February | 2015 | The Chartreuse Life

Archive for February, 2015

The Atlee House – an embellished interior

Posted in Inspiration, Musings, tagged antique, architecture, decorating, decorating ideas, exterior paint, home, kitchen, mantel, New Windsor, paint color, renovation, vintage on February 18, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Though I enjoy viewing beautiful homes from the exterior – I mean who doesn’t love a stroll through New Orleans’ French Quarter, or a drive through Kenwood during dogwood season? But to get a look inside – that’s pure joy.

So here’s a peek at some of the detailing inside the circa 1800 home of the founder of New Windsor (Take a look at the exceptional architecture in this little town here). Click on any image to enlarge it.

: Original porcelain knobs – retrofitted to the doors (door knobs weren’t around in 1800, only door handles and latches.

: Hand-stenciled floors in the dining room. I love the golden dot detail.

: Original mantles throughout the house. Many with handpainted faux marble.

: Detail of the faux marble in the dining room.

: The living room’s built-in cabinets.

: This part of the house was built in 1800.

: The front stairway. The proportions of spindles to bannister is always so right in these old houses, though the detail on the newel post is less than I would have expected.

: The front porch

: These corbels would have been added later to ‘update’ the house, perhaps at the turn of the last century – when this house was already 100 years old!

: I just love how deep the walls are, and the stunning panelled casings between rooms.

: Every door is a work of art.

: Here in the ‘newer’ part of the house (estimated circa 1820), are more fireplaces and faux marble.

: These vintage doors were added as a decorative detail when the house was a decorator showcase about 15 years ago

: details of the newel posts at the landing

: The upstairs hallway depicts scenes of New Windsor, handpainted for the decorator showcase

: This painting contains an image of the old red barn that once stood on the property. I love how it’s depicted in a ghost-like way.

: What a great ceiling mural! Better than some standard ceiling medallion!

: Every room is entered through a beautiful, original door like this one.

: This bedroom even boasts an original, built-in closet. I was impressed by how many 19th C builtins the house had.

: Detail of the builtin closet

: Peeking into one of the many full baths

: The natural lighting in this bedroom was delightful.

: A modern bath in an old house is a treat

: Though I’m not a fan of wall paper, these handpainted chinoiserie scenes made the bathroom soothing and elegant at the same time.

: The doorway to the attic.

: It’s original latch

: Just look at the wood work in this bedroom!

: And a pleasant, modern bathroom.

: 19th century clothes hooks in the old servants’ portion of the house. The front part had grander rooms and actual closets built in. The servants got only hooks.

: The plastered stairwell to the attic

: Just look at the attic ceiling/roof construction!

: House Built 1800

: Clearly this handmade, extraordinarily wide hinge was original

: The half bath on the first floor was created from the old back stairway. I love how the walls are the bare, 19th century brick.

: The triple (yes that’s three doors!) closets in the mud room. Just imagine 3 separate closets and what you’d do with them…

: But wait, there’s more! Yup, that’s a full-on commercial kitchen (in addition to a conventional residential one) .

: I need that stove in my life…

: AND this fridge and freezer.

: The basement door

: The original basement stairway supports were hewn from a single log of American Chestnut. These trees died out with a blights about 30 years ago. This wood is irreplacable.

: These arched areas in the basement are the supports for the fireplaces that rise through the house

: Though white for much of it’s life, the previous owner selected this stand-out wheat color for the exterior, and I think it really works.

: The back yard of one of my favorite buildings in New Windsor. SOOOO much potential!

: and it’s front

: Beautiful old brick.

: The New Windsor town hall.

: The porches throughout this town impress me.

: And here’s what a vacant lot looks like in New Windsor. Charming.

: The house color here is a great choice. Even on a winter day it’s a stand out.

: Turrets are another favorite feature in New Windsor. Especially on Church Street.

: Craftsmanship like this is almost impossible to come by today.

: Turret. 2-story porch. This house just went over the top!

: The New Windsor cemetary. No town is complete without one.

: The downtown commerical district. (Yes, it’s really just a few businesses).

: More turrets. This house is on the market, by the way.

: This charmer appears to have been a school house. It, too, is on the market.

: The gingerbread details and stunning windows make this house a standout.

Hope you enjoyed this mini tour of New Windsor and the Atlee House. For details about houses for sale in New Windsor, check out our Vintage Homes for Sale page.

Thanks for reading,

Virginia

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Mid-century Modern Farmhouse

Posted in Inspiration, Tag Sale Updates, tagged antique, apartment style, barn sale, before & after, buckeystown, chairs, chartreuse, chartreuse & co, chartreuse and co, decor, decorating, decorating ideas, farrow & ball, farrow and ball, home, home decor, home furnishings, mid-century, occasional sale, paint color, renovation, tag sale, vintage, vintage furniture on February 16, 2015| 3 Comments »

The Farmhouse is getting a facelift!

Yes, that adorable little (heated) house has new residents: Barefoot Dwelling. These girls had a vision immediately. And what has inspired me so about this is that their vision was totally different from what mine had been.

I don’t know about you, but someone with a fabulous vision, totally outside my usual style, inspires me like little else can. It’s what invigorates me every time I travel, and to have such a vision unfold right here in front of me is exciting!

