I’ve had questions about the giveaway contest – some of you don’t have Instagram or can’t figure out how to do a picture/college.
If you want to enter the Aidan Gray With An Edge contest – but can’t figure out the rules, just email me a photo of a room or vignette in your house where you think an Aidan Gray light fixture would improve it. Then, let me know which AG fixture you choose.
Email me at cotedetexas@aol.com
The insanely talented mastermind behind Aidan Gray is Randal Weeks. The company’s aesthetic is completely his vision. While Randal does all the designing, his wife and partner, Sally, is in charge of the finances and the business matters of Aidan Gray. It’s amazing to think that their business was just started in 2003! It’s impact on the world of design has been significant.
I know that I always use an item from Aidan Gray when I design, and looking around - my own house is filled with their products. And, we want to spread the look. With this fabulous new contest, we are giving away FIFTEEN Aidan Gray fixtures in order to help beautify your own house!!
FIFTEEN!!!!!
The giveaway is due to the generosity of the Weeks, Randal and Sally, shown here with their three handsome sons: Chandler, Ethan, and Aidan Gray! Did you ever wonder where the name came from?!
The new giveaway is called “AidanGray With An Edge” and the idea for it started with the Tudor house that the Weeks bought and completely restored in High Point, North Carolina. After the professional photographs were taken of all the changes made, Randal reached out to us, wanting to show the beautiful results of all their hard work. And today, I’m thrilled to share these photographs with you!
Ready?
First, grab that proverbial cup of coffee and have a seat. I know I’m having a cup myself as I write this, so please join me!!
BEFORE: It all started with this Tudor house, built in 1929. When Randal Weeks first saw it, it was a bit run down and in need of some TLC. But, its classic lines and beautiful staircase were what captivated Randal the most. I mean, look at this house!! Who could resist the challenge?
This is the view of the back, right side. There are two open archways on each side of the house. On this, the right side, the arch is a porte cochere. On the left side, it is an open-air porch. Notice the back door with the oval window! These are details that lured Randal to the house.
And, hidden by overgrown landscaping, on the left side of the front façade is the second open-air archway, here – a porch.
Past the porte cochere on the right side is the garage.
Amazingly, the original BLUEPRINTS exist and were given to Randal when he bought the house. These will give you an idea of the layout. At the right is the porte cochere and on the left is the open porch with a terrace behind it. There is the center Hall and the Staircase and past double doors, is the Rear Hall with another staircase. The house had been added on to at some point and the sitting room and lavatory are somewhat different than these plans show.
The second floor plan shows all the Chambers, or bedrooms. I love the Sewing Room! Devotees of floor plans will be so excited with these blueprints.
And here is the garage, with the servant’s bedroom above.
Before & After: The Exterior
Before: The brown-brick, 1929 Tudor revealed after the overgrown shrubs were removed.
And here, another view of the exposed Tudor. At the left is the open air covered porch and at the right is the porte cochere that leads to the garage. Above the front door with the leaded glass windows is the Sewing Room. The bay window at the bottom left is in the large Living Room. On the right of the front door is the Library with its corner fireplace.
During: The house is now painted in light gray and white.
And after! In the winter, the house looks so beautiful in the white snow against the new gray and white paint. Can we leave the snow down 24/7????? Final landscaping plans are set to be installed this spring.
Before: The right side with the porte cochere.
During: All the overgrown plants are removed and look! An entrance to the basement is now exposed! I love the back porch with the two oval windows. The door inside the porch opens to the breakfast room and kitchen. At the porte cochere, the door there leads to the Side Hall and the Dining Room.
The back of the garage – here you can see the size of the lot and how large it is.
Before: The garage.
During: And here, the garage, with the old doors removed. The garage was turned into a carriage house/guest house with a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen area.
BEFORE: At the back, left side of the house – showing the back of the open air porch.
During: This room is the sitting room/kitchen. At the left is the garage/carriage house.
