Style At Home

I recently came across Style At Home magazine because Jen wrote about them and I really fell in love with a home she shared from their website. I won't show the entire house, you can visit her blog to see all of the images, but these are the three that I felt a personal connection with the most and beneath each I'll explain why.

I like this room because I am American and we generally like to live large and this, to me, looks very American even though I think the home is in Canada. Close enough! :) Especially after living here now in Europe and being exposed to design on this side of the pond, I really can pick out classic American style instantly as never before. I like the patterned rug, the chairs, and the arrangement of plates over the mirrored cabinet. But most of all, I love the idea of a beautiful staircase. For as long as I can remember, I always wanted a home with a staircase, I like having the intimate parts of a home separate -- and the space where guests visit in one location. I don't mind living on one floor either, as I grew up on the beach in South Carolina in a modern "ranch" style home that was quite large with a very open concept and a large front and back yard in a tree-lined residential neighborhood. But when I would visit Charleston or some of the older plantations and historical homes of the deep south, I always loved those "Gone With The Wind" style staircases. The ones that are very elegant. 

As a little girl I would often daydream about someday being a "grown up" (which meant at the time to be a teenager -- allowed to wear makeup and date boys) and how I would love if my parents had a home with a staircase because then I could walk down to greet a nice boy and he stood below in the parlor with my parents to make my grand sweeping entrance. I know, it's silly, but it was what I imagined for myself. And though it never happened because we only lived in a home with staircases once when I was quite young -- when my father built a 4 level home (it was beautiful) -- I think to this day I have a strong crush on living with a southern style staircase. 

But in Germany, this is not typical and I am also fine with that because some dreams look better on paper than in reality anyway. :) Even so, this image makes me remember the "first date" scenario and makes me smile to think that long ago I was but a starry-eyed little girl dreaming of staircases and dating boys.

I like this photo because it feels like something I imagine seeing in a home along the coast, and I do love the ocean. I lived directly on the beach once in my life with the sand and surf in my backyard and I remember how great that period was. I had a massive bedroom with large windows and built-in bookcases, along with french doors that opened into the main living area. I also had a fireplace in my bedroom with a lovely mantle. I remember lighting fires in the winter when I was 17 and sitting around on the hardwood floor on pillows listening to the waves crash outside, smelling salt air combined with the woodsy fire, and feeling no greater feeling. I loved my bedroom, it was my sanctuary. I was so lucky, looking back, to have a bedroom like that at only 17-years-old! I don't even have a bedroom like this today... but I have my memories. This space, though not a bedroom, reminds me of the light, bright beachfront space I once lived in with my parents.

And speaking of bedrooms, I really like this space but not so much the bed or linens as much as the mirror, ceiling height and large windows and window coverings. I currently have drapes like these in my bedroom (thought not pinch pleated but white flowing lined linen) and like them very much. I tend to keep my windows unified throughout the house as I like harmony and for the home to have a positive energy and plenty of natural light as I work best in natural light having grown up in very open, bright spaces. And the mirror, it's lovely. I remember once seeing a mirror like this in an issue of Domino magazine with model Josie Maran on the cover. It's not the exact mirror but very nice still. Let me go check and see if I have a photo of this...

Yes here it is shown on my table above. Do you recall the issue? The mirror has always been a favorite of mine because it's a statement piece but also functional as you can use it to look into -- without the mirror in the center of the "bloom" it would be purely decorative and I don't think I would like it as much. Plus that mirrored center reflects light and so it is a nice element to add to any room that may have a window on the opposite wall. I believe that the one shown in Josie's apartment above is called the Lily Mirror from Ballard Designs but don't quote me on that.

And speaking of mirrors that are white with a floral feel to them, look at these from Pottery Barn Kids shown below. They are sadly no longer available as this is a very old photo from one of their catalogs, but gorgeous still and on a much smaller scale which is nice for grouping either together or even to add a single small mirror to an art wall. Imagine a painting, some prints, and a mirror grouped together -- it is a very nice way to "break up" an art wall and give it some added interest and dimension.

And so those are some thoughts at the moment and some rooms that caught my eye. :)

(images: style at home, holly becker and pottery barn kids)