Cathedral Tour of Homes 2014 is this weekend

When looking at the Cathedral Tour of Homes site a few weeks ago, I saw a vignette from one of the houses on tour this year and immediately recognized that it was from one of my favorite houses.   I profiled the house in depth on my blog in 2009; Cote de Texas featured the house in 2012 when writing a story about the houses of designer Ginny Magher.   The house was featured on the cover of Veranda magazine in 2006, and was also featured in one of my favorite coffee table books, The Houses of Veranda.  Although I wrote about this house, and drive by it all of the time, I have never been inside and am counting the days until the tour, which takes place Sunday, February 2, 2014.

This beautiful house was designed by Yong Pak, and built by designer Ginny Magher.  John Howard created the landscape plan and design.  This image of the exterior is from my blog post in 2009, from the real estate listing that was current at the time of my post. 

The cover of Veranda from March-April 2006, when the house was owned by designer Ginny Magher.

A different view of the dining room, from the current real estate listing.  I love the new chandelier that is in the space. The chairs and table look like they might have stayed with the house.

A view of the dining room from the other side of the room, from the real estate listing.  The attention to detail in the architecture and design is extraordinary.

A view of the kitchen, from my old blog post (using an image from the real estate listing at the time).

I really like this view of the kitchen, from the current real estate listing.  This is from the perspective of the family room, which is adjacent to the kitchen.

This beautiful house is currently on the market, with all new real estate pictures. I believe the home was owned by Ginny Magher when it was photographed for Veranda, but the new owners appear to have purchased many of the furnishings.  There is certainly a similar look and feel, and the French style of décor is alive and well in this house. It is truly an incredible house from an architecture, design, and landscape perspective, and I can’t wait to see it in real life!

The Cathedral Tour of Homes takes place this Sunday, February 2, from 11 am – 4 pm.  This house is just one of the beautiful houses on tour this Sunday  (another house on the tour was featured in House Beautiful in 2008).  For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit the Cathedral Antique Show website at http://www.cathedralantiques.org/#!tour-of-homes/c1aqe.  

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Bathroom décor - bathroom vanities and accessories

Given that I documented the process of building my house, and many of the design decisions that went into the construction, I receive many questions every week about construction related topics.  I am also frequently asked to share my personal resources for where to research and purchase a wide variety of items.  

I recently learned about a great resource for bathroom (and kitchen) décor related items.  It’s called Decor Planet, and almost anything you could want for a bathroom décor or a bathroom renovation can be found here, from bathroom vanities to bathroom accessories to lighting sinks, faucets, and shower equipment.  Decor Planet is particularly well known for its enormous selection of beautiful bathroom vanities and accessories.

I immediately gravitated towards the bathroom vanity section – I have never seen such a huge selection in every possible style and size.  Many of the vanities include the countertop, or offer several styles/materials of countertops available to select, and some of the styles have several color options. As part of the selection process, each style has several recommended faucets and mirrors options (or no faucet or mirror can be selected too), and these can be configured as part of the selection process.  Decor Planet truly offers one stop shopping.

Here are some of my favorites. Of course, I lean towards the more traditionally styled vanities, and that is what I am featuring here – the ones I love. However,  Decor Planet offers just about every style you can imagine, from contemporary to transitional to traditional.  You will have to check it out for yourself!

This is my favorite – it has such a beautiful design. The combination of the mirrored front and the neutral oak with a visage finish would look wonderful in any bathroom, particularly a special powder room. Click here for more details.

Another beautiful furniture like style, with incredible detail. Click here to see more detail.

This vanity chest has the elegance of a fine piece of furniture. Click here for more details.

I love the tropical accents on this bathroom vanity, and the bamboo details. Click here for more detail.

I like the antique linen color of this painted wood piece (it comes in antique linen and antique chestnut). Two of the drawers create storage in this lovely bathroom vanity.  Click here for more details.

This vanity chest is beautifully reminiscent of chests that I have seen adorning the pages of the top magazines. Click here for more details.

This piece is very in vogue, with its gray color, pewter knobs and pulls, and beautiful artistic carved pattern on the front. The drawers are lined in wallpaper, according to the description. Click here for more details.

The Middletonsink chest vanity features an intricate knotted circle design. Click here for more details.

This is a beautifully detailed vanity; I love the oval and diamond patterns. Click here for more details.

This is a fun design – hand painted, and beautifully crafted. I love the knobs. Click here for more details.

A more transitional design, with antiqued mirrors and elegant round pulls. Click here for more details.

