Dreaming

Our friend Karen opened her Gas bill last night and stood in horrific shock - $900! Yes, $900 to heat her 100-year old 4000 sq. ft. home for one month. To me, it's not a surprise, but I certainly can see how it would rip the heart right out of a pocket book - oh, and the money, too!

Scott and I rested comfortably in our much smaller, (about 2300 sq. ft heated) home last night thinking about how we'd pined over those much larger homes in Karen's area - wishing we had more space, and more rooms, and more windows, and simply - more.

It became ever so apparent that for the two of us, a home that size didn't make sense, and what we really wanted was something meant for two, on the water, open and bright. So, I went in search of just that in floor plan search engines around the net, only to come up empty handed.

Now, I'm no architect, but it seems as though (from what I spent hours searching through) nothing has been submitted since the early 1990's. I turned to my trusty Microsoft Paint program (a standby for my design endeavors) and came up with this:
Small and Open. One bedroom, one and a half bath, but of course with a formal living and dining - you don't think I'm going to fore go entertaining do you? After I made the plan that many architects would say could never work, I started furnishing it, decorating it, even loving it - as silly as that may sound.

I layed dark walnut hardwood floors, 4" planks with a matte shine. The heavy baseboards and 12" crown moldings were painted a very light taupe, and the walls in every room a variation of gray. The 12' ceilings were painted a shade darker of the taupe used on the baseboards and moldings, and boasted recessed puck lights and the most stunning glass pendants and brushed silver chandeliers.

Rugs are a mix of antique kilims (like the ones I already own - and love) and seagrass, with a vintage zebra rug layering one of those seagrass rugs in the dining room.

When you enter through the glass double doors of the front of the house, this rustic table would be the perfect place to lay your mail and keys. A set of the stone lamps like I showed you from Hound Hill Designs would flank this nicely, a large cream frame mirror centered above. A fresh arrangement of hydrangeas and white roses would fill the hall with fragrance, and the house with joy. Large rattan baskets would line the bottom shelf of the table, a set of three - perfect for holding Abby's leash, D's winter and summer doggy clothes, and gloves and hats. Two simple antique chairs covered in a soft flax linen would rest on either side of the table. A collection of vintage turtle shells on stands, a set of 3 would join the lamp to the right, and an antique cast iron urn the lamp to the left.

The large pub sign, "The Navigation" hanging in our living room would fit perfectly to the left of the entry, across from the table - and would be lit perfectly by the puck lights in the ceiling.


Looking right, into the Formal living room:
Four of these chairs would surround a round ottoman covered in a brown and cream zebra hide. Tufted with leather buttons, it would be topped with a simple bamboo tray with silver handles and 2 glass apothecary jars filled with moss covered rocks and scatter crystals. A baby grand piano would further separate this space from the formal dining room - serving as the boundary between the two rooms, lit perfectly from the morning sun that would pour in from the banquet of windows in the dining room. A collection of antique skeleton keys would be framed and hung in 5 rows of 5 on the wall directly parallel with the windows, and the windows would boast ceiling to floor length silk drapery in a soft buttercream.

Moving past the baby grand, and into the dining room:

These beautiful chairs would surround a table closely resembling the one in the hall, only wider, and a bit more aged. With enough space to seat 10 comfortably, this dining room would be the perfect place to host Scott's birthday (this Sunday). A seagrass rug layered by a vintage zebra hide would anchor the table, while two matching brushed silver chandeliers would hang down over the table.

Around the corner, moving past the french doors leading out to the Dining Patio, you'd pass a butlers sink and pantry, and come into the very large and open Kitchen/Great Room area which boasts wonderful views to the Living Covered Porch through the three sets of french doors. Gray glass front cabinets would feature Scott's white Pfaltzgraff beautifully, while carerra marble counters on the main cabinets, and mahogany butcher block on the island would give him plenty of prep space for those 10-person parties!

The family room :

Three of these beautiful sofas would surround two old gardeners tables, cut to 19" and pushed together. Just for good measure, I'd toss in a few antique chairs:

And hang a 50" plasma over the fireplace for those nights by the television and the roaring fire. Moving past the living room, and down the hall to the master bedroom, you'd see this gorgeous sleigh bed:

Adorned with the most beautiful blue and white toile bedding and white monogrammed duvet set combination. Antique mismatched side tables would flank the bed, beneath the windows and a low chest in front of the bed would hide decorative pillows. A rattan wingback chair, and layered rugs, along with travelling keepsakes would make this room a joy to wake up to!

Ah, so there you have it, my non-architect rendering of our dream home, preferably on the water in an area where we can enjoy more than just 3-months of warm weather! More to follow on the decor of this "dream home" as well as my color artist renderings of the spaces within!