$100 Home

Here in Chattanooga some lucky person paid only $100 for this home!

This is the St. Jude Dream Home that was built in the Overlook community as a fundraiser to benefit  St. Jude Children's Hospital.  The hospital is devoted to treating and researching  childhood diseases and was founded by Danny Thomas in the early 60's.   Treating sick children is the highest priority at St. Jude Hospital and children are never turned away due to the parents inability to pay the bill.  They rely heavily on private donations and fundraisers, so even if you are not holding the winning ticket for the Dream Home, it's a win-win for everyone!

Here's what the winning ticket holder got for their 100 bucks:

This is the study, located just off the entry hall.

The dining room, across the foyer from the study

Kitchen (love that pretty tile backsplash)

Breakfast

Family room, open to breakfast room & kitchen

Downstairs guest bedroom

Maser bath

All images from here.

Remember to count your blessings this week - healthy children are the greatest blessing of all!

Learn more about the sponsors and St. Jude Hospital here.

How the Past Influences the Future

Today's post is a little more personal for me. I want to share how my past has lead me to where I am now.  


I have always loved decorating and design.  I remember when I was a little girl that some neighborhood kids and I constructed a "fort" out of found materials, (plywood, branches, whatever we could find).  I distinctly recall wanting to be sure it had lots of windows and then foraging for whatever materials I could find for my makeshift "curtains" .

Flickr

When my husband and I got our first apartment (it was a tiny 1-bedroom loft) my passion for creating beautiful interiors really took off.  I was always painting something or coming home with another fabric sample or flea market treasure.  Luckily, my supercute and sweet husband let me indulge my creative side and put up with whatever "look" was appropriate for decade we were living in.  


Then came the point of no return and an added bonus:  My above-mentioned supercute and sweet and uber-talented husband started a construction company that specialized in residential construction!!  See the beauty/danger here? Yep, he was always re-doing a kitchen, reconfiguring a bathroom, adding some crown molding/picture molding/ judges paneling, wainscoting, or tiling something for me.  


Add to this a shared love of architecture and historic homes and next thing you know we started a business of buying run-down historic properties and completely renovating them from foundation to rooftop! I thought I died and went to heaven!!!  Can you imagine anything more glorious than being responsible for giving new life to a turn of the century home with all of the architectural details of that era - high ceilings, heart pine floors, built-in china cabinets, foot-high baseboards, transoms and ornate door and window hardware.


The start of every new project rendered my "giddy"  The restoration process itself was grueling, frustrating, and seemingly never-ending.  But when the final finishes started to go up (paint was always the biggest transformer), the end result was worth all of the frustration ten-fold!  


So, I thought I would share some of our projects with you, complete with before and after photos!  

First project ever -before/during

After - sorry these photos are so grainy, they are pretty old!

Here is supercute and sweet hubby working on old window restoration.  

This is the first restoration we did as our own home - looks kinda Munster-ish, right?

Here it is nearly finished - it is magnificent - my favorite house ever! (and we have lived in a bunch). We lived here a few years and then sold it and moved on to this one -

Not quite sure what's up with that peach and rose color scheme, but another spectacular historic home that needed a little(a lot) of lovin

Here she is about a year later, taken from another angle.  Notice they built a new house next door?

During

This is a before.  Hard to tell from the photo, but this one had a fire that burned out the second level and all roof rafters.

This photo shows all new rafters and ceiling joists.

Here it is after restoration.  New owners already moved in!

during...

Pretty hideous - this is before/during

Truly, this is the same house nearing completion.  

Also wanted to share some photos of great details found inside of these houses - in no particular order

Heart pine floors, original mantel with tile, built-in window seats with storage, and how about those windows with original trim?  Pretty spectacular, right?

I bought those amazing windows over the original tub to bring more light into the bath.  The glass in those windows has a very cool raised pattern - photo does not do it justice!

