Two Houses Made Into One Fabulous Home

A few months ago I posted a reader's home (Kellie and Marc). It is a wonderfully designed space that we all enjoyed seeing. As I have gotten to know Kellie better, I have found out that she comes from a family of designing women.

The home of Kellie and Marc HERE

There are four daughters (Kellie, Maggie, Sara, Jenni), each one a decor maven with one house cuter than the other, and each one looks very different in decor personality. But all share put together looks that anyone of us would love.

Knowing that my own design awareness came from my mother, I asked Kellie about her mom. And sure enough the mother of this family of designing women is the inspiration for all of the daughters.

You know I had to see Mom's house. Her name is Jill, and she has made a career out of making the family home unique and beautiful. All the daughters are grown with homes of their own, so Jill has recently made an empty nest for her and hubby Peter that all the daughters and sons-in-law and the five grandchildren love to fill.

Two single shotgun houses made into one home

Jill's house is unique from the get-go. She took two old falling down single shotgun houses that were on lots so narrow that you could almost touch the house next door. I love the way she used color and repetitive elements to visually join two houses together as one.

The center "bridge" addition connecting the two old houses is genius. It is meant to be the front door, but the family secret is that they all use the door on the house on the left side.The brick courtyard was made from bricks that came from fireplaces that had to be knocked out. Jill is an amazing re-cycler, and up-cycler extraordinaire.

The "bridge" addition between the two houses

So let's go in! The first room you come into is in house #1, and it is a precious little sitting room. Jill combines vintage and antique pieces to great effect, a classic shabby chic cottage style that is familiar and beloved.

Pale wall colors and dark wood floors work beautifully, and for the most part Jill keeps the palette soft.

The sitting room

The sitting room segues shotgun house style into the master bedroom and bath. This creates a master suite effect in one whole house.

LOVE the deep ruffle linen bedspread in the master bedroom

A vintage dresser and mirror in the master bedroom - perfect!

Walking through a door from the sitting room, you enter the "bridge". This is where the living room and dining area are. It is an ingenious use of space. There are French doors at both ends of the "bridge" that let in plenty of light.

There is a collection of vintage mirrors hung over the couch, which adds a reflective element that makes the narrow space expand visually. Jill has many charming groupings of collections placed around the house.

The living room

A chest at the entrance and a collection of vintage clocks

A view to the back set of French doors

I love the chenille bedspread on the chaise with the jewel holding it in place

White chenille chaise

Walking across "the bridge" you enter house #2, which has two guest rooms and a bath, and the kitchen.

Each guest bedroom is furnished with sweet textiles and mementos. There is a framed shadow box with a purse in it! It belonged to Jill's mother, the girls' grandmother. They said grandmother carried that purse everyday of her life that they remember. The photo over the bed is of the grandmother.

The slip cover scallop shape headboard is so pretty

Grandmother's purse framed in a shadow box

Bookshelves artfully filled with good stuff

The second guest bedroom

Love the pink and green!

At the back end of the "bridge" there is an opening to the kitchen (house #2). Jill opted for a clean classic country look. White marble counter tops and painted white cabinets are a look we all love. Jill did this seven years ago. She painted one accent wall in blackboard paint so the grand kids can scribble.

Jill's classic country kitchen

White marble counter tops

The pink mixer has never been used, so it's home for a pretty plant!

A little black cupboard in the kitchen

Let's go out the back door to the garden! Here you can see alot of clever recycling.

Back of the two joined houses leading to the yard

Jill made the fountain out of odds and ends

The raised flower bed complete with headboard

The little yellow shed is a playhouse for the grand kids

LOVE the lady head planter...

...and the old working sink

So what do you think? Have you ever seen anything more clever or more cute? It's like two dollhouses to play in!

I have been promised a house tour of the three other daughters, and I can hardly wait. I can see why all the girls love decorating and are so good at it.

Growing up with Jill, who is the resourceful and artistic visionary of the family, has created a decorating dynasty! And Peter and Marc and all the other husbands love what their designing women come up with, and lend helping hands and willing hearts.

The House That eBay Built

There are certain blogs that are poetry.

