A Wonderful Custom Giveaway!!!!!

 

Above - The country house of the famous French chef Michel Guerard and his wife Christine was featured in a foreign design magazine some time ago.  The couple own a Relais and Chateau hotel, Les Prés d’Eugénie, whose rooms are located in over five separate and beautiful dwellings.  For more information on their hotel, see HERE.   Besides wonderful meals, the hotel offers cooking lessons and has a highly touted spa.  

Note:  I love the gravel driveway that so many French country houses have – so much better looking than the drab concrete drives we Americans cling to!!!  And I love the simple landscaping – using just boxwoods – especially around the house itself.  

 

 

The bedroom at the Guerards mas with traditional terra cotta tiles and French antique furniture.  I love the antique Swedish stove, pictured on the left!

 

 Of course the Guerards would have a fully functional kitchen – that stove – to DIE for!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 Same room, different view:  – I love how the inside of the armoire is painted.  Makes me want to run home and paint the inside of my armoires.  But, Ben would probably have me committed. 

 

 

Close up of the house, an inspiration for PVE Design.

 

Because the article is written in French, it was hard for me to completely understand the story.   But the pictures were enough to capture the eye and imagination of Patricia van Essche, the author of the blog PVE Design and a long time email friend of mine.  Patricia is a noted artist who specializes in hand drawing charming illustrations for her clients – many whom place orders for greeting cards, notecards, or branding logos.   Patricia emailed me to say that she had seen a house I would love – and just a few weeks later - I received this article of the Guerards mas, along with an original illustration of the house, framed!!!

 

 

Close up of Patricia’s original illustration of the Guerards house, taken from the magazine article.  I love how Patricia perfectly captured the landscaping with the sculpted box.

 

 

Here’s a picture of Patricia’s illustration of the Guerards house – showing where I hung it in front of my bookcases.  Unfortunately the glass picks up the glare in the photographs!!!    I was so excited to get such a wonderful gift from Patricia!    And, this wasn’t even the first time Patricia had been so generous to me.  A few years ago, she created an illustration celebrating my birthday – AND she then made the illustration into notecards which I loved using!!!

 

 

Here’s a close up of her charming birthday greeting!!  Patricia added so many personal details – the Texas and French flags, the design books, my two dogs, my zebra pillows, sea shells, the Texas armadillo!! – even my flower urn.  She has such a great eye for detail.    

 

 

The beautiful and elegant Patricia van Essche at work.    I love this photograph!  It looks like a painting itself.

The Giveaway:

Today, we are having a giveaway – generously donated by Patricia, pictured above at her easel.  The giveaway will be one of Patricia’s custom illustrations – based on either the winner’s house or pet!!!  That’s right – the winner will receive a personal, custom illustration!  And the winner picks the subject matter!!!

 

 

Here is a Christmas card that Patricia did for a family – featuring six of her drawings.

 

 

Here’s another custom watercolor of an estate.

 

Now, in order to win this giveaway – you only need to visit Patricia’s web site and decide if you would choose either a watercolor of your house or your pet – something else.  Look around at all her examples she has created for other clients to get ideas.  To visit her web site, click HERE.   Then, return here to my blog and leave me a comment telling me which subject you choose!   If you are an anonymous poster – be sure you add your email address in case you win!!!  Drawing closes this Saturday – so *hurry up!!!!!

 

As always - GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Lady In Yellow

 

If you are like me, this cover of Veranda is instantly recognizable as an interior done by Mary Douglas Drysdale, the iconic interior designer from Virginia.  In the 90s, Mary was featured on this cover of Veranda and for several years, this color combination became her trademark.  Who could forget those gorgeous silk plaid curtains?  I never did.  In fact one of my earlier jobs had curtains exactly like this in a shameless attempt at copying her! 

 

 

Mary is known for using classic antiques mixed with contemporary art work.  Her interiors aren’t exactly minimalist, but clutter is banished in favor of over scaled accessories:  a large rooster, a sunburst mirror (before they were “in”),  and wind vanes – all favorites of Mary’s.  

 

 

Here, the yellow had become deeper – more vibrant, leaning toward orange.   During her career – Mary has been on over 60 covers!  An amazing achievement for someone with a small overhead - her staff numbers only four.  

 

 

 

Yet, as often as Mary uses classic architecture and furniture, she also is comfortable designing using Americana motifs such as quilts and wind vanes.   She is as competent designing a large mansion as she is a centuries old stone farmhouse.  This  yellow and white bedroom shows the quilts Mary is known for, along with her famous plaid curtains and the large sunburst mirror. 

 

 

Beautiful period antiques mixed in with contemporary art – a trademark.   Mary’s interiors often have classical architectural elements – elegant moldings and columns.  Mary does it all – she is actively involved in the plans from the ground up.  

 

 

 

Modern art work mixes with  traditional furniture.  Mary loves to paint floors.   Rarely is a floor finished with just a plain wood stain.  Here the plaid curtains have become stripes.

 

 

Gorgeous architectural elements - something Mary likes in her interiors.  She studied in Paris for three years before she opened her interior design business.  Notice the gorgeous gilt wind vane!  

 

 

At her centuries old stone farmhouse, Mary was inspired by her neighbor’s pumpkins for her kitchen palette. 

 

 

Yellow becomes orange!  Mary admits she loves white backgrounds with bright pops of color. 

 

 

 

A recent Veranda cover story showed this guest room in soothing greens with pops of pink.

 

 

 

Mary says that many fabrics she uses are actually put together by herself using several different pieces sewn together.  In this recent project, the grand entrance hall is white with small pops of soft yellow and black accents.

 

 

 

In the same house, the formal living room is all creams and ivories.  Notice the beautiful painted floor! 

 

Mary Douglas Drysdale – a legend of our times, highly intelligent, hugely talented, and wonderfully talkative - visits the Skirted Roundtable this week.  Be sure to listen – you’ll be as enthralled as Linda, Megan and I were.  As always, your support and comments are most appreciated!!

 

 

To listen to Mary Douglas Drysdale on The Skirted Roundtable go HERE.