Thursday, October 1, 2009

Welcome to Our Home

I decided to link this to Mosaic Monday. I am not used to creating mosaics yet and it took me a while to create it. I hope you enjoy it. Mosaic Monday is hosted by Mary at http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/. Go visit her for more incredible mosaics. I know some of you might have already seen photos of our home in the past but today, you will have an opportunity to see almost all of it in a more organized fashion. Cheri of http://itssoverycheri.blogspot.com/ is kind enough to feature it today, Friday, on "It's so Very Cottagey". Please go and visit her. She has a lot of exciting news for us.
Our home is not very cottagey (perhaps the kitchen might pass), it's more of a plantation style. but Cheri assured me that it will be ok. It was very hard for me to cut down on the numbers of pictures so I decided to create mosaics. I know the pictures will be smaller but you can click to enlarge them for a more detailed view.

Here are some outdoor pictures. As you can see, the house is situated on a hill, more apparent from the right side. The 3 car garage is on the left side of the pebble driveway. My projects in the garden never ends, even with the help of 2 part time gardeners. We have added an arbor where I planted some climbing jasmines and an iron gazebo and I am still working on the terraced backyard on the hillside behind the pool.
We have a fountain on the back porch right behind the home office. The back porch with the fountain made it as one of HGTV.com's "7 Porches We Love on Rate My Space". You can read about it here if you want, http://www.hgtv.com/landscaping/porches-we-love-from-rate-my-space/pictures/page-2.html
You will also see a wet deck here, which our grandkids really enjoy when they visit during summer vacation.
Won't you please follow me through the front door?
Welcome to our home, my blogging friends!!

The first 2 photos are of the foyer, the first one is what you see looking from the family room and the second one is the view as soon as you enter the front door. To the left will be the formal dining room. To the right is the formal living room. Straight ahead will lead you to the game room portion of our family room.

In the living room above the fireplace is a painting a friend of mine did of my childhood home in the Philippines. Above the sofa is a large oil painting I did myself. Ooops, I forgot to upload a picture. Sorry! I will show you my paintings on "Tam's 3 or More" someday.

If you enlarge the pictures, you will see a collection of Meissen and Sevres pieces, that we have either won in auctions or bought from antique shops. John and I both love collecting them. I think the living room is mostly done in French decor with a little Asian touch. Please notice the lion chair sitting in the corner, it is my favorite furniture. It was a gift to me from dh.

The last picture is a short hall with a niche connecting the family room to the kitchen. I use the niche to display my religious items. There is also a door from the dining room leading to the kitchen. Now, let's go to the kitchen. We have a round dining table next to the sliding door in front of a fireplace with a TV above it. We also have a breakfast nook near the windows. I thought I loaded a picture but I think I missed it. Sorry! But most of you have seen it since I use it for tablescaping sometimes. Our island is made out of Corian. Our stove is on it which I like because I can watch TV while cooking. The last picture on the first row is my coffee nook.

Off to the left end of the kitchen is the laundry room. It is so conveniently located that I use it for my kitchen extension. I have my microwave and rice cooker there. Our double oven in the kitchen wall serves as a microwave too but it is more complictaed to use so I use the one in the laundry room.
If you go past the breakfast nook, it will lead you to the garage on the left and a full bathroom on the right, which opens to the swimming pool.
In between the kitchen and family room is a little pass through wet bar equipped with an automatic ice maker and wine shelves.
Ok, now let's go back to the family room. We like to play Scrabble so we placed a game table in front of the fireplace. I like to use the game table tor tablescaping as well. We have 3 fireplaces, one in the kitchen, one in the living room and one in the family room.
The last picture is a hall leading to the office and master bed and bath, if you turn left. But if you keep going straight ahead, you will get to the guests wing.
We have a picturesque view of the swimming pool from the kitchen breakfast nook, kitchen dining, family room, home office and master bedroom. We can hear the fountain water gushing from the master bedroom, office and family room. I love how it is all set up. Ok, so we turned left through the tall Corinthian columns. Here you will pass through the home office first before you can get to our bedroom. It can be used as a receiving room but an office was more practical for us, especially with my blogging:-) We have a wall unit with a return desk in the center and 2 more desks on the wall unit. We have alligator covered chairs. We have a matching chinoserie shelves with filing drawers and a lateral file cabinet.
The door will take you to the bedroom and our bathroom. We have a steam shower and a jacuzzi tub and my favorite feature is the skylight above the tub. The bathroom is big enough to accomodate a settee, which John really enjoys cause he can sit when he is putting his shoes on.
Going back out into the hall, you will see our library. It was actually just a hallway but it is wider than usual ones so we placed bookshelves there. We found this bookshelf in an antique store downtown and we immediately fell in love with the ladder that hooks on the bar in front of the shelves. I just lean it on the side when not in use as you can see here.
At the end is a gun cabinet but I use it to display and keep my doll collection.

