Readers Houses!

 

 

 

As you know – because I tell you all the time  - every day I get emails from readers.  Sometimes the emails are accompanied by pictures of their houses.    I love getting those emails – it’s fun for me to see readers houses and even to offer a few design tips, but ONLY if I am asked to.   Otherwise, I take off my interior decorator hat and just admire their house as any friend would.    Although some emails are from readers wanting advice, most just send in pictures to share with me.   Many times the houses are decorated in a way that the reader knows I will admire and  just wants me to see it.    Some  homeowners don’t send pictures of their entire house, rather they send snapshots of just one special room recently redecorated.    I have no idea why I love looking at other peoples houses, but I do.   And, I suspect if you are reading this blog, you are the same way too.  So today, I am going to show you a few houses and special rooms from readers so you can enjoy them as much as I have.    Most interesting of all is that most of these houses were not professionally decorated, rather the homeowner put it together herself.    If you have sent me pictures of your house and it’s not included here, do not take it personally!    I have so many images stored on my computer, it’s impossible for me to look through all of them to find every house sent to me these past two years!    These that I am showing today just happened to have been easily found on the hard drive.     Also, if you think you do want to  share your house with other readers – don’t be shy!    I’m hoping to make Readers Houses a regular feature of the blog from here on out. 

 

 

Kim from somewhere in the midwest sent me pictures of her beautiful house.    First up is her entry hall with a vignette designed around a silver mirror and lamps.  Right past the entry is an office behind French doors.   I wish there was a picture of this room – it looks so interesting with its patterned rug and pillow!  

 

 

Facing the entry hall is the living area on the left and the family room and kitchen on the right.   Here you can really get a feel for the house – the colors, the whites and light blues mixed with black accents.  Which room tugs at you to see first – the living room or the family room?   For me – even though Kim’s husband and the cat look so cozy in the family room - the living room is calling.

 

 

 

With the pretty staircase overlooking it, the living room is bright, light, and beautiful!   The room is double height with lots of windows that really add to the ambiance here.  The curtains are a wonderful silk stripe in blue and white and notice the pattern is railroaded, meaning the stripes run horizontal instead of the more usual vertical direction.      The large pattern is perfect in this size room.   The sofa matches wonderfully in white with the blue trim and the zebra pillows pop against all the more pastel colors in the room.    In fact, black is an important accent color  - besides the pillows, it is found in the piano and the lampshades.   I love the large trendy chandelier – it’s the right size exactly for this high ceilinged room.   Kim adds a large mink throw for texture.   What a pretty room – I love it!

 

                         

  A close up shot of the sofa with all the pillows and the luxurious throw.    Let’s go see the nearby dining room.

 

 

 

 

The dining room is a bright, sunny space.   With its glass topped table, surrounded by casually slipcovered chairs- the painting really sets the mood in this room.     The pillows that are placed on the chairs all pick up the bright colors found in the painting.    Further bursts of colors come from the glassware found on the tablescape.   I wish we could see the lighting fixture!    Very cute room!!!

 

 

 

Heading back into the central hall,  the family room and kitchen are on the right side of the house.    Here you can see part of the family room with the animal print rug and two white chairs and ottoman.  Notice the breakfast room is off to the very back right of this room.

 

 

The family room connects to the large white kitchen.   There is another back staircase in this room.  

 

 

 

 

Off to the side in a large bay window is the breakfast room – so charming!  I love the way Kim has accessorized the table with a runner and candlesticks.   The light fixture is so pretty too.   I adore this room!    Notice what an important role all the green from outside plays in all the different rooms.     The foliage really adds so much color to the house. 

 

 

The kitchen has beautiful Carrara marble counter tops and great cabinetry.   In every room, Kim has used a wonderful chandelier which really adds an important design element.   I love how the pantry has a French door! 

 

 

 

 

The backsplash is subway tiles, also in marble.   This is really a pretty kitchen with the glass front cabinets and the wood hood.  

 

 

 

The master bedroom is a serene place, with a chandelier and two large mirrors that make the entire room sparkle. 

 

 

 

And finally the verdant back yard with its wonderful swimming pool!    Thank you Kim for sharing your beautiful house with us!!!!!

 

 

 

Homeowner Two:   our next reader’s house is owned by a woman who wanted to share her love of accessories and collecting with me.   Like she said – we have many of the same collections – and she is so right!  I see right away we both love zebra rugs and blue and white porcelains!

