Tag: home tours

Uncategorized

A Christmas Visit with Judith and Botanic Bleu

French Ethereal

For over ten years now, Judith Stringham, who writes the blog Botanic Bleu, has hosted a Christmas sales event at her home…

Upon arriving to her home about an hour away from where we live, Judith has a couple of teuteurs set up with lights and signs. This year with the COVID virus floating around, she has signs reminding everyone to wear a mask and also that this sale is not open to the public. Visitors had to sign up for the time they wanted and then confirm that you would be coming. Love her family’s acreage!

Totally love how Judith laid sprays of greenery around the base of each teuteur then placed green Arc de Bois (Horse Apple) seed pods like holly and its leaves! Btw, those “apples” are HEAVY and I can attest that they weigh about 2-5 lbs., EACH. Several people at the campground we lived at last had their windshields broken on their cars plus their RV’s dented. Happily, you can buy just “male” Arc de Bois trees; they are the ones in the springtime which lose their “ball blossoms.” Look for those in your garden center ~ awesome shade trees!
A quick look at the front of the Stringham’s home. Her sweet kitty is just in front of the garage door on the right.

Judith, her husband and sister have built all of the pathways surrounding their home and garden over the past 20+ years. The garden shed you will see was originally just a wooden structure but evolved to become a permanent solid rock beautiful building…

Isn’t this just the cutest??! Her home is part of my inspiration in my own garden, especially the pathways. On this day early in December, Judith’s sister was staying and was helping planting out in the upper garden. Let’s go check out inside!

I really wanted the large reindeer but just couldn’t afford it… Of course, I want everything inside! 😉

The sun was peeping in and out this day so I am sorry if some of these photos are a little dark. My appointment time was in the afternoon as I was working when the sign up time opened, so there aren’t nearly as many goodies as there were still available, as can be seen at last year’s event.

One of Judith’s big sellers are her boxwood wreaths and this year she has heart-shaped wreaths as well as her signature round ones. I bought one of her small wreath last year and it is still nice and green and dried perfectly. This year I brought home little “Noel” laser-cut signs to use in my Christmas decorating and to give as gifts:

from this year’s Advent week #3 post

I also remembered that Judith found these wonderful white-handled silverware sets and since I love all white place settings, this was my big splurge this year. Mr. Ethereal and I don’t buy each other Christmas gifts anymore so we usually just say, “Go get what you want and enjoy from me!” This is his gift to me this year. 🙂

They are stainless steel and can go into the dishwasher but I will probably wash them by hand just to keep them nice. I like the ceramic Shabby Chic look of the handles…

As I am writing this post, I just noticed the cute bee skeps… I’ll have to look for those next year… I did buy a White Christmas potholder to go with the kitchen towel I found last year. I also bought a softly scented candle which came in its own pretty box; it can just be seen up on the second upper shelf to the far right.

Last year I found a couple of sweet Belsnickel Santas and Judith had a few this year available. My “pile” of goodies is right there on the bureau: the potholder, a Christmas soap, a Noel sign to hang and the little Noels, plus a large heart (reminds me of those French cemetery hearts I would see in some blogs and in former Romantic Homes magazine editor, Fifi O’Neill‘s books ~ never could find any! ~ this is a good substitute).

I loved this birdcage, too, but unlimited space and funds… Maybe next year! Hubby wants us to clear stuff out, which I agree needs to be done.

Okay, enough about what I found and loved! Isn’t this such an adorable garden shed? She has another studio towards the rear of this potting shed (you can find it in this second linked post from last year… It has three sets of French doors and chandeliers…). The studio is larger and it is where she stores many things and also where she creates her treasures.

Judith had a post earlier this fall about making new shelves inside this smaller potting shed and I believe this is one of them (upper right with fleur de lis hangers). Love how she decorates!…

If you don’t already subscribe to Botanic Bleu you should check out Judith’s blog. She is a retired teacher and administrator now saleswoman and design influencer. You’ll enjoy her beautiful home and blog posts!

