I attended a fabulous Christmas party at a friend's house! If you remember, I used to live in the former Carriage House that was converted into a guest cottage....English gardens, pond, roses, hydrangeas, and no yard work for me....That was my first place on my own outside of college. Either way he threw a big bash for friends for Christmas!
I see a Christmas tree welcoming us in. . .
Poinsettias lining the stairs greet you as you enter.
Let's look left into the front parlor and see more of that Christmas tree!
And notice the male angel on top! Every angel mentioned by name in the bible (Michael, Gabriel) was male, so the homeowner thought he should have a male angel on the Christmas tree!
Under the tree are lots of packages--all vintage boxes from local department stores from a bygone era.
We are now facing the rear parlor, which is actually the dining room. When my friend first bought the house it had been sub-divided into apartments, and the Maid's Wing that connects (through the doorway seen below) was a separate apartment. The home's original Kitchen is now the living room of the Maid's Wing, with the Butler's Pantry serving as the kitchen! His Kitchen is a former Sun Room off of what would be the actual Rear Parlor, which serves as his Dining Room. His true Front Parlor is a Library.
By the way--all the crystal chandeliers--he MADE them!!! Wow!
Speaking of chandeliers, and the home's past of being apartments, there was a drop ceiling covering up those HUGE plaster medallions! The lovely archways were also walled off and replaced with hollow-core doors! The Horror! The homeowner that did all of that damage even took one of the slate mantels with him!
See the mantel? That is slate with the original Victorian faux finish to make it appear to be marble--much more of a luxury at the time.
His home is decorated with beautiful antiques--all sourced from thrift shops, yard sales, and auctions!
Here is a better view of the doorway to the Maid's Wing--it now serves as a shallow closet.
In the Library, walls not covered in bookshelves are covered in art from floor to ceiling!
Images of Petersburg, VA in its heyday before the Civil War, and Hunt Prints are the go-to choice of art here!
This room has a very Colonial Williamsburg feel, further emphasized by the brass chandelier.
I love this oval desk. I still can't believe it came from the Salvation Army store, or that someone would just give away such a beautiful piece of furniture!
And that lamp....just look closely:
A bird's claw base...neat!
A VERY old stuffed fox, along with some other artifacts pertaining to Petersburg line a bookshelf.
Mantle lustres line the fireplace in the Dining Room.
There is another amazing European chandelier in there as well. Earlier I said a drop ceiling had to be removed when he moved in. This stained glass window was covered by it:
Why would you cover this up???
I also have to pass along his a decorating tip he uses--did you notice the main rooms were either Red, Green, or Gold? Did you notice that all of the furniture was like-wise the same three hues? That way he can re-arrange nearly the entire house for a new look and not have to re-paint or re-upholster. I'm trying to do that in my own home, with my colors being White, Pink, and Pale Blue/Aqua, with a few hints of Chartreuse for good measure. It is a fun color scheme to work with, but at times can be challenging to keep it from looking like Easter threw up! Ha! (Those are the words of a dear friend...)
I almost forgot, the food was amazing, too!
I hope you enjoyed this brief Home Tour!
Merry Christmas--and don't forget about my Digital Christmas Album!!!
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