Stone House Beautiful: January 2016

If you get the chance I recommend that you take some time off just to stay home and nest in the weeks leading up to Christmas. As the rest of the world runs in and out of shopping malls I settle in to decorate, enjoy and relax in my favorite place on the planet, my home.

My husband regales in the successful chandelier hanging.
Perhaps the most stressful home project ever.

Every day has a rough sketch of a plan that allows me to feel like I am still accomplishing something, and yet enjoying the day as I settle into it. It starts with a fabulous cup of coffee, a long walk with the dogs, lots of playtime with the cats, and a cherished glass of wine with my husband as the sun sets. My home is the most blissful place. It fills my spirit with a sense of belonging and my heart with joy. So many of us love to escape in a book or magazine but I hope that each of you make the opportunity to transform your day to day life into a deluxe stay-cation. I also hope that you fill every day of your life with the people and objects that you love.

Spending at least a few days embellishing the rooms with the smells and colors of the holidays is all that is needed for a holiday reminiscent of gala holiday event.

I even change the wall art for the season.

Our 1811 Pennsylvania German Stone House

Today I am going to start my tour in my favorite room in the house;
My Dressing Room. It was recently reclaimed from a dark, dirty, uninspiring and unremarkable side room. At

In traditional Pennsylvania German old stone home style the front of the stone house is split down the middle by a hallway and the stairs that join the three level. For the first floor this allows for a full length living room on one side and a den/library on the other. The second floor is one large Master bedroom and a full bath leaving behind a room too small to do much more than hold accessories. Hence I got my own vanity and luxury goods display cases.

Much as I love this room. I will have to provide a sneak peek for the full blog to follow soon.

The library;
This room was just renovated. Originally the house was rented as two separate apartments. The each section had its own kitchen, bathroom, and living areas. This left two tiny kitchens and a disjointed series of rooms with repetitive redundancy all too small, too dark, and in need or complete over hauling. The library was the stone houses' apartment kitchen oddly placed in the back far corner of the first floor of the stone house. It is a tiny room of about 13 by 10 feet. Therefore a banquette was stuck in a window, and the fridge opened up on top of the stove. In this day it is too cramped to allow for a functional happy kitchen. It was impossible to use, never mind enjoy. When the log cabin went up at the end of the house, providing us a large open still historically relevant kitchen, the old wood paneled atrocity came down.

We commissioned an expert carpenter to come in and build the bookshelves on the exterior stone wall. The bookshelves were copied from the three original built in cupboards and original moldings, doors, and dimensions. It took interviewing dozens of carpenters to find the right one. It was worth the wait and the effort. That is the magic of restoring an old house. It is an effort of patience and determination. Nothing happens fast if it is going to happen right.

The luck of every old stone house is the deep windows. They are my preferred display areas. I share them with the curious window squatting cats, so nothing is kept too close to the edge, nor crowding out the prime gawking spots.

A favorite antique show find.
She sits closed and clandestine 11 months of the year.

Another antique store score.
An early 20th century salesman sample collection of Christmas and New Years cards.

The windows of a stone house are ample and provide extra holding areas for decorating and displaying. My winter collection of Christmas friends by the desk.

Added built in shelves buffer an exterior stone wall and add much needed aesthetically pleasing laurels to rest the decades of book collecting fodder on.
Never mind the column of vet reference books.
We spent a great deal of time and attention to mirror the existing molding, elements, and style. It is the fifth built in structure to the house. Three are original.
I would wager anyone to tell the newer from the originals.

All my best friends are always close by. I may be working but they remind me to take breaks and enjoy the truly meaningful things in life.

The library cabinet.
The work room doesn't hold my work stuff.. it holds my favorite things. Work is over rated anyway. How could I stay focused if I didn't have pretty things to look at?

The den; The den sits in the front of the end of the stone house, just adjacent to the library. Tying both rooms together with defined different purposes and yet sharing one large open partition took time, planning, and a few changes in wall color.

Done in a "bird theme" (as I am a veterinarian) this house holds rooms of decoys, fishing lures, dog art, cat art, and there had to be a nod to the avians. The library is owls, the den the rest of the birds.

An antique parakeet cage pendent lamp is perfect for the room.

Parrot wallpaper in a dark brown keeps the den serene and cozy.

When is the raven like a writing desk? Still searching..

The best place to read.. a couch for one (cat not included) and a fire to keep your toes toasty.

The decoy and lure case.

It is getting hard to pick a favorite room. But it is fun trying.

The other side of the stone house holds the living room. Almost complete.

Christmas trees last longer outside.
The back porch shelters the tree but still allows a warm glow visible from the driveway and in passing from the living areas to the kitchen.

Christmas in the kitchen;