 

 

This is so charming – an antique round bookcase filled with design books, of course!  I love the screen behind it, made of book faces.  She loves books as much, if not more, than I do!

 

 

I adore this – around a game table – four blue and white garden seats!   She has me beat - I only have three garden seats.

 

 

Another thing we both collect is bronze dog figures  AND design books.  I’m not sure who has more books, she or I, but it’s a tight race.   I see we own many of the same books.   But more important – I spy a picture of the owner hugging a English Springer Spaniel, very much like my own Georgie.    Is this my house or hers??????   I’m getting a little confused here!

 

 

 

Another view of the same tablescape – Living With Dogs is one of my favorite design books!  

 

 

 

In this beautiful antique secretary is a collection I don’t have – but it’s so charming I may start one – vintage dog bowls!   I love this!!!   The entire cabinet is an expression of her love of dogs – she must be the sweetest woman in the world!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

More blue and white and calligraphy brushes.   We both share a love of orchids.  I only own one calligraphy brush. 

 

 

 

Her collection of cooking books fills the bookcase in the dining room.  OK  - here we part ways.   I don’t have a love of cooking.  Whew!  I thought we were the same person until now!

 

 

 

 

 

A view of the vignette atop the console in the dining room.   This homeowner collect religious santos and art work that celebrates the Hispanic woman.   AND she loves orange roses – me too!!!!!

 

 

 

At the homeowner’s 60th birthday party, her family collected all the things from her house that she loves and decorated the party room with her favorites.  What a great idea – I have to remember this for my 60th birthday, in five years!    Here, her love of quilts, santos, blue and white, and orange roses is evident.

 

 

A view of the party table – I see “Antiques At Home” another favorite book of mine.    The fudge looks slightly delicious.

 

 

She’ll probably kill me for this – but the beautiful homeowner at her 60th birthday party- thank you for sharing your wonderful house and all your  collections with us!!!!

 

 

 

Homeowner Three:  Our third homeowner sent in this picture of her bedroom – telling me how much I would love it!  I wonder why?  Could it be the checked upholstered headboard, or the beautiful Scalamandre Oriental toile wallpaper?   Or would it be the vintage sunburst mirror?    Thank you Ms. MDC for sharing your beautiful bedroom with us !!!

 

 

 

 

Homeowner  Four:     Our Fourth homeowner today sent in pictures of her house – and I want to show you how darling her kitchen is – all in black and white, with subway tiles and black granite.    The floor tiles are perfect, and I love the white linen curtains along with the white ironstone too.  But the chandelier is the perfect touch!!!  Thanks for sharing!!  You’ve done a great job with your house.

 

 

 

Homeowner Five:   This homeowner today writes from South Africa!    Her house is built around a courtyard where there is a large swimming pool.  Notice the lions on top of the roof!  This is Africa, after all.

 

 

Her living room is so pretty with its stone fireplace.

 

 

 

I especially love the French inspired bedroom with its trumeau mirror.

 

 

 

But what really caught my eye was this bathroom with its crystal chandelier, twin Venetian mirrors and luxurious silk window shade – all just so beautiful!  Thank you for sharing!

 

 

 

Homeowner Six:   This young homeowner wanted to share her dining room which she had just finished decorating.  She thought I would like it – wonder why?   Well, the slipped chairs are adorable – I like how she put tops on only two of the chairs – it creates a visual interest.  Cute ballet ties too!   And I love the dark wall color with the white slipcovers – it makes them pop.  The plates are the perfect addition too – love that!   You did a great job!!!! 

 

 

 

Homeowner Seven:     This reader told me – you are going to love my living room –we share so many things.  Yes we do!  Let me count the ways:  Bennison Roses fabric, seagrass, zebra, white slips, French settee, blue and white, orchid, sconces -  yes, you are so right!!  We do share a love of so many of the same things!! 

 

 

And finally, I really want to show you this house, but I don’t have the homeowner’s email anymore.  If this is your dog, email me!   This homeowner sent in professional pictures of her beautiful house and I want to make sure it’s not being published before I share it.

 

Thank you again to all the homeowners today who have shared their houses and their special rooms with me and you!   What is most interesting, is I don’t think many were professional designed – just homeowners with style and taste who put together their house with the things they love.  If you have designed your house and want to show it off, let me know!  I hope to continue to show “real houses” not just all the more professionally designed houses we see in the magazines. 

