MY OWN HOUSE - PHASE II

THE SECOND MAJOR DECORATING JOB DONE TO MY OWN HOME WITHIN

THE FIRST TWO YEARS!

I had decided that I was not going to sell this little gem I'd named "Foxtail Cottage" (after all the of the many foxtail palms on the property) and that I really wanted to stay there - I'd become 'connected' to the house and hadnt realized that until after I'd bought two other homes, neither of which were going to be as charming, convenient or efficient to operate as this one. 

(sometimes you dont realize what you have until its gone, or almost gone!)

Now that I decided to stay at Foxtail Cottage I began an upgraded decorating scheme which included a more layered look, adding quality touches where I hadnt before and using all of my period English antiques from my northern homes. Ultimately, I created a "Floridian neo-Georgian" feeling with the antique pieces I loved. It was traditional, yet light, fresh and sophistocated.
For the last two decades I had collected these antique pieces and felt I "needed" to use them as they were valuable and always added a layer of quality to my homes(s).  I combined the pieces with a palette I could only use (as a man) in Florida - conch pink and espresso brown! Stunning!!

THE ANTIQUE PIECES

Look at the antiques below and see where and how I had used them before, and how appropriate they looked. More importantly, see how nicely they complimented my new tropical environment where most people would never consider using fine English furniture. It was elegant, well scaled and adds authentic patina which Florida homes are usually void of.  (puff puff)

(Living room in my casual country house)

(foyer in my formal house in Washington, DC)

(Living room in my formal house in Washington, DC)

(main dining room in my formal house in Washington, DC)

(living room & foyer in my casual country house)

HERE IT ALL IS NOW IN FLORIDA!!

PHASE II

LIVING ROOM

The upholstery is all new; most wooden pieces are re-used

The fauteuils were covered in espresso Hermes leather; the old foyer table from the country is now a side table

The portraits and linen coffee table from the country house



Georgian secretary and Regency dumbwaiter
Damn, I look hot there! Riiiight??



DINING ROOM

The mirror [sans top piece], drawings, bowl, Regency table and chest

FOYER

Another chest, mirror and my canes

BEDROOM

Paintings


I hope you enjoyed the second "Pink and Brown decorating job" I did to my home in Florida. This iteration was absolutely beautiful and it was shown in several design magazines.

STAY TUNED FOR PHASE III
WHEN FOXTAIL COTTAGE GOES 1940'S PARISIAN...ooh la la! 
Forthcoming Missives for Foxtail Cottage
I will walk you through the entire process of redecorating a home step-by-step by using my own home.

1. De-mystifying the decision making process for the new "design direction."

2. Easy directions for drawing floor plans, lighting plans and built-ins

3. How to select textiles, colors, carpeting, upholstery and
case goods(wooden furniture)

4. Working with curtain and carpet workrooms

5. Making paint color and finish choices easy

6. Basics on ordering furniture and fabrics

7. Selecting and working with carpenters and electricians

6. Working with paperhangers and painters

7. Selecting floor finishes and working with the refinishers

8. Installing the items into the newly finished space

9. Accessorizing


You can do it, I'm here to help!
p: 202.669.8669
e: jpdsodpb@aol.com

MY OWN HOUSE, PHASE I

CHANGE IS IN THE AIR, AGAIN....

It's odd, when you’re in your early thirties you want your life to look mature, then when you’re in your fifties you wanna to look less mature…. who'da thunk?

This missive is about my own home in Florida. I thought I'd share the six-year journey with you. Why I did what I did and how I did it -  all of which I think are good lessons in design. I'll show you what's important and what's not and how one house can accomodate so many disparate looks. 
Over the next few months on this blog I'll share with you how I've transformed a Bermuda Colonial carefully and respectfully to a more Modern Classic look; discussing details and sharing my thought processes on how I arrived at each of the three end-results. My own gasconade aside, I think each iteration was quite lovely and well done...


I always renovate, I need to make it mine!
I’m like a dog in a new home...

peeing in every corner to declare its territory.

What I wanted was a small house as I had a large beautiful house in Washington but was never used; a large boat which demanded constant care and lots of help...I wanted something I could manage alone!

Buyers should make a list of what they want before they look!

