Italian Rustic House

Hello dears, hope you are having a nice weekend. To make it even nicer let's tour this rustic Italian house. You may find it hard to believe but this house is not located in Tuscany but in Houston, Texas! The house -decorated by Eleanor Cummings- is brand new but all the materials used are old. There was no need to import them from Italy, the stone and wood were acquired at Chateau Domingue, a huge warehouse and gardens full of reclaimed architectural materials.<br /><br /> <img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/V6/cummings01-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 499px; height: 636px;" /><br />Designer Eleanor Cummings used reclaimed wood, stone, and brick from Houston antiquities dealer Chateau Domingue to give the interiors an authentic old-farmhouse look. The front doors are 1850s Italian oak.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/ls/cummings02-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 502px; height: 641px;" /><br />In the study, Cummings had 10-foot-tall French shutters retro­fitted to the windows and put on a metal track so they would slide open and close, like curtains.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/Km/cummings03-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px; width: 628px; height: 490px;" /><br />Cummings started with the Oushak rug in the living room: "All the colors in the room came out of that rug. I didn't want to perfectly match all of them, so I threw in one or two off-kilter colors, like the caramel on the settee. That makes a room look less contrived and controlled."<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/VR/cummings04-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 503px; height: 642px;" /><br />The hallway between the entry and the living room.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/o3/cummings05-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 502px; height: 641px;" /><br />An antique French chair is framed by curtains in Rogers & Goffigon's Pirouette silk.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/bi/cummings06-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 501px; height: 640px;" /><br />The dining room wall color was inspired by a terra-cotta hotel room in Provence. A graceful rusted-iron chandelier is a perfect match for the very narrow 18th-century Italian table. The settee is one of the few painted-wood pieces in the house — "and it's the prettiest painted wood you've ever seen," Cummings says.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/OB/cummings07-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 500px; height: 638px;" /><br />The only new wood in the house is the cedar planking on the porch ceiling, which resists damage from Houston's high humidity.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/jD/cummings08-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 498px; height: 636px;" /><br />She turned an Italian window grille into a hanging pot rack. "But when we put the pots on it, it seemed gimmicky. So we've kept it as kind of an art installation."<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/FN/cummings09-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 497px; height: 635px;" /><br />A bar is part of the family room.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/RE/cummings10-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px; width: 500px; height: 392px;" /><br />The warm tones of reclaimed wood and stone give the kitchen a cozy, inviting feeling. "The poplar cabinets have the most lustrous chamois color, and great grain," Cummings says. To make the Viking refrigerators look more in sync with the rustic elements, Cummings had them covered with zinc.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/Bw/cummings11-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 499px; height: 637px;" /><br />The powder room mirror is behind an antique Italian window grille: "Not what you'd expect, but everybody loves it. And I love all those dings and splotches on the old stone sink. Makes it even more beautiful."<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/FN/cummings12-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 498px; height: 636px;" /><br />"The blue shutters in the master bath are one of the few painted surfaces in this entire house," Cummings says. "But it's the original paint."<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/Kz/cummings14-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 495px; height: 632px;" /><br />The stairway railing is hand-forged iron<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/Sf/cummings13-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 590px; height: 753px;" /><br />Wood beams and antique Parefeuille tile are juxtaposed on the ceiling in the master bedroom. "This ceiling is so powerful, I had to scale everything back and keep it simple," says designer Eleanor Cummings. "We tried a painting over the bed, but it felt like an intruder."<br /><br />All images and information from <a href="http://www.housebeautiful.com/">here</a>.

Italian Rustic House

Hello dears, hope you are having a nice weekend. To make it even nicer let's tour this rustic Italian house. You may find it hard to bel...