That's how I feel about Deborah Peterson Milne's Dumbwit Tellher.
The postings are few and far between, but when one pops up, it is imaginative, heartfelt, and original. Every photo chosen is considered and special. It is not a cookie cutter blog.


Having said that, I want to share some photos of the home of Dumbwit Tellher. I asked Deborah to tell me something about the house she decorated.

The layered look is masterful in the living room

Deborah writes: "I'm not 100% sure what to say other than yes..the house is for sale.
We moved here just shy of four years ago from Seattle. We are now empty-nesters and selling the house means we can finally start living our dream, and that is moving to Scotland. Then as you know from reading my blog, we both lost our moms this year.

So..making a change is what we hope for. We just sold our motorcycles, next the cars, stuff will go in storage & we will be off to beautiful, cold, rainy Aberdeen.

Sound crazy...just maybe!! Life is short and I want no more regrets because that shopping bag is over-flowing!"

I spy a fab wheat sheaf coffee table - maybe Deb will sell the furniture too!

She also says: "Each item has a story and a history and very often a few coats of paint. I call our home the house that eBay built."

Love this bedroom - check out the side table lamps - very Emily Henderson!

I love the personal style of this home, and I think it is move-in ready for a young buyer, or a buyer young at heart. I feel a kindred spirit in Deborah. We share many of the same decor choices.

The dining room sideboard is delicious

After seeing so many Cote de Texas style Houston homes, this Houston house is unique and refreshing.

The wall color and painted panels are great

It's a good size home with several bedrooms and bathrooms, and wonderful yard with a pool.

Another view of the living room

Deborah sent me a photo of a guest bathroom after she read my post about fabric HERE

The orange Federal style mirror is genius

It turns out we both use the same source, and used the same fabric for a DIY project.

OMG! A bathroom with "wallpaper" collage

Deborah has done so many great projects in her home. She knows how to swing a paint brush!

I did collage walls in many a bathroom in NYC!
This shade is incredible

If you did not know that Deborah and her husband Graham are empty nesters you would think a Lonny/Rue/Domino young cutie pie blogerator did up this house. The decor is very young at heart, but filled with the wisdom of someone who has lived long enough to utilize and balance color and vintage eras.

This wallpaper is the best!

It's funny how we attach a certain age to certain decor. Like older folks use antiques and refined serious schemes, and younger people use flea market finds, fun, and color.

Her daughter did the CC painting! LOVE it!

When I first started posting photos of my home, many readers thought I was young. And I am very youthful at heart and in my mind's eye ha ha, though old in years with the wisdom to be confident.

Adorable laundry room

I see confidence in Deborah's choices. Love too. And great attitude. This is a woman who clearly makes delicious lemonade from tart lemons.

Deborah and I used this same fabric

You can read her own personal story about her home HERE. Many of you already have. But go read it again, and if you haven't discovered Dumbwit Tellher, add it to your blog list.

And we are both Jacked up! Go HERE to see why!

And if you are in the market for a house in Houston, get in touch with Deborah. Besides getting the fantastic decor, you will be getting a home infused with love and good vibrations that will enhance your new life in this house with those very same qualities. And make her an offer to buy the furniture too!

Love the wall treatment in the bar area

Please send me your house stories and photos. I love sharing and showing Readers Projects.

Designing Kitchen Curtains

Little by little the Visual Vamp kitchen revamp progresses

I spy one upper cabinet door with chicken wire Alberto got done!

Come into my kitchen....AGAIN!

Revamp and renovations take a long time for a couple of reasons: Time and money. We are in the phase one portion, doing all the inexpensive DIY projects like painting and re-purposing things we already have. And since we have many other things to do, time plays a factor in our progress. The money portion will involve getting new counter tops and possibly base cabinets, a new sink and faucet, maybe a new microwave for over the stove to replace the old fan. Those things will come along as we have the money.

New curtains in the kitchen! Alert the media!

In the meantime we are already enjoying the new colors and the fresh coat of paint, and the accessories. The latest additions are the kitchen curtains!

The accent color is black
inspired by the color of the mantle
and the antique chairs with the original finish

I was inspired by a couple of things. First my friend Mitchell from Optimism and White Paint stopped by and gave me one of his brilliant predictions: Cafe curtains are coming back! After I mocked his doily granny ways, I started to think about it. Yes cafe curtains could be good, if reinterpreted in a modern way. Mitchell is a genius!

