these are similar to the shutters found in Sally's family room.

 

A pair of candlesticks similar to those found on Sally's dining room table.

One of Houston's favorite antique dealers, Annette Schatte also recently opened a booth here.    Here, Schatte sells mirrors that are similar to the antique mirrors found in Sally's home.   The iron candelabra is similar to the one found in the Wheats' family room.

Schatte is selling this French lantern, similar to the one hanging in Sally's entry hall.

A dark wood dining room table with a hand planed table top is reminiscent of the one in Sally's dining room.

And lastly, one more lantern from Annette Schatte.

To learn more about Belgian style interior design, the web site www.beta-plus.com has a large library of coffee table  books for sale.  Published in Belgium, the books are gorgeous with page after page of interiors in the Belgian style that is rapidly gaining in popularity, giving rise to the saying "Belgian is the new Sweden."

French Library

I am working on a library, French style a la Texas Cote. My client and I had decided to either recover and restyle her old sofa or maybe go with a newer version of a traditional, cushy one. The two armchairs hopefully are to be French antique bergere's, if not, then English saddle arm ones. Everything will be covered in linen, linen colored with pastel pink and white pillows. The dark paneled walls are going to become very light and creamy colored with an undercoat of brown barely peeking through (maybe!).

The issue is tonight my client went 1st Dibs surfing and found this French settee. We both adore it, but decide her husband would veto it immediately with comfort concerns. He loves it. The settee is in France and is expensive. We can't test try out. Should we buy it? Would you? Or, would you buy this one from 1st Dibs, also from France?