Her acreage reminds me of my last family home before I was married in the town of Shingle Springs, in the Northern California foothills. Part of the Gold Country area around Highway 49, and appropriately named for the gold miners who really mapped out California from 1849 onward, Judith’s two acres with its tall oaks really remind me of my old home…

A visual treat taking the eye “beyond”…

Even piles of downed tree trunks just look “right” in this setting… I miss being surrounded by trees but that’s also why we purchased our current home. I need tall trees; they are comforting.

Funny, this post isn’t going where I thought it would?… Does this happen to you when you write?? Now you know why I have the “pen pal” part in my bio! I write generally what I think. ;)’

I am going to try and build some French Teuteurs this next year and found a pattern on another blogger’s site. I forgot to ask Judith if she built hers or purchased them. They are quite expensive to buy so I am pretty sure Judith and her husband built theirs.

Don’t you just love her French garden?!! She has been to France a number of times and has such style…

Up on the deck

Inspiration…

A real French park bench… Ahhhhh….

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at Judith’s beautiful home and her potting shed and annual shop! If you are ever in the North Texas area, Judith has her shop open the first week in December and shares more about it on her blog and on her Facebook web page. Do come and visit!!!

Christmas hugs,

Barb

Uncategorized

A Tale of Two Homes… What to Look for When Buying a House

French Ethereal

We are currently in the process of buying a home here in Texas so today’s post is all about what to look for in a home. Whether buying your first home or a place to retire to ~ let’s look at some key home features…


Location Location Location

Location is always high on the list of priorities as we all want a house with great curb appeal in a good neighborhood. Lately I have seen some great houses but their locals weren’t so wonderful. Check out areas you think you might like to buy in then keep that in mind as you shop for your home.

One of the homes we were considering needed just a few updates. The cabinets were in good shape and solid wood so why rip those out to put in cheap particle board ones?  Removing the lower added mini cabinets with sliding doors and replacing the outdated lightboxes with strip lighting above would update this kitchen nicely.

Kitchens

The heart of the home is the kitchen and family room ~ the places where we spend the most time ~ so look at the layout of each of the homes you are looking at and considering. The flow of these rooms especially affect how we feel about our homes. 


If you don’t mind doing a little work, a fixer upper is usually a cost saver on the home loan side.  Check and see if the appliances are good enough to use until you can afford new ones and also check the layout of the kitchen.

Decide too if it is important to you to have a good view out the kitchen window. Or if there even IS a kitchen window.

Loved this kitchen with its granite counters and stainless appliance!
In this home we loved the brand new appliances but ultimately decided that the main room didn’t flow for what we were looking for. Buying a home because it has a beautiful kitchen and not a good flow in the main living areas can be a costly mistake.


Does the home need a remodel?

If you do buy a home with remodeling needs ask yourself if you can afford to make these changes over time. Fixing the vault of a room’s ceiling ~ you’ll need a structural contractor to give you an estimate. Adding new beams and headers if you are removing or moving walls ~ the same.

Fireplaces

How set are you on having a fireplace in your next home? 

Condominiums and apartments don’t often have them and it was one of the high priorities we wanted in our first home.  Now we are looking at style of each fireplace. 

We would look to remodel this fireplace with removing these ugly grates
in the upper area and having a stone mason put in soldiers (brick standing
upright) spaced evenly apart to allow for passive heat flow with this ventilator.
These two photographs show two different fireplace layouts and both could be kept the way they are, or have some minor or major facelifts depending upon on one’s needs and tastes.

Garden and yard

If you are a gardener like me then you are probably looking at the curb appeal of your next home and its gardening potential. This home sat on almost a half acre and we loved it for its beautiful manicured English style gardens.

Laundry room

Newer construction gives us much bigger and usually better laid out laundry rooms but surprisingly not all of us require a large laundry area.  This one is charming and practical for when a hot water hose breaks ~ a drain is already set into the floor plus the room is sunken by 4″ to deal with major water spraying.

In our first home we had a hot water hose break while we were eating dinner. First we heard a strange hissing sound then saw a swirl of water turn the corner from the carpeted hallway coming rapidly into the kitchen!