I almost forgot, to the left before getting to the doll cabinet, is a really tiny powder room which you will see at the bottom row of the mosaic.

To the right of the doll cabinet is the first guest room. I have designated this for my 91 year old mother who stays with us part of the year. She rotates among us 5 brothers and sisters in 4 states. The room is practical for her because it has its own full bathroom.
When you go out of my mother's room, turn right and you will get to another hallway leading to 2 more guest rooms with a full bath in between them. I decorated the one on the right with mermaids. We use it for grandkids when they visit. My granddaughter, AJ, loves mermaids, which inspired me to use that theme.


The bathroom has a beachy water theme also.


The colors of the other guest room are mostly robin blue and brown. Janie of http://blondiesjournals.blogspot.com/ asked where I placed my first estate auction winnings. Janie, the mirrors above the end tables were some of them. Also, the compote above the computer armoire is another. You will see some of them in the formal living and dining room also.

You wouldn't know that the Oriental computer armoire is a desk complete with a pull out chair unless you open it. I leave a laptop here for guests to use when they visit.

Thank you so much for visiting. I hope you enjoyed the home tour. Sorry for the small pictures but just as I said, you can enlarge them by clicking.

Thanks, Cheri for featuring our home today.

29 comments:

Its So Very Cheri said...

Gorgeous.

Remind me again--do you live in Louisianna?
Cheri

Personalized Sketches and Sentiments said...

A very very beautiful home! I especially love your library area! esp the book shelf with the ladder.

This was so fun to peek into :o)

Blessings & aloha!

(thank you dear girl for stopping by and commenting! and oh how I wish I had more time to set aside just for blog reading! I am again, behind in that!)

Lynn said...

Your home is FAB-U-LOUS!

You must be so proud!
Thank you for sharing!

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Christine, your home is so beautiful. I love the way you have decorated it. Everything is just done to perfection. I really love the way the breakfast area and the kitchen look out on your beautiful pool and backyard. Just gorgeous. Thanks for the tour. Hugs, Marty

Cindy J. said...

Christine your home looks so beautiful! Seeing it all together like this really gives one the feeling of being there. We really do love the same colors and you know I adore your Asian things. I don't remember seeing your other guest bedroom it is fabulous! I am really exicted about the possibility of getting together in December! Love, Cindy

Melissa Miller said...

Christine you know I wouldn't have misssed your amazing home tour for the world my friend! I LOVE it!

Congrats on your wonderful showcase feature! I can certainly see why you were chosen. It's just outstanding and elegantly decorated in every single detail.

I adore the front yard picture of your gorgeous home and your scenic yard. Love the hilly slope it sits on. How pretty it all looks! All of your carved wood furniture pieces and darker wood colors are truly stunning.

You two have a showcase home for sure. Thank you for showing us more of it tonight. I enjoyed my tour so much!

Many Blessings and Happy Fall!
~Melissa :)

Kathy said...

Christine, congrats on having you beautiful home featured! Every single toom is just gorgeous!
Kathy

Deanna said...

Dear One,
This is so neat how you have displayed your beautiful home!
Just wonderful and so glad I got to see this.

Thank you for dropping by and commenting. It is good to hear from you.

You have a lovely place to call your own and make it a haven to enjoy and bless your family.

God bless,
d from homehaven

Melissa Miller said...

I'm back for more...HeHe!

We bought the Hummingbird feeder at Lowes. Kristen bought the same one at her Lowes in AK as well so it must have been a popular and stocked up item.
It did end up rusting just enough that we threw it away a few weeks ago when the birds left. Bummer. We do miss those cute little guys! We are definitly putting one up again next Spring!

I hope everyone sees your gorgeous home tour today! You did a wonderful job with the mosaics too. I was surprised at how big the pics got when clicked. That is cool. :)

Debby@Just Breathe said...

Your home is absolutely beautiful.
Great job with the pictures and thank you for sharing.

Tara said...

Now THAT was a top notch tour Christine! Your home is stunning. You have some amazing pieces of furniture and they look lovingly cared for. I think the one room I could spend hours in is the office! It looks like a great place to while away the hours on the blogs, or poolside. I would love to hang out there too!