I WANTED:

• A garden to putter in as I love to garden, but not a big one that would be labor intensive and demanded a lot of my time. 
• A masonry house because of hurricanes and termites.
• A kitchen big enought to eat in and roomy enough to work in but not a familyroom-kitchen combo, been there done that - hate it.
• Three bedrooms as one would be my dressing room, another my own room and the third my library/den. No guest room(!)
• Spaces for cozy dinners of eight and large garden parties for eighty.
• A home office, seperate from the public rooms.
• A house with a framed roof, not trusses so it could be altered.
• Lots of bright light with the main rooms facing the back garden.
• An older home with "soul"
• To be close to town and major highway access
• A home which hadnt been improved via Home Depot
• A single storey house
• A traditional home, not a typical bland Florida 60's rancher

After seeing 30+ homes and apartments with realtors, I then drove myself around like a Appalachian shaman divining for water...I know it's here, I just know it's here... then, I went down an uninteresting street and BAM!, there it was - hideously malnourished and unhappy with its current owners (trustfund stoners). This 1949 Bermuda style cottage beckoned me into its weedy driveway from which I speed-dialed the realtor and said “bring a contract, I found what I want”…

(Foxtail Cottage 2004)

The back of Foxtail Cottage 2004.  

The front and back exterior color schemes were different, those goofy stoners never noticed, I'm sure...

This house has had three entirely different decoration jobs since I've lived in it in six years. I'm showing you a glimpses of the original condition and the first iteration here this week. 

LETS START WITH PURCHASE DAY

What I noticed were several things; a good roofline (and roof), symmetrical architecture, good sized lot, southern exposure for the main living spaces, real cement-block construction, nothing rotten, the house was built up off the ground - good, as it's four doors off the water.


Do you love the kitty-cat access door? It actually had no door at all, just a hole in the door - so when you were really stoned you didnt need to let the cat in or out I suppose? ... I guess it was actually a rodent and ferral cat door...

There was room on the side for a 2000+ sq. ft. addition,
should I ever want one

This pool was ugly as shit and the vegetation had overgrown the entire rear garden, it was a hiddeous tangled jungle.. But, it had "good space"!


Living room (looking north): It's always good to have a key rack next to the door, it's not only practical but elegant. Look for that in my next helpful ideas for the home missive....

The small living room was flanked on the north and south by large porches. The one on the left (front of house) could be enclosed to make into a large foyer and the other on the south side could be annexed to the living room, enlarging it by 200%. 
Isnt the stoner's furniture awesome? Sooo Haight-Ashbury! 
Meanwhile, the owner was the heir to one of the nations top private investment banks! WTF?

The bedrooms were small-ish but had good, solid plastered walls; square with large windows and oak floors


I know you want one exactly like this!
Pepto-Bismol and spearmint with black accents...trash-chic.

ONE YEAR LATER

The Kitchen

The kitchen into the dining room

Dining room into the kitchen

The former back porch now being opened up into the living room

SIX MONTHS LATER
The first iteration, shown here, had been designed for "flipping" as I had bought another home in Palm Beach since buying this one. So I made the decor bright and playful, not expensively done or too precious - something a person buying a home in the area from up north might be attracted to (furnished) so I did the "Palm Beach Schtick".. pink and green.


This view is the south-eastern side of the living room in what was the 'jalousie' back porch


(sorry for the photos, I took them myself)

This view is the west wall of the LR into the back garden in what was originally the back porch which has been joined to the living room



Looking northeast from the expanded Living Room into the new Foyer


Pecky-cypress panelling was installed in the new Foyer (previously the front porch), its very sculptural and adds some Palm Beach flavor. It was pickled here to keep the house bright. Also, stone-look porcelain (totally indistinguishable) floors were installed. I've had stone floors before and its a pain in the ass to keep looking good - this was the same price but maintenance is zero!!!


The library was done in another Palm Beach schtick - jungle prints!
I love brown and this zebra linen from Brunschwig et Fils is sooo totally awesome and timeless. This had been the third bedroom.


The Master Bedroom was done to be bright and Florida-ish, and it was. A tad feminine but it was lovely and comfy with a big view to the rear garden.


The front was painted a gorgeous shade of Florida "shell pink" with white trim; new windows and new Chicago brick steps were added.  You can also see the old entrance porch which is now the foyer; enclosed with glass panels to let light in. In this photo the lanscaping was JUST installed. Watch the trees and landscaping grow through these missives its amazing what happens in Florida in just a few years!

The hiddeous lagoon shaped pool with its tacky waterfall is now cleaned out, refinished and landscaped around; flower beds were cut into the cement by the pool to eliminate the huge patio feeling and bring the vegetation closer to the pool.

So here you have it, a simple house, simply cleaned up and made attractive. No additions, no Herculean alterations...just making something good better. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and sometimes its hard to tell when something is obscured by ugliness and abuse...
Much like a stray dog - abused and walking along the road - shy, stinky and matted...no one wants it, but a little love applied and its a wonderful, loving, pet, who loves you back.
Keep the over-priced, over-bred 'perfect' ones
I like the ones with no attitude.

Next week we'll see the 2006 Version from when I decided to keep the house for myself. You'll love the next phase...I did!



You can do it, I'm here to help!
p: 202.669.8669
e: jpdsodpb@aol.com