Not the best way to end dinner ~ but insurance paid for all the repairs. 🙂

Something to look at on your home owners insurance ~ is flooding included in your policy? It should be but it is good to read through your policy to be sure. If the carpeting gets soaked during a pipe burst will your insurance replace all connected carpet and other damaged flooring?

Good things to make sure you have in place especially if looking at an older home.

Sorry this is a bit dark ~ taken with my iPhone.

Bedrooms, bathrooms and office spaces

For a room to be counted as a bedroom it must have an egress window in case of emergency plus a built in closet. I’ve seen some homes here in Texas that were advertised as having a certain amount of bedrooms but the room in question was really a play space ~ not very ethical and a potential for disaster.



Office spaces are wonderful especially if they come with built in shelving. A drawback is what to do if you already own cabinets and bookcases. Where would you now put yours?

Could you put those bookcases somewhere else in a potential home? Would you have to sell them?

That’s something to consider. 

Good layout for a powder room.  Could make an update down the road
with new cabinet and countertop.
In looking at the houses you visit you’ll want to check the layout of each bathroom in each house.  So important as we have found that many homes today look pretty but aren’t functional.

It is the trend today in some bathroom remodels in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs to take out the medicine cabinets in favor of just plain mirrors.  This may be all over the country, as far as I know, and this is perfectly fine as long as there is a base cabinet with drawers (such as in our soon-to-be home, below). 

Oddly enough, one flipper in our area took out the base cabinet in one master bathroom as well ~ a totally non-functional bathroom.  What he put in was beautiful with its granite countertop and pretty marble shower but there was absolutely no storage. It was a hotel bathroom and not a residential bathroom… big mistake and had we bought that home we planned on asking for money to make it functional.

Good design must include function as well as beauty.   🙂  


Sneaking this photo in of our soon-to-be home, if all goes through. 🙂

Putting in an offer

These are  two of the many homes we looked at over the past six months and considered as we were finding our first Texas home.  We lost out on the first house we bid on (the older home shared here in these photos which sat on almost 1/2 acre and had a lovely English garden… I was crushed at the time!).

This beautiful all white home was one we really thought about but ultimately decided not to go ahead.  But we did find another home we really like this and this second offer was accepted.



Yesterday’s post shared just a peek at our home-to-be… 🙂 Which is another thing to be prepared for: not having your offer accepted and it is very emotional and disappointing and often we don’t know why our offer wasn’t picked. Sometimes it is timing ~ that your offer is contingent upon your current home selling. Sometimes it’s just a matter of what the seller and realtor feel is best for them. In our case with the first home, the seller’s had a cash offer which trumped ours.   🙁

But don’t lose heart as there are plenty of good homes out there in a style you will love!  Keep looking and try for the one which has the most items in it that will suit your current needs.  




Happy house hunting,
Uncategorized

An Ethereal Christmas Home Tour

French Ethereal
Welcome to our humble abode  today and I hope you enjoy this little Christmas tour here at
French Ethereal! 

If you are stopping by for the first time and are coming over from the Merry Christmas Blog Party with Janet Coon of Shabbyfufu and
Rhoda Vickers of Southern Hospitality
I am so happy you are here!

This time of year  is so fun to be able to share our festively decorated homes with family and friends.
 One of the things I love to do is set up a beautiful table and share a home cooked meal letting everyone know how much they mean to me and that I appreciate them so very much.

We currently live in our 41′ Heartland Charleston Landmark 365 fifth-wheel travel trailer which though it is pretty large still cannot hold too many people for dinner, so big groups are happily hosted out of doors. 

Too, we are in process of looking for our first Texas home since our move two years ago from California. Mr. Ethereal loves his new job and travels quite a bit so getting both of us to tour homes is a juggle so for now this is our home.

Summer of 2015 ~ the hollyhocks were blooming and one of our outdoor statues was enjoying the summer sun’s warmth!
Here is my former backyard at our second home in California and it is part of today’s inspiration for today’s outdoor Christmas table setting.


Two of the Girls made the trip to Texas with us ~ our big lady statue and our angel as they are fixtures of my style.
😉

Here our leftover pumpkins were opened to share with the birds who frequent our birdfeeder and birdbath.  I don’t really know if they are eating any of the pumpkin seeds but it is part of the offerings. I am finding that the birds here love safflower seeds a lot!