The original window here was missing.  This is a salvaged window that I found.  I added the red glass squares and the center beveled medallion.  This window was part of a double-hung set but the size was right and all we had to do was turn it on its end and so some extra molding to make it work...

This is the top of a staircase on one of our first projects.  That entire curved portion was not in the house when we bought it - we later found that section in the basement (complete) and we re-installed it.  This open at the top of the steps was being used as a bathroom for the upstairs apartment.

Another great staircase (my current house)

so fun to find an old clawfoot! Lots of sanding and a visit from "The Bathtub Guy" for reglazing and it looks like a million bucks! 

Fresh paint, antique light fixture and sanded floors.  Such an exciting time in restoration!

So my past history of historic home restoration is just another layer that makes up my passion for creating beautiful living spaces. For me, all design projects include a piece of the past - whether it comes from an antique lighting fixture, architectural salvage or and old chair updated with a little paint and fabric. The past is a big part of where we are today!

Hope your week is inspring ...

Home Tour: Junior League Tour du Jour

I had the pleasure of participating in the Junior League of Chattanooga's annual Tour du Jour kitchen tour on Saturday. When I got to the first tour home I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I could see the entire home, not just the kitchens!  It was a beautiful day and there seemed to be a good turnout for the event.  Regrettably, I didn't get to visit each of the 6 homes that were open for the tour.  I did visit three of the tour homes and took lots of photos to share with you!  What you will notice is that each of the three houses I photographed have distinctly different personalities.

Located in the Enclave, this is the first home I visited. Very grand and European in feel. It is my understanding that Dolores Wolfe did most of the interior design here with the exception of the master dressing room, bathroom and kitchen.

This is the view looking into the kitchen from the family room.  The stone floors are beautiful and are used in the family room and kitchen.

A view into the kitchen designed by Norcia Fine Cabinetry.  The granite countertops are an unusual mix of blue, green & brown.  Note that the blue was picked up again on the island cabinetry.

Lots of storage in these cabinets with lighted display space above.

Beautiful mosaic tile backsplash by Haskell Interiors

A view of the tablescape in the casual dining area.

Casual dining area with an amazing view of the Tennessee River

Wowza.  This is the infinity pool that is accessible from the great room.  Fabulous!

Formal dining space with polished marble floors and massive crystal chandelier.  I love the use of a round dining table here.

This is the formal living area with a sand and sky color palette.

A view of the fireplace with carved stone mantel. The photos cannot capture the grandeur of the space.

The main level master continues the sand & sky color story.

Exercise area off the master bedroom introduces more vibrant colors.

Master closet/dressing area.  This details and finishes in this space are to die for!

Up close view of the gold sink and plumbing fixtures.

Shoes and accessories openly displayed in glass cabinetry by Norcia Fine Cabinetry.  Again, the finishes in here are top drawer (no pun intended :)

Another view of the impeccably appointed master dressing room.

Master tub with chandelier and custom tile mosaic, by Haskell Interiors

Next stop was this kitchen next door

This contemporary kitchen was designed by Haskell Interiors..

This modern space feels warm because of the earthy tones in the wood and accents of red.

Great open glass shelving for modern display. 

The last house I visited was a North Chattanooga bungalow that had been completely redone. 

We started this tour at the back entrance.  New deck in dappled sunlight.

New kitchen designed by Against the Grain Custom Woodworks features shaker style white cabinetry, black granite countertops and black subway tile on the backsplash.  I like how they repeated the black on the island cabinetry, topped with warm wood.

Living spaces have been opened up.  This view is from the living room looking into the kitchen.

Black & white photography echoes the kitchen's colors.

Simply outfitted guest bedroom demonstrates "less is more" theory.

Bedroom has a Ralph Lauren feel. Pretty red accents pulled from the floral bedding.

OCD'ers dream closet! 

Had a tough time getting a good shot of the bathroom.  It uses the same granite and black & white tile.  Feels super fresh & clean!

Thanks for a great day of exploring some great design here in Chattanooga.  For more information about the Junior League, visit their website here.