Mountain Home

After spending a family vacation in Breckenridge the week before Christmas, it rekindled Mr. MD and my desire to move west.  My head started spinning with building a home that would suit us until we're too old to drive. :)  When I got home the new edition of Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles magazine was waiting for me. 

I was particularly drawn to architect D. Stanley Dixon's design of a mountain home for an Atlantan couple in Cashiers, NC.  The interior designer on the project was Nancy Warren (photographer Emily Jenkins Fellowill) who had a great vision for the interiors to give a warm mountain feel.

I particularly love the North Carolina fieldstone entry into the home and the creamy horizontal wood paneling. 

Just because a home is in the mountains does not mean there has to be a primitive look to it. Rich warm textures in the textiles and aged wood on the walls layers this comfy room.

A mix of the elegant and rustic.

The kitchen is large enough for a long farm table and opens up into the dining room with a stone fireplace.  Love the dark stained plank floors and the rustic beams on the ceiling.

This is a great look featured in Elle Decor.  Plank floors again, lighter in color and wall of book cases.

Suzanne Kasler's design in a beautiful log cabin as seen in her book Inspired Interiors.  She uses rough hewn wood and  horizontal wood paneling and logs to frame the four poster bed.  The linen on the bed softens the hardness of the wood.

The cabinetry here is stained to match the old wood....beautiful.  No upper cabinets which I like.

 Put that in the file!

The antiques look very pretty against the rough background.

These few images have gotten my head spinning...it will be a few years down the road but definitely something to build upon and add to!

♥

Do you need help making your house into a lovely home?

Contact MD for design services. 

Merry Christmas

For unto us a Child is born,

...unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

May the joy of the Lord be yours and His peace be upon you now and through the new year.

Thank you for your love and friendship.

XO Renae

Tangerine Tango

The new 'it' color for 2012.

"Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it," Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute," said in a statement "Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy."

US Weekly

What do you think about it?

Could you?

How would you?  An accent perhaps?

There is a certain refreshment of color topped on neutrals.

I do like this Hermes inspired corner!

I'm curious, tell me.

Great looking jacket.  

T Tango is not a color that compliments my skin tone so it will not be in my wardrobe.

How about it? Let me hear from you.

♥

Would you like to make your house a lovely home?

Contact MD for design services.

Foodie Friday

Today I was thinking I better get the ovens fired up and get going on some baking. 

Peppermint chocolate cookies

I love giving festive plates of cookies and other sweet yummies to friends... 

...and the nail girl, the hair girl, the mail girl and the dry cleaner girl! :)

Dip first in chocolate and then roll in whatever you like!

I have made these for years, labor intensive but beautiful to look at and quite tasty!

We can do this!

♥

All images from Pinterest.

Do you need need help making your house a lovely home?

Contact MD for design services.

Christmas Tables

Every Christmas our church hosts a spectacular ladies tea and dinner.  Due to the room being filled to the capacity of 600 last year, a brunch the day before was added this year for about 200.  I hostessed a table for both events.

I had an expert helper setting up for brunch.  He's helped me many times throughout the years and we make a great team!

I like 'layering' my tables and started with a black cloth used as a topper to the white which was provided.  Next came a tree skirt topped with a live evergreen wreath.  The center (which I failed to get a close-up) is a cut glass bowl filled with pine cones and ornaments, tree limbs and a battery operated lit branch.

Repeat the whole setting for the dinner the next night.  While the brunch was lovely, there's something about the larger room and the ambience of the evening.

The other table hostesses bring their own creativity and love to their tables.

It is a wonderful evening of inspiration and a perfect kick off to the Christmas season.

These are the sweet friends who joined me this year.

The day following I had a sit down dinner for 10 at my home.

See here for setting the candelabra straight! I love the creative process and started with a favorite linen cloth and then a piece of creamy burlap I fashioned into a runner.

Live greens cut from the yard and battery operated lights nestled in.  I like using a variety of candlesticks too, a mixture of mercury glass and cut glass!

A Christmas table at my house is never complete without English poppers!

A great time was had by all!

As always Susan at Between Naps on the Porch is hosting her 

Tablescape Thursday, be sure and pop over to see how she and other friends are setting their tables!

♥

Do you want help making your house a lovely home?

Call MD for design services!

Room Redesign

One of my friend's (C.A.) has a lovely home and her own sense of style.  Her dining room is the first thing one sees when entering the home but for one reason or another it never got 'done'. She had purchased a huge (6 feet across) round farm table but wasn't sure how to pull the room together.  She asked if I minded tossing some ideas around...what designer doesn't love that?

Around the table were a variety of chairs that she had put slip covers on for unity, while she was waiting on some French chairs she found on Etsy. She is a great shopper!

She inherited some drapes from the previous owner...

...and a very pretty chandy.

My first suggestion was to neutralize the walls and to her good fortune, SW Rice Grain (one of my favorite neutrals) matched her trim quite nicely.  She did keep the dark ceiling.

This door on 4 legs which she had in another part of the home fits the French theme well and perfect the room.  It's great to be able to 'shop the house' for treasures. Here you can see one of the French chairs.

We had a lined burlap table skirt made and she got the glass cut.  The birdcage was green and all I had to say was 'how about making it creamy' and she was on it and did a great job!

C.A. fell in love with the Restoration Hardware mirror which is a beautiful addition.  She also found the sconces which frame the room nicely. I meet at her house for Bible study and it was fun to hear the other ladies comment on how much they loved her dining room!

I think she did quite nicely, don't you?

♥

Do you need help making your house a lovely home?

Contact MD for design services!

Project Monday

Having a dinner party seems to be the impetus to getting some details around the house attended to that keep getting pushed back for another day.

The chandy over the dining room table is an upgraded builders grade that I have been wanting to tone down a bit.

Out came the liming wax and I got busy.

This will do until I get my grandmother's crystal chandelier up!

I found this beautiful candelabra this summer but had not had an opportunity to use it yet and see how the candles sit in it. The whole thing leans a bit so it wasn't a surprise when the candles were crooked.

If you don't have any of this candle wax, it is a definite 'must have' when getting candles to stand properly in their holders.

A little dab here...

...and there...

...and all appears straight!

more on the table later.

♥

Don you want to make your house a lovely home?

Contact MD for our design services.