What types of seeds do your birds like to eat?

Recently I set up a Thanksgiving table outdoors and this is where these lovely pumpkins were for most of the season.

Coming indoors I decorated with mostly pinks and whites on our tree but our window display changes frequently.
This sweet little Mary and Baby Jesus was found in McKinney at an antique store.

Our tree has a lovely golden cast to it in the evenings this year which I really love.

This is part of our sitting room and although I haven’t taken any new photographs this couch is usually decorated for the seasons.
Heading back outside our table setting is lovingly decorated with a Victorian Dickens theme.  It began with inspiration from this hat which I just decorated to attend the Dickens Festival and a tea at the Lasker Inn in Galveston just a weekend ago.  I’ll link this up once I am done writing those posts for you so please stop back by.
🙂
Along with the Dickens hat on our indoor maiden I’ve used a multi colored blanket scarf I found last year as a tablecloth.  With it I pulled out my box of flowers and added this garland of white flowers and some pinecones and acorns found on our trip to South Dakota.

Gold chargers gave an Old World look and adding in our Johnson Bros. pinkish-red transferware and some poorman’s silver candleholders from Pottery Barn gave just the right look ~ simple and elegant without the table being too busy.  

When guests arrive it is easy to remove our Maiden and bring her indoors for easy conversation and bring out the little pheasant from Thanksgiving.

Since moving here I’ve collected a mismatched set of wine glasses and two of these are ones my mother-in-law sent.  They are from an Odd Fellows dinner hosted in Sacramento, California.  I do find it is nice to decorate with family pieces and this was a welcome gift.   The patriotic linked rings go well with the plaid table scarf.

One last photograph for you!

Once everything  was put away and sprinkles of rain had begun yet again it was fun to run back out and wrap our Girl…  Thank you for stopping by today and I hope you stop by the other ladies on the Merry Christmas tour.  

Sharing with
Image-in-ing
Share Your Style
Style Showcase ~ Designthusiasm
Thursday Favorite Things ~ Follow the Yellow Brick Home
Sweet Inspiration ~ Purple Hues and Me
Christmas Home Tours ~ Follow the Yellow Brick Home


Happy Christmas to you,
Uncategorized

Share Your Style #177

French Ethereal
Welcome Everyone to this week’s ShareYourStyle #177!   This is Barb Chapman of the blog French Ethereal and I’ll be your hostess this week.  When you link to our party, your blog will be shown on all seven of our blogs shown below.  We are happy that you are here.
🙂
We would love to have you follow us, if you don’t already:

• Lynn:  The Vintage Nest / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Google+
• Barbara Curran:  21 Rosemary Lane / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Google+
• Kristin:  White Arrows Home / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Instagram
• Barb Chapman:  French Ethereal / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Instagram 
• Meredith:  Southbound / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Instagram

 As always, we would love it if you could include a link back to Share Your Style somewhere in your blog post. Also, please be sure to check out some of the other party goers links and possibly make some new friends, thanks!

Recently on French Ethereal, I shared:

Chalk Paint Message Board How-To
Lost Photos, Happy Memories and a Craft

Places to Visit ~ The Historic St. Anthony Hotel





And now it is on to…
Maura of Happy Deal Happy Day shared this easy photo transfer process done with a laser printer to create awesome gifts for friends and family.  My kind of gift ~ so simple to make with loads of heart.

Laura of Laura Bloomquist shared some easy ways to update
a vintage chandelier and one was with decorate papers on the candle sleeves ~ lovely!
Erin of Suburban Simplicity shared these adorable bat treats.
A super fun craft to create with your kids and grandkids.

For the gardener in me, Yvonne of Stone Gable shared some
great fall styling tips for your small yard spaces.


Lastly I wanted to share a beautiful mirror and mantel decorated for fall by Debbie of Debbie Goes Shabby.  The computer wouldn’t let me import the photograph so I thought I’d share it as an honorable mention.  Debbie glued gorgeous French toile de Jouy fabric behind an old mottled mirror and it beautiful!
 Follow the link in her blog name to see it. 