So here’s a little BEFORE & AFTER fun for you:

BEFORE, Room 1: Let’s start in the first room, which was the kitchen. You may recall how it looked when we first took possession of it in July 2012:

After removing the contact paper ‘wallpaper’ and vinyl ‘parquet’ floors:

Two and a half years ago, after applying Farrow & Ball’s Pavilion Grey :

Now, with a fresh vision comes fresh color! Using Farrow & Ball’s fabulous paint, Lisa and Mary, owners of Barefoot Dwelling, chose pure white, with contrast, feature walls.

AFTER, Room 1: In this first room, the color grabs you right away, it’s Farrow & Ball’s Charlotte’s Locks. Such a great punch with the fabulous mid-century pallet they’ve collected.

BEFORE, Room 2: Then on to the second room, as we found it 2 1/2 years ago:

After removing the rest of the contact paper covering the wanescoating, and more of the vinyl ‘parquet’ floor:

Then, after a fresh paint job (Farrow & Ball Pavilion Grey) in 2012:

AFTER, Room 2: Now with a a fresh white facelift, complemented by a contrast wall of Farrow & Ball’s Churlish Green (yes, that’s a paint name, don’t you just love it??!!)

And check out the sleek mid-century aesthetic.

This room has NEVER been so cool!

More great stuff is being added through the week, and you’re all invited to come take a look this weekend, February 20-22, Fri/Sat 9am-4pm, Sun noon-4pm. I hope you’ll find it as fresh, original, and inspiring as I do!

Thanks for reading,

Virginia

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New Windsor, Maryland – an architectural treasure

Posted in Inspiration, tagged 19thcentury architecture, antique, architecture, AtleeHouse, chartreuse, chartreuse & co, chartreuse and co, decorating, exterior paint, home decor, NewWindsor, renovation, vintage on February 13, 2015| 3 Comments »

I have long loved New Windsor, Maryland for its exceptional collection of early 19th century homes. I first discovered it during my college years – my then-boyfriend (now husband), Chip, attended college in Westminster, Maryland, and the best route there from Frederick was Rt. 26 to Liberytown, and then a left onto Rt 31 (which has some beautiful homes. Have someone else drive so you don’t miss any of them!). Rt 31 takes you right into the small, but charming town of New Windsor. Take a look:

And all these houses are just along the first couple of blocks as you come into town.

On this particular occasion, a friend of mine, Mary Ford-Naill, had told me about an extraordinary house she was listing on the market and thought I may enjoy seeing. When she told me it was in New Windsor, I was immediately interested. And when she showed me the pictures of it, I couldn’t resist.

Because I know so many of you are as keen on architecture as I am, I asked Mary and the home-owners, if I could share it with you on my blog. So here’s the Atlee House, New Windsor, Maryland, as I saw it just last week:

The Atlees were the founders of New Windsor. They first New Windsor Atlee was the second son of a prosperous Lancaster, Pennsylvania family. And being a second son, he had to go make his own way. He traveled into Maryland, found the rolling, Carroll County plat listed on the maps as New Windsor, bought it and settled in. The house is dated to 1800. The current owners, who run it as a B&B, have some pictures of it from history:

This one is my favorite! The girl’s name is Bessie Roop, and her dog is Shep. I just love that the dog made the picture, and his name was noted for posterity.

This was from the mid 20th century, when it was painted white.

This view from above, shows the old barn (which burned), and the town of New Windsor rising on the hillside beyond.

At some point during the latter half of the 20th century, it was used as a boarding house, with the boarders fed from the produce of the once-extensive gardens.

I’ll take you inside the house in my next post, where you’ll see the deep windows, the old built-ins, the brick walls, and spectacular attic and basement. (Not to mention the full commercial kitchen – yes, I’m lusting after their stove and huge fridge!). The Atlee House and several others in New Windsor are available for sale. Click here for more information.

Thanks for reading!

Virginia

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The Doors of Paris

Posted in Inspiration, Musings, tagged architecture, art academy, chartreuse & co, exterior paint, france, french, Paris, style, walled acres on February 4, 2015| 4 Comments »

I have always had a love of architecture, and doors in particular. They are the life-line to the space within, and as such have far more impact than we often give them credit for. As I strolled through the extraordinarily beautiful streets of Paris, it was the seemingly infinite variety of portals – size, shape, color, embellishment – one right after the other. Take a look:

This beauty is along the boulevard St. Germaine on the Rive Gauche. Extraordinary as it looks to us, this is a typical door along the beautiful Paris boulevards.

Okay, so the red is a bit over-the-top. But the almost Asian look of this one made it a stand out along the square in front of St. Sulpice.

Along the Rue du Cherche-Midi, a quiet street of elegant shops.

Just down the Rue Napoleon Bonaparte from Laudauré. I just LOVED to be able to peak into the courtyards when the portals stood open.

Classic Parisian door. Note the Nuit et Jour sign. I LOVE those!! Some of them even lit up. I can think of sooo many times I could have used one!

Looking into the courtyard of the Art Academy (yes, the one that wouldn’t accept Claude Monet and his friends).

A peak through the doors into the Grand Salon of the Art Academy. In a time before electricity, this glass ceiling was a critical innovation for clearly seeing art.

That’s just a taste of the delightful doors, and some of what’s behind them! Hope you enjoy this little peak at Paris.

Thanks for reading,

Virginia

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The Chartreuse Life

Musings on life, design, and the inspirations that make both extraordinary

Archive for February, 2015

The Atlee House – an embellished interior

Mid-century Modern Farmhouse

New Windsor, Maryland – an architectural treasure

The Doors of Paris

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