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Summer House in Cantabria

Good morning sweet readers, it's Friday and I'm taking you to Spain today. This house is in Cantabria, which is located between the Cantabrian sea and Cantabrian mountains in northern Spain. An airy and bright summer house with huge windows to bring the outside in, exposed beams in all the rooms and a mix of antique, rustic and modern furniture. Decorated by interior designer Ana de Castro. Let's take the tour.<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/con-el-encanto-del-campo/porche/fachada-y-porche/318777-1-esl-ES/Fachada-y-porche_large.jpg" style="width: 551px; height: 427px;" /><br />Everything set to enjoy the good weather. A wicker living room set in the porch and weathered table and chairs on the lawn.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/un-recibidor-rustico-diafano/recibidor/recibidor/318789-1-esl-ES/Recibidor_large.jpg" style="width: 462px; height: 544px;" /><br />An antique front door opens to the foyer. All the oak beams and pillars have been lightly painted in white. Stone was used in all the ground floor rooms.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/vida-al-calor-de-la-chimenea/salon/salon/318801-1-esl-ES/Salon_large.jpg" style="width: 536px; height: 416px;" /><br />The large sitting room was divided into two areas with chaise lounges on one side and the living area on the other.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/vida-al-calor-de-la-chimenea/salon/salon-2/318809-1-esl-ES/Salon-2_large.jpg" style="width: 536px; height: 416px;" /><br />View of the sitting room from the foyer. A vintage window frame hangs over the fireplace. Notice the unusual mirrors on the cupboard door.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/vida-al-calor-de-la-chimenea/salon/salon-3/318813-1-esl-ES/Salon-3_large.jpg" style="width: 537px; height: 416px;" /><br />No need to go outdoors to enjoy the view.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/vida-al-calor-de-la-chimenea/salon/salon-4/318817-1-esl-ES/Salon-4_large.jpg" style="width: 467px; height: 550px;" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/simulando-un-porche-cubierto/comedor/comedor/318858-1-esl-ES/Comedor_large.jpg" style="width: 467px; height: 550px;" /><br />Rustic table and Regent style dining chairs.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/simulando-un-porche-cubierto/comedor/comedor-2/318862-1-esl-ES/Comedor-2_large.jpg" style="width: 467px; height: 550px;" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/con-dos-camitas-y-un-cabecero-de-obra/dormitorio-infantil/dormitorio-infantil/318874-1-esl-ES/Dormitorio-infantil_large.jpg" style="width: 466px; height: 548px;" /><br />Soft lavender tones in the children's bedroom.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/con-dos-camitas-y-un-cabecero-de-obra/dormitorio-infantil/dormitorio-infantil-2/318878-1-esl-ES/Dormitorio-infantil-2_large.jpg" style="width: 466px; height: 548px;" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/un-suelo-de-madera-de-castano/distribuidor/distribuidor/318897-1-esl-ES/Distribuidor_large.jpg" style="width: 466px; height: 548px;" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/un-imponente-espacio-para-relajarse/dormitorio-principal/dormitorio-principal/318915-1-esl-ES/Dormitorio-principal_large.jpg" style="width: 468px; height: 551px;" /><br />Two matching headboards of single beds were used for the king sized bed in the master bedroom. Twin ottomans at the foot of the bed and a large mirror leaning on the wall complete the look.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/un-imponente-espacio-para-relajarse/dormitorio-principal/dormitorio-principal-2/318929-1-esl-ES/Dormitorio-principal-2_large.jpg" style="width: 468px; height: 551px;" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/un-imponente-espacio-para-relajarse/dormitorio-principal/zona-de-lectura/318933-1-esl-ES/Zona-de-lectura_large.jpg" style="width: 551px; height: 428px;" /><br />A pair of modern chaise lounges at the other end of the master bedroom. A basket holds extra blankets and pillows.<br /><br />I have linked this post over at Melissa's <a href="http://theinspiredroom.net/">The Inspired Room</a>. As always, thanks for hosting Melissa!<br /><br />All images from <a href="http://www.elmueble.com/">here</a>.

Summer House in Cantabria

Good morning sweet readers, it's Friday and I'm taking you to Spain today. This house is in Cantabria, which is located between the ...

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Renovated House in the Hamptons

Built in the early 1980s, this 10 room house was so badly designed that it lacked even a proper front entrance. But it had one attribute that erased all of its defects: It was perfectly placed on one of the choicest spots in East Hampton. On one side was the Atlantic Ocean. On the other was an elegant wooden windmill, built in 1801. The owners appointed architect Andrew Pollock to renovate it and Cullman & Kravis for the interiors. This is how it turned out.<br /><br /><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/01_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 497px;" /><br />How about having a 19th-century windmill in your front garden?<br /><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /></div><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/03_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 497px;" /><br />The dining pergola offers unobstructed water views.<br /><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/02_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 497px;" /><br />In the living room a large steel-and-ormolu Italian mirror from the 1930s was set just inches above an early-19th-century New England mantel.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /></div><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/04_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 497px;" /><br />Dark gray pietra serena Italian countertop, white cabinets and white subway tiles behind the range.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /></div><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/05_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 498px;" /><br />A new stair landing created space for a reading nook. The elmwood comb-back Windsor chair dates to the 1780s, and the candlestick table is from the late 19th century. Sisal carpet.<br /><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/06_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 497px;" /><br />The residents collect contemporary photography, and the master suite includes works by Malick Sidibé, Lou Bernstein and Robert Frank. The sitting room’s five-foot-square double chaise provides an inviting place for two people to relax.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /></div><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/08_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 497px;" /><br />Neil Winokur portraits of the owners’ past and present dogs hang above the fireplace in the sitting area adjacent to the kitchen.<br /><br /><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/07_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 497px;" /><br />The guesthouse entrance is accessed through a manicured garden.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /></div></div><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/10_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 497px;" /><br />A bridge at the rear of the house leads to a “sunset deck” atop the poolhouse. <div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/09_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 599px; height: 497px;" /><br />Landscape designer Jane E. Lappin surrounded a deck with salt-tolerant plants.<br /><br />Architecture by Andrew Pollock/Interior Design by Cullman & Kravis<br /><br />Photography by Durston Saylor<br /><br /></div>All images and information from <a href="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/">here</a>.<br /></div>