DURING: The house is now painted and a stacked stone wall has been erected around the porch.
AFTER: The covered, open-air porch, decorated with a table and benches and an urn. Ivy was planted to grow up around the brick columns. Flanking the living room fireplace are two French doors which open onto this porch.
THE INTERIORS:
Built in 1929, the house today is 5500 sq. ft. with 7 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. The house was taken down to the studs and over 100,000 POUNDS of plaster was removed! All the trim was also removed, stored, and then reinstalled. The plumbing was replaced and new electrical was installed, along with central A/C and heat - after the original radiators were removed. There was no insulation in the walls, so that needed to be added. The original hardwood floors were used, patched and stained a very, very dark brown. The tile roof and iron windows are original to the Tudor house. These windows are a bit drafty – but their timeless, classic beauty makes up for that!
And here, Randal Weeks welcomes us through the dark gray front door with its beautiful original braces. The door is also original – and is over 2 inches thick!
The front hall is 10’ wide and this room along with the staircase and its wide railings is what sold Randal on the house – the minute he entered. You might say it was Love At First Sight!
Looking the other direction toward the front door.
And upstairs to the landing – you can see the original railings with its distinctive carvings. Through the arched, middle door is the Sewing Room.
The view of the staircase looking towards the landing that faces the backyard. The series of three leaded windows were salvaged.
With the plaster removed, the entry hall is taken down to its studs. The staircase is preserved. To the right is the library. At the end of the center hall is the sitting room/kitchen – which takes up the entire width of the house, along its back side.
The landing. You can see down to the front door and up to the second floor – through to the front Sewing Room. I love this stage where the house is emptied and clean and ready to be created! The small sewing room, with its beautiful leaded glass windows overlooking the front yard – is now a charming bedroom. You’ll see! And notice the second staircase leading up to the attic. On the plans, this is shown as a “Bessler” disappearing staircase. In order to have the attic become a functional third floor, Randal built this full sized staircase.
I found this original advertisement for the Bressler Disappearing Staircase Model #60.
And, here, the new dry wall is installed, upstairs and down.
Here is the taken-down-to-the-studs view of the rear landing that overlooks the backyard. This beautiful trio of leaded windows were salvaged. To the very right of the photo are the newly built stairs that lead up to the attic floor.
TODAY: The front hall, with its dark wood floors and white walls – that provide a back drop for the Aidan Gray pieces, along with the distressed antiques and colorful art work. The design plan calls for a combination of the new and old, a mix of antiques and the latest “Aidan Gray With An Edge” pieces. Randal concentrated on a mix of metals for the house, as you will see in all the finishes of the furnishings and lighting fixtures he used. Notice this light used here – a flush mount.
I absolutely love the light wood of the console used here – against the dark wood floors.
Past the library door, Randal set up this vignette in the entry hall, using a painted chest, an antique gold frame, an antique urn, and a classic A/G lamp (which I have in my own house!) The chest is an antique Randal found in a Paris flea market – he says this is one of his favorite pieces! Wish we could see more of it!
Underneath the stairs, Randal created an ingenious wine cellar! He used a chrome wall-mounted wine rack with a mirrored inset. Aluminum shop window frames were used for the door and window – which allows one to see inside the cellar.
The stairs, now painted white with the very, very dark floors, have been decorated with a collection of antique mirrors. Notice the iron railing on the attic stairs – it was kept simple and modern, so as not to compete with the more ornate railings on the main staircase. And notice the lighting- which is NOT Aidan Gray, but is Arteriors – Windsor Smith’s Mercury Wall Light. These lights pivot to shine either way and they come in either brass or silver. And yes, Randal is such a nice person, that he is happy to use his competitors’ merchandise.
Here is the link to the Arterior Lights – click on the photo of the light below:
Here is the After view of the rear landing, overlooking the back yard.