You and Jon have made a beautiful and warm home that I'm sure you and your guests love to be in. Thanks for sharing, it was so much fun!

My name is Riet said...

What a beautiful home you have Christine. You have a wonderful way of decorating. Have a nice day

Deb said...

Christine...thank you for the tour of your lovely home...I can see why you are being featured...

Room Service ~ Decorating 101 said...

I loved seeing it all at the same time. You would have never gotten away with so many pictures on rms! lol A few of my favorite things would have to be the floor in the kitchen and the big bathroom. Thanks for sharing, oh yeah and the dining room and the ...

susan said...

Christine-Your house is beautiful and you did a wonderful job giving us the tour. The mosaics were a great idea! Our front doors DO look alike. Of course, I enlarged every picture...:) Put me in the guest room!

Reid said...

I loved seeing your home in this weeks' tour! It was fun wasn't it?

mrsben said...

Christine, thank you for the tour of your wonderful home. You have some absolutely beautiful pieces of furniture! I particularly LUV
the antique bookcase. Hugs....
-Brenda-

Cindy (Applestone Cottage) said...

Oh Christine,
You have one gorgeous home girl! I just loved the tour, thank-you so much for taking us along! My favorite part is your gorgeous gardens, gazebo and pool area! Wow oh Wow! Hugs, Cindy

Anonymous said...

Christine,
It so Beautiful! I sill want to live with you...Love your home and especially your backyard....Love the view from your home to the pool...Just Beautiful! Thanks for sharing...Have a wondrful weekends..kthyerinellen

Debra said...

Your home is just beautiful! Thanks for sharing these photos with us! Hope you have a great week end!

Carol said...

Just beautiful! You have a beautiful place!

Mary said...

Oh my goodness, your home and garden are so beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing all those lovely views at Mosaic Monday. :)

Unknown said...

Beautiful garden and home. You have done a wonderful job decorating. I just keep going back looking at everything again and again. Thanks for taking us on the tour.
Sandy

Queenie's Vintage Finds said...

Seeing your home in mosaics was such fun! Everything looks beautiful...I love that pool and yard!

Tes said...

Lovely home Christine. You have some fine pieces of furniture. Each one carefully chosen and they fit the room to perfection. Your garden is lovely and romantic. You really know how to put things together. Everything is tied up beautifully.

You and Jon, really are a gracious host.

Thank you for sharing these with us. I came for Mosaic Monday, but saw so much more!

Brenda Pruitt said...

You have such a beautiful home! What I like most is it being out to itself where it must be nice and quiet!
Brenda

Carol said...

What a treat to see all of those pictures! Your home is lovely!

Blondie's Journal said...

I did look at most of your post last week, Christine, and then I was interrupted before I could comment. Ha Ha! Has that ever happened to you, especially when you want to leave a nice comment. I emailed you about how much I enjoyed looking at the outdoor part of your home and I worked my way to the kitchen. You are right, it is cottagy and I would die for a fireplace in the kitchen because it is so cold here in the morning 3 seasons of the year!! But for now I am happy with one and since it is an open kitchen/ living room, it is close enough to my little dream!! I love the island also~it is huge. And the ceiling is something Alan would die for. He is SO into woodwork and fine trim. I am going to show him your post.

I like your library/hall. It reminds of the old law firms with wall lined bookshelves in the hall. Your bed room is very elegant of course, I spotted your jewelry cabinet (I feel like a thief now!!). I am going to show you what I did with some of my jewelry with an email. It still looks a mess! It is so very cool that you have the office right outside the bedroom. It is so classy looking with the leather and alligator chairs (am I right, alligator chairs in the office??). And if you are an insomniac like me, you can just get out of bed and go to your computer without having to roam through the whole house in your jammies!

I saw how you fixed up your mother's room when you posted long ago. She must love it. Does she love staying with you the most?? She has to hate Chicago weather! lol!!

I am so sorry to put you off so long. You are posting way too fast for me!!!! Where do you find the time to travel and shop? ;-) Don't write anything good until I am back from Vegas. Actually I will be blogging alot in my room while my darling runs from hotel to hotel looking for poker tables!! I enjoy the evenings for gambling and the days for shopping. He squeezes me in!

Have a great day, my friend!!

xoxo
Jane

Unknown said...

Christine,
I did have the chance to look at your post last week a couple of times, if you want to know the truth, and I looked agin this week a couple of times. Every time I take a peak I see something different. You have a beautiful home, thanks for letting everyone take a look.
Sandy

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