 

 

And one bit of blog business, this week The Skirted Roundtable was thrilled to welcome internationally acclaimed interior designer AND blogger Vicente Wolf.    Wolf   was extremely interesting, talking about everything from his childhood in Cuba to his present day design service, working  hard to maintain a profitable business in this terrible economy.   If you haven’t had a chance to listen – please go HERE to do so.   ENJOY!!!!

Restoration Hardware Goes Belgian

 

Two years ago House Beautiful declared “Belgian is the new Swedish” – how prescient that statement was.  Today Belgian design IS the hottest thing with no signs of overkill or boredom setting in just yet.  Why Belgium?  Why Belgian design?  Such a small country that few of us could immediately point to on a map, and even less of us have actually visited.    The reason for Belgian design was explained to me by a designer from the Netherlands who said, that while the Netherlands is mostly a country of the middle class, Belgium has a very large poor population and a smaller, very extremely wealthy class of people.  People who can afford to and who do restore the many country manors that dot their flat landscape.  They fill up their newly renovated houses with beautiful antiques and art and they are courted by the eager designers waiting to guide them.    Yet, guided by this small handful of extremely talented designers, they chose not to exactly fill up their houses but instead sparsely and deftly decorated them, letting each precious piece speak for itself instead of becoming lost in a sea of fauteuils and bergeres.    This decade has indeed become the Belgian decade – the overscaled upholstery, the worm eaten, unstained woods, the linen textures, the large lanterns, the industrialized repurposed pieces - have all become a part of our lives without most even realizing that Belgian designers were behind it all.  The look is perfect for the younger generation, couples who don’t want their parents furniture have hungrily sought out the spare designs.  Weary antique lovers tired of frilly French and heavy English pieces are now flocking to Belgium to visit the warehouses and shops filled with things they have only seen before in pictures.    Whether you like this design, whether you loathe it, it is here and it’s not going anywhere soon.    In fact, Restoration Hardware has taken on Belgian design in a big way, betting the company’s future on a look so new, so foreign to the masses.    They are  predicting that America is firmly on Belgium’s side, as if this was a soccer match instead of interior design.     Will Restoration Hardware be successful?   I’m not sure, their pieces are stunningly gorgeous, yet pricey.    Let’s wait and see what Target does.   The ball is their court now.

 

 

 

BROWN, Houston’s Belgian Design Mecca.

 

 

At one time, everything I knew about Belgium and its design and antiques, I learned from the woman who owns this shop, Jill Brown,  a force to be reckoned with in Houston, 1st Dibs, and truly anywhere she goes.   Jill,  a charismatic trend-setter,  had lived in Belgium and returned to Houston where she promptly opened an antique store stocked with wares she brought back from her adopted country.    At that time – the legendary Axel Vervoordt had barely made a name for himself.  So, for me and countless other Texans, BROWN was Belgian Design for years and years and still is and always will be.    (See Jill’s wonderful house here.)   Our exposure here in the south to Belgian Design was made of small steps that quickly added up.

 

 

 

 

In the beginning, there was just Axel Vervoordt, the famous Belgian antiquarian first seen in Architectural Digest in 2002.   It’s truly amazing how far he has come in 7 short years.   Today, Vervoordt is credited, rightly or wrongly, with starting Belgian design.    What is indisputable is that Vervoordt did introduce the world to this type of design.  He authored several best selling books that helped spread the word about what was going on his country.  He lured people to Belgium to tour his private castle and shop while they were there.   His vision became everyone’s vision.   No one has yet knocked him off his throne yet, though there are several contenders in Belgium.   Here Vervoordt stands among the hallmarks of Belgian design – unstained woods,  furniture made from organic materials, white walls, and sparse, monochromatic interiors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then in Houston during the mid 2000s,   large, beautiful, and very expensive coffee table books began showing up mostly at the landscaping company, Thompson and Hanson.   Their pages were full mostly of  houses from Belgium.   The publisher, Beta-Plus, out of Belgium, has been in the book business since 1995, but their sales have really taken off these past few years since the world has gone Belgian.   Though hard to find, they truly are the definitive word on Belgian Design and a must-read to learn more about the style.   Available here.

 

 

A small collection of the Beta-Plus books.  I am trying to collect the entire group, I’m almost there!

 

 

 

Sparse exteriors match Belgian interiors.