Congratulations to all our featured bloggers!
  Be sure to grab our Share Your Style button to share on your blog.

Just a reminder again, we’d love it if you could provide a link back to our party on your blog post.  Please, no repeats for one year.  Thank you to everyone who linked up and visited last week!
🙂


NOW LET’S PARTY!

https://static.inlinkz.com/cs2.js

Uncategorized

Summer Outdoor Living Blog Hop Party

French Ethereal
Summer outdoor living…
Time to take a break and relax outside a little ~
have friends stop by for a cookout…
One of our favorite things…


Outdoor living for my husband and I
have always included a garden and today 
we will go on a little
tour of those we have had here
at our 
Prairie Home in Texas…


A view out to the incoming road from Site #72
If you are new to French Ethereal, welcome!
My husband and I moved here last fall with
a job transfer from California to Texas.
We currently live in Sanger, a small farm town 
of about 2500 people,
about an hour north of Dallas.

We are really enjoying living the country life!


Summertime at the Big House ~ the hollyhocks were blooming in amongst the roses.


This is my former garden in our last home
in Southern California.
My gardens have evolved over the past 30 years 
however they all began with roses and
this last big garden was my little 
version of Versaille.
😉



Summer outdoor living to me always 
blends gardens and gardening.  
For me, outdoor living goes hand in hand
with working in the garden.
At that last house, we built a pool so it was lovely 
to go sit outside with a glass of iced tea
then putter about weeding and trimming roses.
When I’d get hot from working in the yard
it was nice to just hop in the pool 
for a quick cool-off.


Here, it’s just a short walk over to the pool
behind the barn.
🙂
We just moved over to this new site
{which will hopefully allow us to have a small shed out back}
a couple of weeks ago and it has been 
really hot and buggy
so arranging the garden area
is going to take a bit more planning.

The basil and hydrangea are already out front.

This area gets morning shade and full afternoon sun
so
the plants will probably all move
in front of the fifth-wheel for the next
couple of months.
How does one adapt a garden as one
moves around?  Plant in pots of course!
{preferably lightish weight ones! LOL!}
🙂

We are enjoying this raised patio with seating for two.  I might look for a lightweight table to add here for alfresco dining.
The previous tenant had built this little patio area
{one of the reasons we chose this site}
and he left it and the cinder blocks
so I rebuilt them as a little fence
and deck area.

Outdoor living might also mean hosting small 
furry friends in the yard.
We feed birdseed to the local birds
but the local rabbits enjoy coming over
to nibble, too!
This fellow and two companions
were romping about last evening
as we came back from a sunset walk.

My favorite garden style is sort of a mixture
between a very formal French Garden
with parterres and clipped boxwood hedges and plants
and the blousy overblown
English Garden style.


One of my favorite things to do outdoors
is have friends over for a tea party.
For fifteen-plus years, I belonged to a group
in Riverside County, California called
The Victorian Tea Society
and every month each one of us ladies
took a turn hosting a tea.
We often had our whole tea out of doors
under a patio cover or under a large
outdoor umbrella.

I think we will be looking for an
umbrella soon!
😉
Our current outdoor patio area ~ a work in progress
I hope you have enjoyed our outdoor living tour.
Please stop by and visit the other bloggers on the 
Summer Outdoor Living
blog party tour.
Sharing with
Oh My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday
Friday at the Firehouse ~ A Fireman’s Wife

Thanks for visiting! Please leave
a comment and let me know
how you enjoyed this tour.
🙂

Barbara | French Ethereal
Nancy | Cobani Bleu
Patricia | Old Things New
Sherry | Savvy Apron
Suzanne | Shop at Blu
Debbie | Chatham Hill on the Lake
Kristi | Steeple Chase Manor
Uncategorized

A Holiday House and Garden Tour ~ French Ethereal Style!

French Ethereal



Jennifer Rizzo 2016 linky party

Top photo is of one of our “Girls” dressed for the holidays!

As many of you know, ours is 
a tiny home ~ for now. 


We recently moved to Texas from Southern California
and will be looking for a house to love 
over the course of this next year. 

