Featured on House of Turquoise Blog Today!

Thanks Erin of the House of Turquoise (HOT) blog, for featuring the Lakeway II Project today!    The Lakeway II Home was the 2nd home I decorated for this family.  The first home was just next door to this one.  We remodeled the first one before they put it on the market.  They had a contract within the first week, and then started building this new home on the vacant lot next door.  Then for this 2nd home, (on the HOT blog), they decided to market it just after living in it, about 6 months!  The Austin market is just so fast and moving, that they couldn't resist the "flip".  The savvy owners used to be in the luxury home building biz, so they don't mind selling when the market is right.  Within just a couple of days, boom, and they got another contract zippety fast!  And ......with a solid back-up contract. 
My clients are now in the process of designing another new home.  We've toyed with the idea of another Hill Country Rustic, or a Santa Barbara Mediterranean style.  Will keep you posted on what transpires!  If you haven't seen this home before on my previous blog posts, then you can read more about it  HERE.

Thanks again Erin for the shout out & to my clients for letting me have fun with your projects!


xo,

San Antonio Supper Club & Christin's Baby News!!!

My brother Phil and his adorable wife Sarah were recently featured in the San Antonio newspaper about a Supper Club they formed.  Being empty nesters, they wanted to continue their love for cooking large meals and meet with other couples once a month.  You've got to read all the yummy things they made and how she decorated her table in the  article HERE. 
I wish you could see all the details in their gorgeous home.  Sarah is truly a "Martha Stewart" in every sense....she puts a creative touch on every thing she does from her amazing cooking, to her hostessing, her interior decorating and even her gift wrap touches. 
I wrote about her other Fall  table awhile back in this post  HERE.

Did you notice how she changed up her Living Room for her Supper Club?
In my old post, her living room looked like this:

 And for the supper club, she put one of her large tables in here:

Hope you'll take the time to read the article about their party...it will truly inspire you to start a Supper Club in your neighborhood and want to share good food & friendship.


And straight off the press.....Christin just  had her baby today!!

 If you're new here and you don't know who Christin is, then let me introduce you....here's the full article I wrote  about her HERE.

Anyways, congrats to the proud Dad Rob , the gorgeous Christin  and baby brother Tommy.  Christin will share baby pics when the time is right, but here's the ADORABLE name for her new beautiful baby girl:

CLAIRE ARQUETTE GISH   (Arquette was my Grandfather's last name , which I LOVE....and it's also Christin's middle name)

Have a wonderful weekend,  and let me know what you're cooking in your Fall kitchen  this weekend!

all pictures via MySanAntonio.com

Sundays on the Farm

Sundays around here always involve some type of cooking....if it's a great summer day, then it's all about the bbq by the pool.  If it's a cozy Fall day, then it's all about something simmering on the stove all day.  Today is one of those Fall days. So, I'll be sharing a great recipe for a delicious Broccoli Cheese soup.

I know y'all like to see pics from around the house and it's still a "work in progress", so mini pics until I get better ones.

The lil vignette above is in my kitchen ,(ya, I know, some of the trim boards need to be painted still:) )....the EZ ticking stripe curtains I made the other day and that will be another tutorial this week.  Above this vignette is a vintage picture I've had forever.

You can just feel the love that shows between this man and this boy...and the heart of any kitchen should be love, right?

Our Sundays usually have at least one pot of soup going but today we had actually two.   Yesterday we made a yummy potato soup and then today started on the Broccoli Cheese soup.  (I will feature the Potato Soup another day if you likey)

 For the broccoli soup, here's our family recipe :

 Proud of my "peppa" in that picture....it's a beauty from our vegetable garden, and there's nothing like enjoying food straight from your garden.

And here's the goodness you'll create!

Perfect for a cozy Fall day....

Bon Appetit!

Patterson Project, Part 7 (Back Patio & Front Exterior)

My client's have one of those backyards that make you want to have a party or just be outside alot.   Everything is there: outdoor dining/kitchen, outdoor living space, pool, sport court, hot tub , turkeys, and a large green grass backyard.  What a minute, turkeys?  Yes, turkeys !    The hubby didn't want a dog or cat but yet wanted to raise something outdoors for the kids.  He researched about them and they raised these cuties from baby chicks.   (click on this pic below and you can see them roaming in the front yard, right side of pic)

They had to raise them under a heat lamp, in the garage, until they were old enough to be outdoors.  Now they're full grown, and my client says they're great pets!  They apparently sometimes fly out of the yard and stop by the neighbors' houses and others will feed them too.   But the turkeys know their home and always return.

Anyways, back to the back porch.  I wanted to mention the comfy swing.  We had this made by my upholsterer and I think they did a beautiful job, not only with the upholstery part, but the carpentry, rope design & installation:  

I've got a few more miscellaneous areas to show you on the next post, and then we'll wrap up the Patterson Project.