 

 

In Austin and in Houston, gardening went Euro, Zen, French, Belgian – call it whatever you like.  But GARDENS in Austin and Thompson Hanson in Houston drastically changed the way many people thought about gardening.  It certainly wasn’t all azaleas and magnolias anymore.  Far, far from it.   It was gardening with a light touch, a spare quality, where emphasis was on texture and shades of green, not colors and mounds of flowers.  It was about gravel and boxwoods and biots filled with succulents. 

 

 

 

And, then there was THIS cover story – gee, was that really only two years ago?   Seems so much longer!  But look how gorgeous this is, the faux painted patina paneling, the ancient vessels.    Was there a prettier cover ever?

 

 

 

It was enough to make us ALL get up and move to Belgium, wherever that was!   When I was in college, my sister Melanie, my cousin Josette and I took a grand tour of Europe for a month – we went everywhere!  Everywhere!  But Belgium.   Now, people see that country as a destination, with a layover in Paris.

 

 

 

And then there was this light fixture – made from old wine barrels – it was copied everywhere.   

 

 

 

 

And there was this – the famous brick layer table.   Thousands of these slabs bought at a quarry were turned into tables that today are still the hottest thing going.       Until recently when Brooke from Velvet and Linen went to  Atlanta and visited Bobo’s Intriguing Objects – I had no idea that the same person was behind both the wood barrel chandelier and the brick layer table.  But BoBo and his Belgian partner designed both these objects which are the hallmark of Belgian design: organic and industrial at the same time.                                                                               

 

 

Listen to Brooke’s most intriguing interview with the force behind Bobo’s Intriguing Objects here

 

 

 

In late 2007, House Beautiful showed this Belgian styled house in America declaring Belgian is the new Swedish.   Lanterns, overscaled slipcovered furniture, light unfinished woods, white walls.  This room is a pretty faithful reproduction except for the tufted  contemporary chair – which is not Belgian at all.

 

 

 

 

 And Ina Garten’s new Hamptons barn was nothing by Belgian design for America.  Everyone raved without even knowing it’s origins. 

 

 

 

 

 

What exactly is true Belgian design?

It’s big rooms that are sometimes almost empty.   It’s huge lanterns and oversized pieces of furniture and spare, but large accessories.   

 

 

 

It’s long, lean sofas, sometimes with no cushions at all.  It’s huge coffee tables with metal bases and simple wood tops.  

 

 

 

 

Belgian Design is about a calm, quiet interior without much contrast.   It’s sparse with one or two dressy pieces mixed in with wicker or something dragged inside from the outside. 

 

 

 

Belgian design can be somber and dark with urns and vases and fabulous art work, but only one canvas per room, please.

 

 

It’s floors that aren’t stained or varnished, just limed and it’s wood paneling is also not stained.  It’s about texture and shapes, it’s matte, not shiny.

 

 

It’s about attic rooms with ancient rafters and a mixture of French and Swedish antiques here and there.  It’s not just about Belgium antiques at all.

 

 

 

Belgian design is about monochromatic decorating in either grays or beiges or taupes.   It’s about mirrors and worn terra cotta floors and kitchens filled with white dishes.

 

 

 

It’s about old houses in the country and in the city being restored for today with huge stone fireplaces and even older shutters. 

 

 

Belgian design is about wood – on the floors, the ceilings, the walls.  It’s about worm eaten antique furniture.  It’s about great art work and even greater architecture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s about Belgian linen everywhere and light colored paneling.   It’s about lamps made out of vases and fancy crystal chandeliers used in places you wouldn’t expect them.

 

 

 

It’s about reclaimed building materials being used on every surface – ancient marble floors and old flagstones from generations passed are sought out and prized.

 

 

 

 

It’s about mixing velvet with chipped, worm eaten wood and dressy mirrors mixed with lowly tables.  It’s about a quiet, simple elegance that is accessible and down to earth – not fancy and untouchable.

 

 

 

Belgian design is about a mixture:  of high and low, of dressy and casual, of organic and industrial, of unstained wood and white washed wood, it’s about overscaled slipcovered furniture and small dainty antiques.   It’s about being quiet and subtle.  It’s about being modest, not boastful.