But, this is our home for now: a 27′ Coleman travel trailer set on the park~like premises of an RV park and alpaca ranch in beautiful prairie country of Sanger, Texas! 

Welcome to our Tiny Home! 
If you haven’t visited before
I’m glad you are here!

I’m linking up with
Jennifer Rizzo’s Holiday Housewalk 2016
Extra Linky Party
today
and I’m hoping that this works!
🙂



This is us pulling out of California one month ago.
I decorate basically the same way I did
in our 2600 sq. ft. house
just on a lot smaller scale.
😉


Our home in Murrieta, California ~ loved how large our dining/living room was!
That was two years ago.
*If you’d like to see more please click Here.

Here is now with some of those same pieces
from the above photo.  
The little white tabletop Christmas tree I had found at
Joann Fabrics and it’s a favorite!


I also brought my large tea cup and those salad/dessert plates
with me {and the silverware!} ~ I had to have some china.
Hubby thought I was nuts but with bubble wrap
everything made it just fine.
😉



Last year we used one of our table top trees for our first RV Christmas.  We brought out three boxes of ornaments
and pulled out a number of special and Victorian ornaments,
pearl bead garland and other beads draped like tinsel.
My family agreed.
This was a really special tree and one
of our all~time favorites!



Our tree this year is very simple with just red, white and jeweled lights from Wal-Mart twined around a realistic tree
I found at HomeGoods the weekend we got here.
{literally three weeks ago!}
Our living space.  Very small but cozy in the winter!

And our “chandy” gets in on the act ~ this is where some new
Christmas ornaments found their new home!
I found these long crystal pendants at Macy’s here in Texas.
They came totally decked out with silver and pearl beading
crystal chandelier flowers and the pendant is solid glass.
Trés chic!
I am totally in love with them!


Thanks for stopping by ~ Please do come again!
Later this week I’ll be sharing more about this chandelier redo
and some outdoor decorating with “The Girls.”
As always, thanks for sharing!


Sharing with ~
Jennifer Rizzo Holiday Housewalk 2016 Linky Party
Shabbylicious Friday ~ Shabby Art Boutique
WOW Us Wednesday ~ Savvy Southern Style
Feathered Nest Friday ~ French Country Cottage




À bientôt,
Uncategorized

Meet Cindy and Bob Ellis ~ Cindy Ellis Art

French Ethereal

Every Spring up in Redlands,
Cindy and Bob Ellis
host an Open House
for friends and family and customers
wishing to see Cindy’s super charming Craftsman~style cottage
and to buy 
Cindy’s amazing rose paintings
and the beautiful custom~built birdhouses 
lovingly created by Bob…



Cindy’s personal birdhouse made lovingly for her by hubby Bob
The Ellis’ home, gardens and art
have been featured in some of our favorite decorating magazines such as
Romantic Homes Magazine
and this is where I first learned about Cindy.
When I found out she lived locally and a mutual friend Julie
had become friends with her,
we eventually got to meet through the internet
{like so many of us have!}
and that was that!

A few years ago Cindy and Bob were hosting their
Open House and I was free that particular Saturday and drove up there 
to see and meet them in person.
🙂
Their living room is too die for cute!  Can’t you see yourself happily plopped down on the sofa there?
Their amazingly beautiful home,
all white and Shabby
with lace, birdhouses, roses, and 
smartly~dressed mannequins 
in party dresses
was such a treat for this die~hard romantic!
I had arrived late in the day
getting a bit lost
however 
Bob saw me driving by then
stepping out of my car
“just to snap a few photos”
before heading back home ~ 
I was late and I was okay with 
just seeing 
their beautiful gardens
out front.
Bob had seen me though
and asked
“Would I like to come inside?”
Yes, please!

Another friend was coming over so we both
were able to see Bob and Cindy’s home
and all of their gardens
at the same time…

It was the perfect day for a home tour
warm but not blistering hot
and
the front garden bed of 
rambling roses and climbers
was massively blooming!

Heaven on Earth…

The white picket fence and welcoming arbor
were the perfect entryway to come through
as we headed around the side yard to the 
back of their home.

