Inspiration: House & Garden

Photograph by Luke White for House & Garden Dec 2004

Monday inspiration from an old copy of House & Garden I picked up while securing the linen press. Snagged a whole stack at $.50 a piece. Such a beautiful home on the canal in Amsterdam. This artwall is located in the bathroom of the gorgeous home of Heather Jeltes-Davis. Happy Monday!

Hit the Brakes!

My daily route to the bank and post office takes me past a two block area that is a treasure trove of antique stores and consignment shops. About 8 to 10 of them are in this concentrated area. Over the years I have had some great finds out of these shops. So lately they have taken the practice of setting some of their items outside to draw in customers. Dangerous- to me that is!
Yesterday I was driving by heading home when I spotted the corner of an interesting piece through the open door. Hit the brakes and ...you know the rest.
This 1920's mahogany linen press just made it out of a container from Europe. Its going to house the new flat screen TV for our wing back room. Its low enough that we could serve from it during a party and has 2 drawers and movable shelves. Its perfect for us. Can't wait to bring it home!

Vintage Volkswagen Easter

As a break on a Holiday weekend mostly spent working on the "beloved bungalow", we took the 1959 Volkswagon Kombie, a former TV repair bus, on its maiden voyage. LondonHIM extracted this bus from a local salvage yard. It was a shell with no drive train. A huge project completely reworking the 50 year old bus but leaving the original handpainted logos by the 1st owner as a testament to the American dream. The former owner purchased it in August of 1959 and drove it until 1985. This bus was instrumental in a small business owner putting his sons though college and providing for his family in a time when people still fixed things. Those sons now are bank VIP's. When contacted they were excited to hear the bus was heading back to the roads. They thought it had been crushed long ago.

I consider LondonHIM my personal Renaissance man. At home in an Antique store (he worked in them during college years), a museum (former assistant curator) or on a quest for vintage Volkswagens or Vespas (real junking) to fix. Aside: He can easily understand a decor obsession as a guy with a few of his own.

So for our holiday dinner, LondonHIM's brother and girlfriend trekked down to the Liberty Bar in his 1961 Volkswagen Westfalia and we took the TV repair bus. Needless to say the buses garnered a lot of attention. I had no idea it would be such fun to ride in the rusty old box on wheels!

Picture from the Liberty Bar website.

The Liberty Bar has been described as an engineering marvel. While structurally sound the restaurant leans drastically and has crooked floors. It also serves some of the best food in San Antonio. Their motto is "Liberty Bar: Serious Food." Check out the menu. Some great dining is done here. It's a favorite for us.

The leaning Liberty Bar.

First full gas tank in the bus in 20 years!

LondonBrother and his girlfriend.

LondonHIM and I. It's too cold to be outside! (And camera phone's stink.)

Happy Easter!

Fabric S.O.S.

Does anyone know the manufacturer for this fabric? Or how I can find it? It is called Pippa and the colorway is "copper" I'm told. (Looks more like "spice" to me). Fell in love with it 2 months ago for reupholstering the 2 small slipper chairs inherited from LondonHIM's grandmother. When I went in to pick it up from my favorite fabric store - the bolt was sold out and the store will only bring in another bolt if I will purchase 25 yards. I only need about 10 yards. Unfortunately they won't give out the name of the manufacturer to customers (!!#@*&#!). Any help here will be greatly appreciated!

Shopping Main Street: Boerne

Main Street Boerne

About 30 miles north of San Antonio lies the charming town of Boerne, Texas. Settled originally by German immigrants Boerne is picturesque and beyond lovely with the main street bi-sected by a meandering river. The banks of which are perfect picnic location material.


More Main Street-my favorite building,bought my first antique here in College.

New bedding store

Town square

Now to share with you one of my all time favorite shops. Good & Co. antiques is a lovely collection of old buildings and an interior courtyard right on main street. (I took some great shots of the exterior, but the new camera and I have not reached an understanding yet.) Good & Co. has a British/French colonial feel that appeals to me. The shop is such a brilliantly merchandised collection of gorgeous vintage and antique pieces with some new items thrown in for good measure. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do each time I visit.

Crazy about that cane trunk.

Magnificent mahogany armoire. Hmm... that armillary looks sort of familiar (Mrs. Blandings )

Brilliant use of a closet.



That buffet is calling to me!

Last shot is of the front of the store on my way out. Thank you to Good & Co. for indulging me in letting me capture the store in photos. Stop by if you make it to Boerne. It's such a treat.

Calling loudly...

Matchbox by Andrew Martin

Loving this delightful fabric from Andrew Martin's new fabric offerings. It's called Matchbox for obvious reasons. I think its perfect for roman shades in the living room with the striped silk-like drapes we picked up recently. I'm attempting to keep the room from feeling too heavy. We have some cordovan leather chesterfield club chairs for that room. The living room is going to house the library ladder and built in bookcases. I think its so quirky and charming. Now to convince HIM.

All pictures from www.andrewmartin.co.uk and take a look at the rest of the new fabric collection and web store. I recommend it!

Elegant Outdoor Living

Photography by Stacey Brandford for Canadian House & Home

Just one image in a completely covetable backyard overhauled by homeowner Mark Robert. This is an outdoor room done right! (I'm thinking off the master bedroom!) Featured in the March issue of Canadian House & Home magazine in an article by Laura Muir. The entire backyard is supremely elegant while remaining livable and unstuffy. This is my first purchase of the Canadian magazine. It's wonderful. You should check it out if you haven't already!

Exterior Progress!

The day has finally arrived! Exterior paint is making an appearance! It has been a long time coming. When purchased the house had tranzite shingles over the original wooden shingles from 1928. Those were removed. Then the process of abating the lead paint off the original wood began. Professionals taking time and incredible care removing ALL the paint and then caulking all the nail holes and between each of the boards, tedious to be sure. And between weather setbacks and scheduling issues, a process that took far longer than we anticipated.

But now time for some frosting! We have chosen Behr colors for this exterior project. The body of the house will be Hiking Trail. A creamy lighter color called Canoe for the stucco fireplace, fascia, and eaves. Red Hawk for the doors and screens and Chaparral for the Tudor trim and other secondary trim.

I think it will be such a good feeling to see some paint go up and see this Tudor bungalow begin to shine!

I heart Craigslist!

Yesterday during a Sci-Fi program my sweetie was very into (and I not so much), I found this pair of Biedermeier chaise lounges while surfing Craigslist. They were listed as being in downtown Austin near the capitol. The listing wasn't recent so LondonHIM was SURE they already sold. Ever the optimist, I endeavored to prove "Nothing ventured, nothing gained!" is a worthwhile motto. And he invited me to prove him wrong.

Sooo ... we just got back from a road trip to Austin.
The pictures don't do them justice. (We'll take our own pictures soon.) They have amazing marquetry details. The professor we purchased them from found them at an estate sale in Tarrytown. I'm so glad he did!

P.S. Below is the detail picture I promised.

Calling loudly...

Image via BMW

2008 Mini Cooper Clubman arrived on the scene this Febuary. More room in the back. Extra door on the right.

Image via BMW

Barn doors in the back. Plenty of room to bring home treasures! My favorite car just got more practical. I'll take one in pepper white, please. Let's Motor!