Another style that caught my eye – it is great to see it in different colors and sizes. I love the square sink design and clean lines of this style. Click here for more detail.

This white Shaker style bathroom vanity would be pretty in many settings.  Click here for more details.

A shelf under the sink is so useful, and this Shaker style is both beautiful and incredibly versatile.  The marble countertop adds a touch of elegance. Click here for more details.

I love this style – it’s so classic. It comes in either white or walnut, with the beige marble countertop, and either a 24” with single sink,  36” with single sink, a 48” with single sink,  a 60” with double sink, or a  72” with double sink .  The faucet can be added on – these pictures show two different possible styles. I like both.

As you can tell, I have a fondness for double sinks!  I think it is so nice for a guest bathroom to have double sinks if there is room.  This style is is more transitional and clean lined; the cabinet doors and drawers are inset, a very nice touch. Click here for more details.

There are also many powder room bathroom vanity options available. This reeded style in a demilune shape caught my eye. Click here for more details.

There are so many more beautiful styles, it’s hard to even pick a favorite. This contemporary vanity is listed as the best seller on the web site – I love how it looks like a number seven from the side!

Decor Planet also offers a huge array of bathroom accessories, from towel bars and rings to toilet paper and soap holders to robe hooks.  There are hundreds of styles. I really like these styles – a towel ring, towel bar, and hook by Graff.

Finally, I noticed that Decor Planet offers amazing pricing on my favorite toilet, the Toto Promenade – this is the toilet that I ordered for every bathroom in my house! Click here for the link.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my favorite styles from Decor Planet.  Visit them online at http://www.decorplanet.com/.  Decor Planet offers free shipping (within the continental US) on most of its products (Canadian shipping available), 110% price match guarantee, and 24/7 sales.

Do you have a favorite bathroom vanity?  It’s always great to know about some of the stand out resources on the internet. Please visit Decor Planet for more information.

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This post was sponsored by Decor Planet, however all opinions are my own.

Ornamental kale

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I have been noticing more and more flower arrangements using ornamental kale.

It first started with this beautiful arrangement seen in Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles last fall, in an article featuring a soiree at Suzanne Kasler’s house.  The flowers were styled by Suzanne Kasler Interiors designer Keith Arnold.

Small clusters of ornamental kale mixed with other flowers decorated some of the tables at the event.

I spied a beautiful ornamental kale arrangement at the Horsley Kaufman pillow launch event; Margaret Kaufman, one of the owners, noted that she uses ornamental kale frequently in her own fall and winter house décor.

I recently found some ornamental kale at Whole Foods, and bought a small bunch.  I have absolutely no skill whatsoever at flower arranging, and this was the best I could do – I arranged the stalks in a simple vase.  However, I enjoyed the purple and green color scheme in my family room for a few days (surprisingly, they didn’t last very long).

Quite a few of the rooms styled for Suzanne Kasler’s wonderful new book, Timeless Style, have ornamental kale in the arrangements.  This picture is from Sizanne’s own kitchen – the deep purples and greens of the flower arrangement play off the purple linen on the chairs and the barstools (not pictured).  As a side note, if you own Timeless Style,  go through it and only focus on the flowers – Suzanne Kasler and team use the most incredible flower arrangements in this book, from the very simple to the very ornate.

Another kitchen featured in Timeless Style, with a pretty arrangement that includes ornamental kale.

A Suzanne Kasler designed kitchen featured in Southern Living had a nice bunch of ornamental kale on the kitchen counter.  The casual and organic feel of ornamental kale lends itself well to the kitchen, don’t you think?

A close-up of the sink from the same kitchen gives a better view of the ornamental kale bouquet.

An old Ballard Designs ad has a pot of ornamental kale on the table. I wonder if these are planted with the root – if so, it would make a long lasting arrangement.

A beautiful arrangement in an urn. Image source.

Another ornamental kale arrangement in an urn, found on Pinterest.

White ornamental kale is part of this seasonal arrangement, seen in Veranda recently.

Pinterest is full of the most gorgeous ornamental kale pictures – in planters, flower arrangements, and even bouquets. This is a beautiful bouquet, isn’t it? The combination of green, purple, and white, and the different textures and forms of the flowers is incredible.

Three perfect specimens, simply arranged in a bud vase.

A beautiful green and white arrangement.

White ornamental kale mixed with other flowers.

The white and the purple ornamental kale together is especially pretty.

What do you think of ornamental kale? Have you ever used it in your décor, either inside or out?

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To see my latest blog post, click here.
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To see design, architecture, art, and decorative books that I recommend, please visit the Things That Inspire Amazon store.