And some of you may be wondering where Christin's been?

 She's about to have her 2nd child any day!!  She was supposed to be induced yesterday if the baby didn't come on the weekend.  But the Doc said to wait a bit more... .   Soon this precious family of 3 (plus 2 very adorable Labs), will be growing!

 So, I'll let you know when the blessed day & baby arrives!


Hope you're having a great day,

xo,

CREDITS:

Trent Lee Photography
 Gish pics via Growing Up Gish
Van Wicklen Design
Exterior Lighting :  Lighting Inc., Mark Yeagley
Custom Swing:  Briley's Upholstery
Outdoor  accessories & cushions:  Joss & Main, Ballard's
Swimming Pool:  Dreamer Pools
Home Builder:  Frank West of Frontera Builders
Architect:  Geschke Group

Patterson Project, Part 6 (Kitchen)

Good day friends!  Today I'm showing you the beautiful kitchen on the Patterson home.   The kitchen was designed to be family friendly for all the kids to gather round the island and eat , do homework and chat with Mom while cooking.  And the kitchen also allows this young family to entertain easily because all the prep & service areas of the kitchen are all spaced away from each other, yet easy to maneuver.  The oversized island is awesome for parties and spreading out a buffet!

 There were so many great features in this large kitchen and some that you can't see.  We used a honed black granite on the counters, and  a gorgeous alder wood counter on the island.  Four pics up you can see a piece of the beverage bar side of the kitchen.  On this side, we had the cabinets painted a washed grey/brown finish to resemble reclaimed barn wood.  We also used a similar aged finish on the wood beam shelves that were custom created also.  Oversized subway tiles in white were just the right size for the scale of this kitchen , as were the oversized cabinet hardware.
I love the pass-thru feature of this kitchen....which allows you to pass food from the kitchen straight into the dining room.  If you click on this photo , you'll see that we created a custom lower cabinet on the dining room side also.  The buffet cabinet is a great "china cabinet" but yet has the granite counter area for more buffet space for a large party.   The "china cabinet" buffet is also nice because it keeps the china in it's own spot and not a visual clutter on a wall (like mine :) )  (and hey, I do love a china cabinet in the appropriate room.....but here we wanted the room to feel uncluttered, clean...and there wasn't another wall for a china cabinet!  My clients didn't really need a china cabinet, but I advised them that for resale, you've got to have a china cabinet area because most people request those.)

The pass thru wall  also visually expands the space, yet keeps the kitchen cozy by not having it completely open.

 And a couple of features that you can't see from the professional photos above, but I just had to share.  These are from my own pics during the construction days:

1) the fabulous Thermador range

The dual Thermador refrigerator/freezer units on this wall:

And again, that wonderful finish on the beverage bar side of the kitchen (this backs to their dining room):

....and here's the finish in a brighter light on the left side of this pic:

Hope your week ahead is full of this great gorgeous Fall weather that even Austin is experiencing!

On my next post, I'll share some pics of the mudroom & laundry room, just off this kitchen.

xo,

 CREDITS:
Trent Lee Photography 
Interior Decorating: Van Wicklen Design
Custom cabinets & wood shelves:  The Greystone Farm
tile , wood floors, custom sisal rug under the dining room table with navy banding : Schroeder Carpet
island lighting:  Pottery Barn
dining room chandelier:  Lighting Inc. (Mark Yeagley rep.)
stools: Overstock.com
appliances:  The Frog Pad at Lakeshore Home Gallery
Home Builder: Frank West of  Frontera Builders
dining room furniture:  Four Hands Home

Patterson Project, Part 5 (Guest Room & Guest/Pool Bath)

 Today is part 5, the Guest Bedroom and Guest Bath of the Patterson Project.

  We chose aqua tones to mimic the pool that is just outside this area of the home.  The velvet bedding and the luxurious quilt were all found at the Pottery Barn Outlet, while the curtains, dust skirt & shams were all custom designed.  The window curtain rod isn't pictured, but we chose the weathered oak from Restoration Hardware:

We used wall to wall seagrass carpeting in this room for the natural texture.  And we put two linen benches at the foot of the bed for guests to unload their suitcases. The bedside lamps were filled with just a touch of natural aqua toned sea glass pieces.

In the Guest/Pool Bathroom, we chose a blue tone for the custom cabinets , as well as an iron cage front on the door details.

 The shower floor tile is one of my favorite tiles.  It's a pebble tile, but it's unique because it looks like sea glass because of it's shiny appearance.  However, it's a ceramic tile in a soft powdery blue tone:

We chose a tranquil piece of coastal  art to hang in this bathroom, and actually found it at the Four Hands Outlet:

 


Hope you're enjoying this first week of October. 

On our next post, we'll venture into the Patterson Kitchen!


xo,

CREDITS:

Trent Lee Photography
Schroeder Carpet and Tile
Greystone Farm Cabinetry
Lighting, Inc.