Renovated House in the Hamptons

Built in the early 1980s, this 10 room house was so badly designed that it lacked even a proper front entrance. But it had one attribute t...

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Swedish and French Furniture

An English Tudor house with a country feel was transformed into a Swedish style home by interior designers Carol Glasser and Katrin Cargill. Enfilades [room-to-room views] are a hallmark of Swedish style, and a number of doors on the ground floor were taken out to create one. Interior shutters that tuck in to the window reveals were added, and wide Canadian pine-plank flooring with a chalky limed finish.<br />Let's step in.<br /><br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/white_bedroom-0407-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 451px; height: 576px;" /><br />The designers had an artist hand-color and glaze 18th-century black-and-white Dutch engravings for the sunroom; eleven are originals, the balance photocopies that are all but indistinguishable from the real thing. Both chairs and table are Swedish antiques.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/blue-bedroom-0407-xlg.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px;" /><br />Various vantage points in the family room, where an alderwood pedestal table separates dressed-up and dressed-down seating areas, one with a delicate Swedish painted sofa, the other (where the children watch TV) with a sprawling Charles sectional. Painted rustic planks on the walls.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/green-living-room-0407-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 460px; height: 587px;" /><br />Antiques with their original paint — a French Directoire mantel and overmantel and Swedish tea table and armchair.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/green-clock-0407-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 459px; height: 586px;" /><br />No Swedish house is complete without a longcase clock.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/white-dining-room-0407-xlg.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px;" /><br />These dining chairs are a reproduction of Swedish furniture.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/white-nook-0407-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 461px; height: 589px;" /><br />Gustavian armchair and Swedish dropleaf table in the breakfast room.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/white-kitchen-0407-xlg.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px;" /><br />Rather than hanging heavy cabinets on the kitchen's window wall, Cargill and Glasser designed plate racks to display part of a collection of French faience. Deployed throughout the house, the roller shade is a traditional Swedish design. Charles Edwards tole pendant lamp with a nickel lining.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/white-kitchen-2-0407-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 462px; height: 590px;" /><br />The Viking range has a graphite finish.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/11-swedish-fantasy-bedroom-dec0407-xlg.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px;" /><br />Nordic Style is one of Cargill and Glasser's favorite resources for Swedish lighting (the glass urn lamps), furniture (the painted chests, pressed into service as night tables), and fabrics (the Raspberry Small Check on the bench, and 19th-century bed in the Louis XVI taste). Scrubbed with liming paste, extra-wide Canadian pine floor planks are partially covered with flat-weave wool rugs.<br /><br /><br />All images and information from <a href="http://www.housebeautiful.com/">House Beautiful</a>.

Swedish and French Furniture

An English Tudor house with a country feel was transformed into a Swedish style home by interior designers Carol Glasser and Katrin Cargill....

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Outdoor Spaces

A second post today. Most of you, dear readers, are enjoying lovely sunny weather right now so I thought it would be a good idea to show you a collection of outdoor spaces put together by Architectural Digest. Lots of styles to choose from. Have your pick!<br /><br />1.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/08_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />2.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/01_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />3.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/02_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />4.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/03_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />5.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/05_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br /> 6.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/06_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />7.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/07_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />8.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/09_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />9.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/04_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />10.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/11_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />11.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/10_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />12.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/12_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />All images from <a href="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/">Architectural Digest</a>.

Outdoor Spaces

A second post today. Most of you, dear readers, are enjoying lovely sunny weather right now so I thought it would be a good idea to show you...

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