The Front Door. At the entry, Randal salvaged this 18th century antique gate that once led to “The Dog House.” Pieces like this create a bit a humor and folly and keep it all from being too serious.
Before: To the right of the front door is the paneled library, reached through double French doors. This is really a beautiful room, with a corner fireplace.
The library – the paneling was removed but the two charming bookcases in the corners remain. I wondered why the paneling was removed and Randal told me it wasn’t. What LOOKS like paneling is really wallpaper put up to hide cracks in the plaster walls!!
Today: The library is now painted in dark, dark gray and it is just beautiful! The chandelier is A/G - Glendive Mirror, which comes in large and small. The glossy black walls are juxtaposed against the gray flannel curtains and white chairs. The desk is A/G Sigrid Console – LOVE IT!!! The lamps are A/G Nicole, nickel. Again, I love the rustic, light wood shown against the dark gray floors and walls.
While driving, Randal saw this art work in a gallery window. The colors inspired him so much that he stopped, jumped out and bought it!
The view from the side hall into the library. From this window, you can see the large tree in the front yard.
BEFORE: Off the entry hall and next to the library is the dining room. When the Weeks bought the house, the elderly owner was using this room as her bedroom. Now it’s been renovated and is used as the dining room again. Separating it from the library is the side hall.
Today: Randal wanted a huge round table, which he created out of 3 European white oak farm tables, bleached and scalloped at the edges. The chairs are from Kravet. The chandelier was created by Randal using architectural altar remnants. More about the altar later. In the corner, the columns were mounted on concrete bases to mix old and new.
The door on the left leads to the kitchen/family room.
And the door at the right leads to the side hall which is between the dining room and the library. Again, the design scheme is light wood against the dark wood floors, mixed with colorful art work.
The side hall between the dining room and the library opens to the porte cochere – with a trio of lights from AG Home – the Geo Hammered Oval lights. The mirror is an AG antique reproduction.
The powder room was decorated with gray marble tiles and a mirrored console. Love!!
To the left of the front door is the large, long living room. The bay window overlooks the front yard. The two doors lead to the open-air covered porch.
And the view towards the back of the living room. To the right of the window – an opening now leads to the kitchen/family room.
During: Taken down to the studs – you can see that the opening to the kitchen is now there. Randal said there was a connection there before that had been covered up earlier. The door is actually seen on the original blueprints.
The view into the living room.
After: Two large white sofas are paired with white curtains and dark velvet pillows. Love the full silk curtains! They are gorgeous!! I love the black and white decorative scheme used in this room.
Against the wall is a set of prints. Through the new door is the kitchen/family room. The coffee table was created by Randal out of the roof of an antique holy water chapel. In the great cathedrals in Europe, the holy water is usually in a large marble urn or vase that was placed under an elaborate architectural roof. The finial of the roof was used to create the dining room chandelier, and the gold columns in the dining room actually held it all up. It’s amazing that from just one relic, Randal created three major pieces.
The vignette in the front bay window. Throughout the room is a collection of lighting fixtures from Aidan Gray.
The vignette at the back window of the living room. I love these tufted AG chairs.
Before: On the blueprints – the sitting room and butlers pantry seen above, don’t match the house as Randal bought it. At some point, the house was added onto along the back. Here, the sitting room with the butler’s pantry next to it were taken down to the studs and made into one large room. These corner cabinets remained in the new sitting room.
The butler’s pantry became part of the kitchen. The wall on the left was removed to create one large room.
And the old kitchen became part kitchen and part breakfast area and part laundry room when the wall between the old kitchen and the butler’s pantry was removed. The back stairs lead up to the second floor.
During: You can see the corner cabinets are still there in what was once the sitting room. And the butler pantry is now open to the sitting room.
After: And here is the sitting room with the long, galley kitchen where the butler’s pantry once was. A series of beaded chandeliers act as an art installation over the bar.
