TBT - Now and Then with Toby West

Good morning, Everyone!

I can hardly believe it's Thursday again.......seems like it was just yesterday.

I have a real treat for you today.  How many of you remember Toby West?

Toby West is a southern interior designer whose work was published in many magazines during the past twenty years or so.  However, in recent years he seemed to have disappeared from the media.  I tried to find out more about him a few months ago and discovered he had opened (and since closed) an antique shop in Cashiers, NC.

I had a few of his homes from some old issues of Veranda magazines that I wanted to share with you.  I picked one, at random, off my shelf last night and there was a Toby West home in it.  Later, as I was catching up on some of my usual blogs, I found his current home in Cashiers on 'A Ribbon in my Journal'..........a blog by Phyllis Hoffman who happens to be the publisher of Southern Home magazine, Victoria magazine and others.  So, Toby's current cabin is in the latest issue of Southern Home which is on the stands now.

I absolutely love his cabin in the mountains of Cashiers.  His warm red interiors (I'm a red lover, too) are so homey and inviting.

Now:

Apparently, Toby designed a number of interiors in Seaside and Watercolor, Florida over the years. So, in the past, his look had softer, coastal colors - but always a very traditional and comfortable vibe. 

So, here we have his cabin in the mountains and a cottage in Florida.

Enjoy!

Then:

Which would you choose - cabin or cottage?  Let me know!

Have a wonderful day!

Bunny Art

This past summer our daughter's family acquired a new pet - a Netherlands Dwarf bunny by the name of Louis (named by our baseball loving grandson after 'The Louisville Slugger').

He is a little dream pet and absolutely adored by all.........hence, this post about bunnies because it now seems that bunnies are 'it' - at least to this family!

Look at just a few of the current bunny items I came up with - something for everyone inside and out, young and old, fun, funky and, as with Hunt Slonem's art and the beautiful brooches, highly collectible.

 

Hunt Slonem Wallpaper

Hunt Slonem Wallpaper

Diffa Dining by Design with Hunt Slonem Wallpaper

All of above art by Hunt Slonem

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Pottery Barn

For kids rooms:

Karin Linder 

Pinterest

Lapetitemag

Pinterest

Rosenberry Rooms

For Teens:

Blue Tooth Speaker

All of the above teen items are Emily & Merrit designs and are available at

Pottery Barn

For gardens:

Marjolein Bastin's Garden

12 Bronze Bunnies  - Yabuuchi Satoshi

Twig Bunny - Canis Major

For Home:

Faience Bunny Tureen - Julia Boston.co.uk

Sabon Home

For Women:

Henry Dunay Brooch

 Henry Dunay Brooch

Cartier Brooch

Peacock House

Just imagine arriving home to this 11-acre compound in Americus, Georgia, and being greeted by your pet peacocks between rows of potted blue hydrangeas.  Idyllic, wouldn't you say?

This is the well-planned life of nonagenarian Furlow Gatewood who has been collecting antiques since he was a young boy.

With his keen eye and amazing imagination, he constructed Peacock House from a dirt floored greenhouse because he happened to pick up two Gothic columns from a Georgia flea market and didn't know what else to do with them, so proceeded to build Peacock House in order to utilize the columns.  He has a carpenter who builds Furlow's visions and a lady 'down the road' who sews his cushions from scraps of fabrics he picks up here and there.  This house is now a guest house on his 5 house compound (although no one has ever slept there).

I would say that Furlow's life is definitely 'a life well lived' as he has spent his life since childhood gathering, collecting, building and enjoying.......and all with impeccable style.

Italian greyhound, Phillip, one of Furlow's four beloved dogs sitting in front of a 17th century Italian table and under a 19th century Dutch brass chandelier.  And I presume those are the two Gothic columns that the house was built to accommodate.

 Living room with white washed plank floors and walls.

 Foyer with painted floors.

Guest room which has never been slept in.

Love this sunroom and the mix of furnishings.

Next Tuesday, I will share one of his other cottages.  But, in the meantime, to see more of this self-taught designer's amazing style and antique collections, you must pick up his book shown below.  I got it for my birthday last winter and it's a virtual treasure trove of all of his houses.

http://www.amazon.ca/One-Mans-Folly-Exceptional-Gatewood/dp/0847842525/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447169228&sr=8-1&keywords=one+man%27s+folly