Whooooo helps you with your design decisions?
My list includes Michael Pelkey, Mitchell, Jack, Caroline,
Kellie & Maggie AND Alberto!
And of course all of the decor/design bloggers!

There are two windows in the kitchen, both oversize in the New Orleans way because of the high ceilings in most old homes. One of these windows would be perfect for a modern cafe curtain.

The first window you see when you come in the kitchen
It is in the breakfast area
I "inherited" the color of the arch way and stairs
I ran with it and chose the cabinet to reference them

The second window is in the breakfast area, and is visible to the dining room where there are silk drapes. Visually I wanted to keep these rooms connected, so I knew I would do drapes on this window. Silk was too formal, so my fabric choice is off white burlap. I like burlap for budget reasons, and for texture. It can be very Belgian when left unlined, and very elegant and practical when lined. I chose to line the burlap.

Burlap drapes in the breakfast area
The same return rod is used as in the dining room
Note the black accent of the clock

The new color choice for the kitchen is what is now being called Vamp Greige since I jumped on the gray band wagon and have been using this color not only for my home, but for customer projects too. The fireplace in the breakfast area is black, and I left it that way, and hence an accent color of black naturally occurs throughout.

You can see a "corridor of drapes" unified by neutral color

So when it came time to design the modern cafe curtain I was inspired by my friend Kellie HERE.

The gorgeous drapes in her front room used as an office are white with a black band along the edge. Her sister Maggie makes all of Kellie's drapes, so I asked Kellie if Maggie could do mine too.

Maggie made Kellie's gorgeous drapes HERE

Never let it fool you folks that it doesn't take a village for any design project. Designers never work alone. Ultimately it is your decision that you live and die by, but it is the foolish designer that doesn't welcome input from trusted colleagues during the process.

Modern cafe curtains made by Maggie Overton
Off white burlap is lined
Black linen banding and dressmaker button detail

Maggie gave me the option of rod pocket or rings. I tried the curtains first with the rod pocket. I use pieces of cut bamboo from a neighbor's yard for curtain rods.

Notice the button "tie back" on the top tier. This was an idea I had to allow light in, and Maggie ran with it. We considered lining the curtain with a fun print, or even all black, and in the end Maggie decided to keep it clean and simple letting the lining act as another texture.

The modern cafe curtain with bamboo rod and pole pockets

I like the pole pockets, but I wanted to try the curtains with the more traditional rings. There's something about cafe curtains and rings that just says France to me.

Old brass rods got a light coat of bronze spray paint

I had the rods and rings in my arsenal of stylist's equipment collected over the years, and just gave the rods a quick light spray paint of bronze.

I love love love my new kitchen curtains!
So French except for the banana trees ha ha

The black band is yet another black accent, playing off the other black accents in the room, and I think really unifies them visually in a very chic dressmaker way.

I opted for rings over pole pockets on the modern cafe curtains

The off white burlap is a great texture, and another neutral color that adds a tonal quality and depth. I could have gone greige in my fabric choice, but I wanted a little contrast.

The modern cafe curtains tailored with dressmaker details

Of course the rings are easier to use too, and they also play back to the rings on the pinch pleated drapes in the breakfast area.

Visual Vamp kitchen with the modern cafe curtain
Note how the black banding references other black accents

So there you have my Monday Mini Metamorphosis! Go on over to Susan's Between Naps On The Porch HERE to see what some other bloggers are doing on Mondays there.

Button detail on top tier of the cafe curtain
I am so honored that Maggie used vintage buttons
that belonged to her grandmother

If you would like Maggie Overby to make curtains, drapes, bedding, pillows - anything custom for your home, contact her HERE.

You can take your own measurements, and ship her the fabric, and magically you will get your beautiful finished project in the mail. Custom is not as cost prohibitive as you think, and it just adds that extra detail that all visual vamps appreciate.

PS I purchase most of my fabric for my projects from Fabric.com
They have excellent choices, the BEST prices, and friendly and very helpful customer service.