TBT - Ainsworth Noah Cabin

Hi Everyone,

I hope you don't tire of my cabin posts.  This should be the last one for awhile, but I wanted to share this beautiful home in - guess where? - Cashiers, North Carolina!!  Remember here and here?  So, Toby West, Ainsworth and Noah were neighbors with the late Charles Faudree who also had a cabin here and who decorated the home I featured in 'Cabin Fever'.  Apparently, this mountain area is a haven for other decorators, too.

It's a small world and a an awful lot of talent in these hills.

So, Hal Ainsworth and Winton Noah, who at the time of this publication, owned the largest space at the Atlanta Decorating and Design Centre, a condo in Atlanta, and an apartment in Paris decided to build this log home as their weekend getaway.

With it's massive 32-foot ceilings in the entrance hall and the living room, they needed large scale furnishings to make the spaces cozy and welcoming.  As an example, the living room sofa is 109" long and 46" deep.  The doorways are 8' tall.

Since they regularly travelled to Europe 6 - 8 times a year for their valued finds and clearly had lots of great pieces to choose from, they then proceeded to fill their home with a collection of antiques, folk art, twig and willow furniture - all complemented by the homey touches of quilts, toiles, plaids and checks.  All just beautiful.

But, the biggest surprise of all was the white shiplapped and beamed guest room with blue and white decor!  At first, I thought there were some pages missing from the magazine and that I was looking at another story, but, no it was all part of the plan......as well as another white walled guest room and games room.

Quite a partnership these two have considering that Ainsworth was quoted as saying in the article that "I can decorate and Hal can't add"!  Obviously, they work as a tandem team and fill in the voids for one another as needed.

Enjoy!

They have three wraparound porches.

The very big sofa I mentioned.

Hal's bedroom with a Niermann Weeks bed and Carleton Varney toile.

Winton Noah's bed is made from local wood.

And this is the surprise - love the shiplap walls and painted beams.  Also, the blue and white is just lovely.

Another guest room with patchwork and plaids.

 Games room.

The back porch.


 Veranda
July - August 2001

French Country Cottage in Reds and Yellows

As a followup to yesterday's post, I would like to share this charming cottage with you.  The homeowner is an antique shop owner who surrounds herself only with items she really loves and  has done it beautifully.

All images via Decorating



French Country Cottage Charm in California

I've loved this 1930s, 1600 sq. ft. Montecito cottage ever since I first laid eyes on it.

Homeowner, Lee Kirch, a Colorado resident, uses this cottage as her second home.

Lee has been an avid antique collector and French country enthusiast for many years.  It's clear she has given a lot of thought to her interior designs and picks up most of her antiques locally at Rue de Lillie in Summerland, which is owned by her good friend, Ruth Ann Risvold.  (Tomorrow, I will show you Ruth Ann's cottage).

This cottage may be small by some standards, but it packs a real whollop in the style department.

For instance, in the living room the walls, sofa and artwork are quite neutral, but Lee has personalized and added warmth with her mix of fabrics.....mostly reds....with a dash of yellow in one of the living room windows.  As Lee says, "Every room needs a touch of yellow" and I agree.  The chairs with the turquoise legs were found at Indigo Seas, Lynn von Kersting's shop.

The dining room has an eclectic choice of fabrics as well......with mix and match fabrics at the windows and on each of the chairs.....another way to keep the eye moving around the room and add interest.

And how can one go wrong with the toiles and quilts in the bedroom and seashells in the bath?  You can't!

Hope you enjoy this home as much as I do!

All images via Country Living



The Home and Designs of Christina Strutt

I can't resist the story of a woman who starts a cottage industry from her home.....working alone at her kitchen table.  The likes of Laura Ashley, Cath Kidston, Jane Forman, Annie Selke, Lilly Pulitzer and many, many others come to mind.  But, today I would like to share the work of Christina Strutt, whose work I have been following for several years.

Today's post could have been titled 'The Books of Christina Strutt', 'The Textiles of Christina Strutt', 'The Vintage Chic of Christina Strutt', or an assortment of other titles, but I just happened to have a Country Home magazine that I was browsing through recently and came upon her home, so I will include her personal haven along with some of her creations.

As a stay at home mom with two young children, and a former Vogue stylist, living in a 600 year old, golden colored stone cottage outside of Bath, England, Christina avidly collected vintage fabrics and collectibles years ago.  What she couldn't find, she produced herself. 

However, she carried it further and began designing textiles at her kitchen table just over ten years ago.  Amazing what she has accomplished in that amount of time.  She is now the founder and owner of the British retailer, Cabbages and Roses,  has authored several books on vintage style, sewing and developing your own vintage, romantic look and continues to design.  Her products are sold within the Jigsaw stores in England and, of course, her books are sold everywhere.

Her combination of soft florals, checks, stripes and toiles is timeless and endlessly cosy and welcoming.  Her collection of reds only increases the warmth of the rooms.......in our long, cold east coast Canadian winters, springs and falls, I, too, have many shades of red in our rooms.....our climate demands it!

See her online shop at http://www.cabbagesandroses.com/

Enjoy!

Love this eat in kitchen!

Windowseat in upper left corner is in kitchen -

sage toile curtains

Christina at home

An image from one of her books

Images 1 - 6, Country Home

Image 7 Independent News, Image 8 The Foodie Bugle

Image 9 Shelterpop

Images 10 - 12, Amazon