 

 

Which brings to me today.   Restoration Hardware, the store famous for reviving vintage games and old fashioned record players and deco fans has gone Belgian.  An upscale hardware store that sells, well, hardware and paint along with slipcovered furniture and beautiful lamps has changed – in a huge way.  Recently they partnered with the owners of Bobo and a few other select designers.  This renowned group of artisans was given artistic license to create their products – some brought their own lines, some are exclusive for RH.  The gamble is huge.  The new RH is no longer inexpensive like the old days – this new inventory is pricey – but it has to be.  It’s built to last a lifetime and it shows.   These are gorgeous pieces, exquisitely executed, faithful and honest to their designers.   RH started showing the next line slowly – a mirror here, a light fixture there.   But now, their web site is full of all that is new and it’s breathtaking!     It is the best in Belgian design for all of Americans to enjoy, along with the best of France and the other locales of inspiration.   I was stunned at the beauty.   I hope we are ready for this – to pay a little extra and get the best.  It’s a huge business gamble especially in this climate of cutting back.   RH is asking us to change our direction and turn down a new road.   I’d hate for this company to go under now.   It’s the best it’s ever been and their future is limitless, as long as people will be willing to pay the prices and buy the merchandise.  I hope so.    I’m dying to see what the next collection will bring!    

 

Be sure to visit the web site and read about Bobo’s designs and all the other artisans who contributed to the new Restoration Hardware.  Each person played an integral role in making this store the best there is right now. 

 

 

 

 

The Belgian camelback sofa is so beautiful!  Slipcovered in linen, it’s a standout piece – the core of the collection.    The industrial tables are Dutch.    The oversized map of Paris is another stunner.   And the lamp is gorgeous.  I would buy every piece in this picture and be thrilled to have it!   The wood cabinets are unstained just like you would find in Belgium.  What styling, what advertising, how can one resist it?

 

 

 

The English inspired sofa is slipcovered  with hot-as-can-be feedbag pillows looking fabulous on it.   Bobo’s brick layer table is here as are the two industrial side tables.      The mirror was one of the first pieces they advertised – it’s beyond gorgeous.   But the lamps are amazing – true works of art.    RH is now carrying a line of breezy Belgian linen curtains that look perfect against all the woods and metals. 

 

 

The photo styling for the catalogue is beautiful  - the rooms look like they could be in a Belgian house in the country.  The floors are light wood, unstained, the walls a light gray/taupe. And these 19th century styled French chairs are truly to die for!   No cushions – which is so streamlined and hip.   Just gorgeous.   I would pair these with the Belgian sofa, stunning!!   The chairs – a star in the line – were designed by Bobo.   And notice the cabinets in the lightly stained wood. 

 

 

This dining room shows great chairs and a large unstained trestle table – made out of 100 year reclaimed wood from Britain.   The gorgeous lanterns are repros made by Bobo.  And in the back is a mirror clock.   If you have the room for this huge table – wouldn’t it be wonderful?  I would put it in a large galley kitchen or in a long breakfast room or a beach house.

 

 

 

Gorgeous repro French chairs (and these are so cheap too!) and I love this smaller version of the above table.  BoBo’s famous wine barrel chandelier is shown, of course.     The clock is a station replica but the mirror is the real focal point here.   Belgian linen curtains.

 

 

 

The industrial styled Flatiron table – another wonderful casual table paired with medallion back Louis French chairs.  The botanicals are great!  But look at the light fixture !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Gorgeous!!!!

 

 

What a desk – from Restoration Hardware?  It looks like something you would repurpose yourself!    Again, this styling is superb. 

 

 

 

These unstained shoe cabinets double as towel cabinets.  I think these chairs make anything wonderful!    And the dressmaker form!  So cute!!!

 

 

 

In large old Belgian houses (and all over Europe really,)  bathrooms are carved out of whole rooms – so they are often quite spacious.  Wouldn’t it be great to actually have all this space to really spread out?   I love the medical cabinet and the Mansard mirror.

 

 

 This Portuguese desk is one of my favorite new items.  I would use it behind a sofa as a console table.  

 

 

 

 

 

Restoration Hardware has brought Belgian Design to the masses.    Will we accept it?  Will we buy it?    What stunning style it is – what looks better, where?   I am just amazed by it all.   Like I said, I hope Restoration Hardware makes it with this new direction.  The items are not cheap and some are downright expensive compared to Pottery Barn and what we have come to expect from places like these.  But, the quality, the style,  the majesty of the furniture really sets it apart from the competition.   Now, let’s see if Target jumps on the Belgian bandwagon and dilutes it of all it’s uniqueness.     Probably the only way for Belgian design to be accepted by the masses is if  Target does jump in the waters.  Will it?  Do we want that really?   Does Restoration Hardware need the masses to accept Belgian Design?