First stop was among a gorgeous 
Eden rose bush with canes extending 12 feet or better
along the top of the breezeway pergola
{also built by Bob ~ he’s a retired carpenter by trade}.
In front of us was an outdoor koi pond 
shaded by trees
with
the Ellis’ shop sitting to the left of the yard
and
Cindy’s little studio
{the one featured above and in those magazines}
just to the right and ahead.

Here’s another photo of Cindy in her ethereal studio ~ sigh!…

Views above are of:
Upper left ~ looking from the pergola and outdoor seating area 
towards the original garage~cum~shop

Upper right ~ the big birdhouse display case I purchased!

Lower left ~ happy koi loving their shaded home.
and
Lower right ~ the outdoor seating area itself 


Many rose paintings and other 
rose~painted items
were for sale
along with other treasures.
Cindy’s larger artworks set inside custom~made frames
of ceiling tiles and architectural elements
were also available.


We all visited for an hour
or so outdoors 
then headed inside
to tour a true
Craftsman~style home
 *click on the wording above to check out more about
the Craftsman style and how this style of home came about!
Here’s another picture of Cindy!
She is sooo personable!
If you haven’t visited her website or her Facebook page
do check them out at
by clicking on the words below.
I’ve linked to her website so you can go directly there
from here!
Cindy Ellis Art

Cindy teaches how to paint roses in oil paints
and all supplies are included in the cost of fees
per her website
so…
If you live in Southern California
come take a class!

Here is the Ellis’ powder room with many original
and period~style fixtures.

This built~in cupboard is to the right
if memory serves
as you come in from the backyard
into their home.
I love how Cindy has added 
wallpaper 
to the back of this cupboard making
the old rose dishes blend in but also to stand out!
Built~in cupboards are so useful
and also great space~savers
in smaller homes.
Something I can really appreciate
just now!

The galley kitchen still has its original hardwood cabinets
and they are just gorgeous!
Much of the cabinets one finds 
at the big box stores today
aren’t made of solid wood and aren’t always built well
in addition
they often just don’t fit nicely into period homes
as originals were built onsite
therefore 
it’s really nice to find
original cabinetry when purchasing an older home.
Even if adding more cabinets are needed ~
custom cabinets are the way to go
if at all possible!
🙂
I didn’t take a picture of the other side of the room
or it didn’t turn out
so…
I’m sorry that I can’t share that with you.

Here is a final look at
Cindy and Bob Ellis’ gorgeous home!
I do hope you have enjoyed this tour
as I have enjoyed bringing their home
to you!

I may have done a write~up before when I first began blogging
back in 2014 but it is lost
so…
I thought I’d bring it to you again.
🙂
Just in case!
😉

Please sign up over on my sidebar tab to the right
or on any of my other media sites
{Twitter, Facebook and Instagram}
if you’d like to receive notices when I have a new post.
Glad you came!
Blessings to you, always,
Sharing with ~
Create Link Inspire ~ Crafty Blogstalker

Wow Us Wednesdays ~ Savvy Southern Style
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2016/09/wow-us-wednesdays-292.html#more

Feathered Nest Friday ~ French Country Cottage 
Uncategorized

Sweet Sundays… My Little Craftroom

French Ethereal
Stress relief is always good and for me it comes in the form of sewing!



I finally finished putting on the pleated edging around the second settee and in this photograph you can see the pleating as I was working on it.


On the left side of the room, there is a big closet
with many shelves storing little plastic boxes with
broken china, paper ephemera for projects,
bins full of past-used patterns and
bits of broken china for future projects.

Upper shelving bins hold faux flowers,
measuring tools
(I have several dressmaker tools such as a French-curve),
empty frames, fabrics for sewing,
and bits and bobs.
😉


This room is kinda small at just 9′ x 10′ but it is
plenty big on cuteness!
Open shelving stores floral boxes with memorabilia and photographs from many years of family life.
The window and back walls are where I work and play.



The right wall stores large photos from our kids’ sports years,
large photos from various family camps with our church,
and scouting goodies.



It is a room full of wonderful memories!




Happy Sunday blessings
to you!
I hope you have a wonderful
place to go and create, too.  🙂