Through the door on the left is the living room. Randal placed an urn outside this window to create a focal point for the inside view. I love that he kept the original corner cabinets.
The view from the sitting room into the kitchen. The back stairs were exposed to create an architectural element. The kitchen is fabulous – it runs along the entire width of the house! Love it!!!
Randal used this collection of beaded lights as an art installation. The entire back wall of the long kitchen is white subway tile mixed with light wood shelves. LOVE! The island has the waterfall edge.
A view towards the back porch and the carriage house. You can see the original oval window on the porch. I love this light fixture from AG Home - Organic Globe.
The galley kitchen that runs the width of the house. The stove hood is clad in mirrors to create the energy between the shine and the wood shelves and white tiles.
A heated tile floor was used in the kitchen area – and the breakfast room that is off to the far end of the long galley kitchen. The cabinet pulls are rose gold.
The laundry room is off the breakfast area.
The statue seen from the kitchen window. So pretty! An arched row of evergreens was planted behind the statute to create a screen when fully grown. Aren’t these original windows incredible? Almost 100 years later – this same kind of window is trending today!
The winter view.
Ready to go upstairs?
Before: The Sewing Room was turned into a small bedroom. This would be my room – I love the windows!
After: The walls were painted a light pink.
The master bedroom is dark gray with a contemporary light fixture from AG.
The second master bedroom with dark blue curtains and a pendant light from AG Home, Geo Collection.
And across from the bed is the blend of antique and modern looks from Aidan Gray.
This twin bedroom has white tufted beds and a mix of old and new looks.
On the third floor, a closet and bathroom were built into one end of the room.
Later: And in the attic space, two bunkrooms for the younger ones. You can see the bathroom on the left and the closet on the right that were added.
And another bedroom – so cute.
Before the High Point house was even finished and had barely been photographed, it was sold. The family decided that a vacation home would be more fun for the three boys if it wasn’t associated with work. Since this house was in High Point, they started looking for a more vacation spot. All I can think about is how lucky the new homeowner is with that fabulous kitchen and huge living room, dining room and all those bedrooms! AND I would love to see how they furnished it. I wonder if Randal helped with the lighting fixtures? Or was it sold furnished?
Which brings me back to the giveaway!!!
Aidan Gray With An Edge
Hashtag #AGwithanedge
Hopefully, you have been inspired by one or two or three lighting fixtures from Aidan Gray.
For the giveaway, AG is donating 15 lighting fixtures, including some pairs of lamps!!!
The contest is this – take a photo of a room, vignette or area in your own house that you think will look better with an Aidan Gray light fixture.
All you need to do is take the photo and then pair it with an Aidan Gray fixture. Next, put the photo on your instagram. Hashtag it with:
#AGwithanedge
Here are some ideas from Aidan Gray that show how to create your entry photo:
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO PERFECT!!!
HAVE FUN!!!
BE CREATIVE!!!
Here are some examples:
Use a “Pic Stick” app and make a collage like this one.
Or just tape and paste.
Here is my entry that I created using the PicStitch app.
If all else fails and you can’t figure out how to combine the two elements into one photo – then just submit two photos, one of your room and one of the fixture you think would look good there. Use the hashtag on both photos.
Go to the Aidan Gray web site to look at all the available products HERE.
Remember, have FUN!!!
Be CREATIVE!!!
If you need help with your photo -
email or call me OR ask your teenager!
Randal and Sally Weeks will judge all the entries and fifteen winners will be chosen!!!
You have a week to submit your photos.
REMEMBER TO HASHTAG
#AGwithanedge
please also tag your instagram with #aidangrayhome #jonibwebb #cotedetexas
ONE WEEK
FIFTEEN WINNERS
FIFTEEN PLUS AIDAN GRAY LIGHTING FIXTURES
HASHTAG #AGwithanedge
GOOD LUCK AND A HUGE HUGE HUGE THANK YOU TO AIDAN GRAY!!!!!!!!