Featured House #4- A New Abode

This past week, we helped my baby sister Elsie move into her first post-college abode. She had been living at my parent's house, and it was time for her to find a space of her own. Now, she is living in an adorable 1930's home in a quaint neighborhood with her roommate. 

I simply adore her new space, and I am SO happy for her! Here's a peek at how it's looking now:

The bedroom set (bed and dresser) are antiques, and are actually mine but Elsie is using them for now. They are over 100 years old! I spent about 30 hours a few years ago restoring them, and I'm so glad Elsie is able to use the set in her new place. 

Elsie's style is a very eclectic mix of vintage, bohemian, and natural elements. You can tell from her living space that she is a creative through and through!

She even made her own wreath out of twigs and branches she found, and attached a cool feather piece to it for decoration. 

She made a little vignetted on her dresser using vintage books, an old railroad tie, and a vintage music box in the shape of a gramaphone.

Her beta fish, Crusoe, lives in a glass jar at the foot of her bed. 

Elsie is very talented with pottery, she made the face-shaped pot below! Her boyfriend Kyle is also good with pottery and made the vase cast from an old shoe on the left. How amazing is that?

The rest of the house is decorated with a wonderful vintage style as well, Elsie's roommate has great taste and their styles mesh really well. I wish I had some better pictures of the rest of the place, but here's a little glimpse of the living room. 

I'm so happy for Elsie and wish her all the best in her new abode! I got to spend some time there with her last Saturday, and it feels so homey and so right for her! 

Featured House #3

 It's been a long time since I've done a "Featured House" post. Over 1 year, to be exact! Since it was high time to do another feature, I decided to choose a house that has a special meaning to me: my Grandparent's home.

Even though their house was built more recently (within the past decade, if I remember correctly!), it has the feel of a much older home. Little details like the gorgeous pergola entryway and the vines on the front of the house really lend an older charm. 

My Grandma has always been an avid gardener, and there are beautifully kept gardens sprawling across the whole property. One of my favorites is in the courtyard between the house and garage, which is surrounded on 4 sides with flowers. 

They have lots of beautiful copper detailing around the exterior as well, which is starting to get that beautiful aged look. 

Their "backyard" is really acres upon acres of beautiful woods, but part of it is home to a big vegetable garden and a pond teeming with wildlife of many kinds. 

Of course, I had to include some inside pictures too! I have always loved my Grandma's taste for decorating. It feels so homey and inviting, with a mix of rustic pieces, floral tones, and unique touches.

This vignette in the entryway highlights one of my Grandma's watercolor paintings. She is an amazing artist, and their home features many of her pieces.

One of my favorite places in the house is the front entryway/hallway. It has these huge, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. It's such a great touch!

This couch is where everyone gravitates when they enter the house- it's so soft and comfortable! We sit here every Christmas and for many other holidays and enjoy warm cups of tea and each others company. Oh, and everyone fights for that corner spot! 

The view from the living room is spectacular, with the pond and trees and vegetable garden in the background.

I also love how my grandparents had slate tiles installed in a couple of places in the living room so they could bring plants indoors without worrying about getting dirt/water on the carpet. Brilliant!

Here's another view of the living room, the staircase leads up to the master suite. I love the fireplace and the (real!) stuffed bear on top. His name is Sydney. 

Another view of the entryway/bookshelves. That dog isn't real, it's actually a stuffed toy that the younger cousins love to play with. 

At this point, the lighting was starting to get worse, but I just had to snap some photos of their kitchen. I LOVE the white beadboard cabinets and the french-country feel of this kitchen. 

It even has a lovely little breakfast nook off to the side. 

Yup, really bad lighting, but at least you can see the stove with the amazing copper vent hood and the glass-front cabinets they installed. 

So, you can see why I have always been inspired whenever I step foot into my grandparent's home. I love how my Grandma always has bouquets of fresh flowers from her garden scattered around. It seems like the place is ready for a photo shoot, and I definitely think it's worthy of being featured!

Featured House #2- The Pratt-Taber Inn

Welcome to the 2nd installment of the "Featured House" series! I'm a huge fan of houses (in case you haven't guessed), and I've always loved touring other peoples homes and seeing their unique style!

Let me tell you, I was absolutely floored when I walked into the Pratt Taber Inn. It was, to put it succinctly, a house-lovers dream come true. Built in the late 1800s, and lovingly restored by the current owner, it was filled to the brim with beautiful details and charm.

Before I get carried away, let's start at the beginning. There are 4 guest rooms total- each named after a season. We stayed in the Summer room:

Be still my heart. Look at all that yellow! I love how Deb (the owner and designer) mixed in some beautiful black framed silhouettes. It gives a new dimension and keeps the florals from becoming overwhelming.

Black is such a powerful color! It makes a huge statement anywhere, and in this room it just added to the simple elegance.

The en suite was decorated with paler shades of yellow offset by black accents as well:

Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the whole claw-foot tub. I was too excited about that honey-comb tile!

I got a couple of pictures of the "Winter" themed room as well:



The main parlor:



The woodwork was so beautiful! I love how she worked with the house and kept the vintage feel with her decor. It felt like you were stepping into another century.


Here's the lovely formal dining room where Deb serves her gourmet breakfasts:



Off the dining room there is a lovely little screened-in porch:



I wish I had some better pictures of the kitchen! It was SO amazing.



I didn't receive any endorsement for featuring this B&B, but I just wanted to share the amazing job Deb did with restoring this place to it's former glory! You can check out more photos (including pics of all the guest rooms!) on her website here. I would recommend staying here to anyone!