Sunday, March 23, 2014

Interior Designers have been busy on the Golden Isles!

We headed South this month for the Golden Isles 
61st Christ Church Tour of Homes.
We were missing two of our regulars and the weather 
was cooler than usual. 
But the day of the tour was absolutely perfect!

The tour was co-chaired by Lynn Nazzaro (left) and Beth Smith.
They are shown at the grave of Anna Gould Dodge, the wife of
Anson Dodge the late rector of Christ Church.

We started out our day at a house on Kings Way as you
come on to Saint Simons. This home is on the #5 hole of the
Sea Islands Plantation Course. 

This home was greatly influenced by Telluride, Colorado
where the family also lives. The house has beams of heart pine, floors are 
antique white oak and expansive glass doors lead to the outside.
A six-foot hand forge iron chandelier and a prized elk that was bagged
by the homeowner are special focal points.

It has a casual open floor plan and takes advantage of all the 
outdoor spaces, like the hot tub.
 Besides the golf course you can also see the Saint Simons Sound 
in the distance. 


They have added rain chains around the 
exterior of the house. Rain chains are 
an alternative to a downspout.


We then moved on to Sea Island where 
the first home we toured was a traditional tabby cottage. 


This home was situated at an angle on the street and 
had an enormous koi pond flowing under he front entryway
and down the side of the house.

This next Sea Island home has a distinct beach theme and 
shades of blue and green are used through out the house.
The dining room has a 84" round Oscar de la Renta table. 
The colors of blue and green are repeated in the beaded 
chandelier. 

This beach front "cottage" offers a breathtaking view to the ocean.

One of the many colorful outdoor areas.


The last house on Sea Island was finished in 2013. It 
was built on the old footprint of the original cottage.
It is built in the Mizner style that was popular in the early 
days of Sea Island and is the same style of the Cloister Hotel.

This cottage on East Beach back on Saint Simons was the 
hit of the tour. This was the only home on the tour that didn't frown 
upon pictures, but it was extremely crowded and hard to get many
shots. This home is called Little Sandcastle by the owner.

This cottage has the perfect view of Gould's Inlet!

Wouldn't you like to be sitting here having breakfast and 
looking at that view?

Life is Better at the Beach!

Plenty of bright orange and turquoise accents were in the bath.

I could easily curl up on this downstairs porch and read
the afternoon away!


The master bedroom was a calm retreat!

The upstairs guest room was unique. The padded headboard
ran wall to wall. 


Our last home was on Beachview Drive near the lighthouse
on a corner lot. Their are porches on each level to
take advantage of the ocean breezes.


On the street level of the house is a wonderful outdoor 
area with a complete kitchen....

and dining area.

 From the main house you can look over to the guest 
and pool house ...

with this wonderful outdoor shower!

From the roof of the main house you can look down on the pool area.


There is a seating area and fire pit on the upper deck. 


That concludes our Tour of Homes, but we had another design 
experience while we were on Saint Simons. It took place 
at the King and Prince resort.


 They have recently redone the main areas. This picture shows
where they did away with the indoor pool and put in a 
sitting area.

 Here is a picture looking back towards the entrance.

We had a relaxing lunch in the new dining area that 
looks out over the ocean. This new restaurant has 
been named Echo.


A lovely poem for a lovely place! 


Saturday, March 8, 2014

Flower Fantasy: Interior Design for Spring

Brunschwig & Fils
I bet you are as ready as I am to have Spring arrive. It won't be long 
until it is officially here. One of the first signs we look for are flowers! 
The fabric houses love flowers too and use them for 
inspiration when they create their designs. 
And what beauties they create! 




Brunschwig & Fils
It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: 
when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. 
 ~Charles Dickens,Great Expectations


Carlton Varney
Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, 
there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night.  
~Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke



Colefax and Fowler 
Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"  ~Robin Williams



Charlotte Moss
I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always 
greet it in a garden.  ~Ruth Stout



Lee Jofa
Science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent 
as a sunny spring day.  ~W. Earl Hall



Kravet
Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.  ~Virgil A. Kraft



Scalamandre
Where man sees but withered leaves,
God sees sweet flowers growing.
~Albert Laighton



       Schumacher    
         In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.   
                                                    ~Margaret Atwood



Thibaut 
In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds 
of weather inside of four and twenty hours.  ~Mark Twain

Springtime is the land awakening.  The March winds are the morning yawn.  
~Quoted by Lewis Grizzard in Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You


Maybe this will hold us over until Spring arrives on March 20th!
Don't forget that tonight we Spring Forward!





Source: Fieldstone Hill Design, Brunschwig &  Fils, Carlton Varney, Colefax and Fowler, Kravet, Lee Jofa, Schalamadre, Schumacher, Thibaut