From Hospital to Southern Home

Garden & Gun featured the home of Chris and Beth Collier who purchased this boarded up former hospital and nursing home which was built in 1904. They saw potential with the Georgian style architecture located in the historic district in Washington, North Carolina. Chris is an antique dealer, and his wife, Beth, a former museum curator is now an interior designer who saw this property as a place to showcase their work under one roof.

The entry hall did not receive a lot of natural light so they chose bright red lacquered walls

The original ambulance entrance 

The cowhide chairs and gilded table are from the couple's own furniture line, vanCollier.

Gentlemen's lounge room with dutch chocolate lacquered walls and Hermes orange ceilings

The original elevator

Vignette of personal artifacts

The fire escape opens off to a bathroom

Exterior view of the former Tayloe Hospital

Druid Hills Remodel by Pritchett + Dixon

I have featured Pritchett + Dixon before for lake houses and this time I wanted to showcase a home remodel in Atlanta in the area known as Druid Hills. This house was built in 1916 but recently a lighting strike coupled with water and fire damage required an extensive remodel of this house.

Well-Traveled Home

The newly released interior book, Well-Traveled Home by designer, Sandra Espinet from is a great storybook with lots of great photography of interiors decorated with accents from worldly travels. The native of the beautiful, Caribbean island, Trinidad and Tobago; she is now an interior designer in LA and Los Cabos and her clients are the beneficiaries of her extensive world travels. 

“The essence of my interior design work seeks to reflect the evolving interplay of the domestic and the international, while remaining true to my intent to create alluring family living spaces and home environments.”

Sandra Espinet is a lifelong gypsy whose extensive world travels produce “finds” of exquisitely wrought artisanal furniture, dramatic artworks and exotic accessories that are put to beautiful use in interiors. From Middle Eastern inlaid bone chests, Thailand carvings, Moroccan pottery, Mexican travertine, silk brocade from India, Persian Heriz rugs, Iranian velvets and more.

Pick up a copy of this book and let your mind travel the world and see these beautiful interiors and read the inspiring stories behind some of these images. No passport required. What a great hostess gift this would make if you are staying with someone.

In the entrance an old church bench, antique olive jars from Spain, and a mirror found in San Miguel de Allende all give this space a Spanish Colonial historical style.

An ornate octagonal Moroccan table adorns this relaxing outdoor terrace.

Great collage of artifacts found from her worldy travels that can be used as accents, notice the great fabrics underneath. 

The beautiful author, Sandra Espinet

Well-Traveled Home printed by Gibbs Smith Press 

Miles Redd designed Lyford Cay Home

Architectural Digest featured this colorful Lyford Cay vacation home of a Houston couple designed by Miles Redd, who is also creative director for Oscar de la Renta's Home collection. Redd used lots of wallpaper, paints and great fabrics and patterns used with China Seas and Lee Joffa fabrics to transform this home, complete with a grand fabric tented entry hall. The house is complete with high end touches such as hand painted floors but Redd also used Ikea rugs sewn together to make a rug in the hallway. Are you ready for an island getaway like I am now?

Shark Week!

It's shark week so what better way than for me to share some shark interior accents. This was not an easy feat, but I managed to pull a few images together! Are you or your significant other obsessed with shark week? My husband loves sharks so of course our DVR is full of any shark shows he misses during the day!

India Hicks Bahamian styling includes a shark jaw from Lonny

Shark jaw sits atop a large fish hook to the left of the fireplace from decorpad

Shark jaw sits on the window sill in this study from Bolaget

Blue and white decorated tablescape complete with white resin shark as the centerpiece from Mabley Handler featured at the 2012 Hampton's Designer Showhouse.

Shark and fish chart fits perfectly in this nautical room from BHG

Red shark sits atop white linen cabinet from 

C. Wonder Founder, Chris Burch's Hampton's House

Being in the Hamptons mood from my last post, I came across another famous Hampton's house featured in Architectural Digest. The home of Tory Burch's ex husband, Chris Burch, founder of the whimsical store C. Wonder. If you have ever been to a C. Wonder store there are lots of colors ad patterns and ironically some of the similar can be seen in this house as well which was designed by Christopher Maya.

Chris Burch relaxes on his porch in Southampton, NY retreat.

                        Custom made stools are covered in Clarence House fabric

The blue armchairs are from Burch's next venture, a forthcoming furniture line with No. 9. 

Master bedroom with the chest at the foot of the bed which is a television cabinet.

Pink velvet club chairs in the master covered with Brunschwig & Fils fabric.

Office space in the master bedroom

Large dining space with rafters 

Hallway is decorated with avian artwork from artist Walton Ford, known for his Audubon style illustrations.

Oak paneled library gets a touch of preppy chic with the green Christopher Hyland fabric and Raoul Textiles leopard print chair and curtains.

Green sitting room with mixed patterns and green grass cloth walls

Master bath with mint green 

Guest bedroom with China Seas "Bali Hai" fabric

Another guest bedroom with China Seas "Edo" fabric walls and Country Swedish fabric covered bed.

Exterior of the house from Christopher Maya