Hi, my name is Kathy and you can find me over at my blog A Delightsome Life. I was quite delighted for the opportunity to join the wonderful array of Bloggers who have shared their homes, their style with Pamela. It is quite an honor to join these marvelous ladies and see their amazing homes.
I suppose my love of home started quite early, as probably did most of yours.
Playing house was one of my favorite pastimes as a child. I really was a girly-girl loving home decor, cooking and gardening from an early age. When I was in first grade my teacher recognized my artistic skill and commented on my natural talent. In high school my math and science teachers both commented on my attention to detail. Growing up as a Navy brat and living far from our extended family, it was not until Dad retired and we moved east that I became familiar with our family and began to love family heirlooms.
This room could be deemed 'English Cottage' with overstuffed chairs, antiques and cozy spots for tea.
This room is a combination of Romantic and Garden Cottage being covered in floral, pink, and feminine touches as well as a sense of bringing the outdoors in.
All of these things come together to develop what I call 'My Style'.
Doubling as a craft room, this room could easily be described as Country Cottage - just like visiting a room at Grandma's home I've always wanted an older house, one with a story to tell and I wanted my story to become a part of its history. We live in an 'historic district' in our small town, but our house did not qualify when a book was written called The Houses of Hancock by John Rozier. It fascinates me to read about these family histories and to know that several descendants from these families still live in this community. There's a sense of beauty and enchantment knowing something has a connection to the past.
I also love stories. I love to read and I love to research, so I went to the courthouse to find the history of our home. I made several copies of the transactions of when this lot was sold to the original owners and to the building of our home, the documents are handwritten. I loved learning about just who owned the homes, about their families and the quirky stories behind how some became owners of this home. There have only been six owners - including us in about 100 years.
The Master bedroom is now lending itself to a Romantic French Cottage meets English Cottage feel with painted furniture and collectibles.
The dining room set was my parents. Last year I redid the furniture by painting the table and the chairs.
Red is a wonderful color for the dining room. The color has held up quite well these ten years.
This house has a lot of character - it is a Craftsman in style, there are not many like this house in this antebellum southern town. When you walk into a Craftsman home, the sense of space, the openness of the rooms, and rustic or bold-square styling feel completely different from the Victorian houses still built well into the 1910's. The primary inspiration for the Craftsman style was to look to nature, local materials, local building traditions and to design and construct aft the manner of honest craft traditions. Woodworking is more simple than the Victorian style. The ceilings are usually high and beamed. Built-ins are common. Since the fireplace and hearth were so important as the center of the home and family, it received special attention. Interestingly, due to the Tuberculosis epidemic and health philosophy of the times, many Craftsman houses were built with "TB rooms" or sleeping porches which are completely surrounded by windows so that fresh, 'healing' air can circulate freely. It is this history, this character, this openness in style that I like to emphasize in our home.
I love these built-in bookcases in the living room. They give me the opportunity to display my favorite collectibles.
The soft colors in the green room surprise many when the French doors are opened. This room doubles as a guest bedroom and my retreat.
This painting is one of my first that I did many years ago. The window treatment includes tissue paper flowers for a valance and ivy garlands.
The Blue Room - we recently found this cast iron bed.
As an artist, I love color. Our home was a blank canvas when we moved here. Everything was painted white, including the fixtures, with the exception of the floor and some doors. I painted each room a different color.
My style incorporates all cottage styles with the ----that history or a story is behind several pieces of furniture and collectibles.
I have pieces of furniture and ephemera from both mine and my husband's family. These pieces become part of the story, part of the history of us and part of the history of our home.
I am delighted that we have a fireplace in the Master bedroom. This cozy spot is a wonderful place for us to relax. Because our walls are plaster with numerous cracks I decided to take advantage of these and create a patina with paint where there are cracks. I actually 'created' some cracks, so to speak, with the paint. The painting above the fireplace is my latest work.
This chair is one of my maternal Great-Grandfather's chairs. I recently painted it and made the pillow cushion.
Comfort and cozy are important to me…
sentimental gifts and treasures on my lamp table remind me of what is important - love and family when we're home together, this is where we live. We spend a lot of time in each of the rooms in our home. Its openness affords us the ability to host family events and parties. I love to hear the ringing of laughter and the jubilant discussions as well as their echo in our home.
'Collect the things you love, that are authentic to you, and your house becomes your story'
-Country Living (Erin Flett)
Thank you, Pamela for giving me this opportunity to share with you and your readers the story of my home and of my decor style. I am quite delighted that you stopped by!
Kathy
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| Kathy thank you so much for visiting with us today. I have enjoyed learning more about you and the history of your home. You artwork is just beautiful as well as your home. |
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