Serendipity Dream Comes True!

After seeing the Magnolia Plantation in the morning I was thinking about my favorite plantation of all time.  I wondered where North and South was filmed and where that plantation was.  We discussed it and neither of us knew so we of course Googled it.

Now of course I do believe in serendipity and divine intervention and this was simply spectacular.  The Lord blesses us with tender mercies just tailored to us many times and sometimes they are not about earth shattering things.  Occasionally it is just something He knows we would love because he knows and loves us personally.  The very place where the mini-series was filmed was just down the road, not ten miles from our hotel and in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina!

We were planning to get up early the next morning and go downtown and take some better photos and then head down to Savannah.  But...course correction on the spot!  We planned an excursion to the Plantation.  It is called Boone Hall.  I cannot imagine why...this place will always be Mont Royal to me.  I always called it Mount Royal but all the references say Mont, so Mont it is.   I could hardly sleep, I was that excited about the coming day.

There are fabulous vacation day and then there are really fabulous vacations days.  This time we spent in the south and east had several over the top days.  The one I am going to write about today was one magnificent day for us! 

First a little background on what made it so incredible!  If you know me at all you know I love movies.  They have to be good movies, ones that uplift and teach and warm the heart.  I love the romantic, the historical, the enlightening.  And I adore character development.  I have many favorites.  However, North and South, the mini-series with Patrick Swayze and Leslie Ann Downs is way up top on my list of elevating stories.  There are dozens of top names in this film.  I highly recommend it without reservation.

This moment below may come to mind for those fans reading this post.  These star-crossed lovers have a real wild ride through this series.  Expect emotions to be all over the place as you watch it.  I  know a lot about Patrick Swayze and this is who I think he really was.  This nice, sweet gentle man.  A man of honor, kindness and principle.  And a man willing to sacrifice all for his woman, his family and his home.  This is the role I will always remember best of his and I have seen a lot of his work.  What a tragedy for him to die so young.  He was a man of many talents and sorely missed by many.

Orry Main played by Patrick Swayze 

and Madelaine played by Leslie Anne Downs!

These two were electrifying

Oh my heck!

As beautiful as their love story was it was secondary to me to the love between Orry and George as they remained friends through thick and thin during the Civil War.  Classmates at Westpoint they fought on opposing sides a few years later during the war.  I cannot tell you how many times I have watched this series.  I saw an interview with James Read who played George Hazzard and he had white hair and was all the more handsome even as he aged.  He said that to this day he will walk down a street and someone will holler out..."Hey George!"  With that gorgeous smile of his he conceded that he thought that was about the greatest thing he could have happen.

Orry and George

So the scenery is gorgeous, the fashions of the day...stunning, and the scenes in Charleston made me want to visit there some time in my life.   All of that was realized on this trip plus actually getting to go and see the plantation with my own two eyes.  I told Jim if we only got to see the part of the plantation where Orry rides up to the house on his stallion, I would have realized a dream I never even thought of as a possibility.  So with that in mind, I'll close this post and begin another immediately telling you about the most wonderful Plantation of all.

FOR A SNEAK PEEK AT WHEN ORRY 

MEETS MADELAINE FOR THE FIRST TIME

CLICK HERE  

Disclaimer# 1:  You won't be able to resist watching the whole  series!

Disclaimer #2  My only complaint with it is that there are three books to this story by John Jakes and it should have ended after book 2.  The last book almost seems like it was written by another person or just tagged on to perhaps, at some point,  extend the story in a different direction.  I always stop watching at the end of book 2 where there is a natural ending. 

I ran across the soundtrack to the series and if you loved it like I did the memories will flow like a rushing waterfall over your soul.  You can find it here.   Sound Track to North and South!  Or here if you are a subscriber  http://youtu.be/TA3NHC3c8ik  Marie, this one is for you!  Sometimes I like to open a second browser and listen to music while blogging.  That is exactly what I did while preparing this post for you.

The Area Rug Is In The Mail!

Last week I did a post about selecting an area rug for the dining room. I asked for your responses and it was so fun to see what you all said.

These were the choices and we selected

the one that got the most votes! #1

I had liked it the best from the beginning. The reason I was having the dilemma was more from a practical standpoint. I do like #2 but it is more formal and more old world, etc. It reminds me of Europe in some ways and that is probably why I was drawn to it.

I like that it has a darker border as when you look at the photo below of the space between the table and the fireplace you can see it is not big. We have to meander through there to get to the bedrooms and the new bathroom. That means walking on the rug I'm sure as we pass through. I thought the darker would keep it looking cleaner longer.

The other reason I was considering #2 is
that the area rug in library looks like this...

It is a very swirly, leafy look like the one we chose but it is a different cooler background where as the new rug is a warmer tone. Also the picture may be deceiving, as well as what I see, as this rug really needs to be cleaned. We don't like to clean it in the house as the possibility of it getting too wet and it getting moisture on the floor is not an option. So we have to take it out on the patio to do it.

The other consideration is that the colors may not be represented accurately on the website for the new rug. It is not fun working with two colors that are approximates. So my practical nature was saying just maybe I should go with something completely different like #2 and then it wouldn't be a point of comparison at all. Ahh, the dilemma!

I purposely didn't include these details in the asking for your help because I wanted the best rug to be chosen. I do not like choosing something less than what I want just because of something {that I am not that crazy about} that is already in the room. If nothing else I can save my pennies and buy another one for the office that matches if need be. But I think they will blend nicely. Especially since they are similar thematically. Also you cannot really see both of them at the same time from any vantage point in the room unless your eyes are where your ears are supposed to be!

The other thing I love about the new rug we selected is it has a touch of red in it and I have that fabulous red leather chair in the office. So from the dining room it will tie the two areas very nicely. And I have my mom's old rocker in a soft purple/lavender color in the dining room so it blends nicely with the older rug that has a touch of purple along with some red parts as well. Adding the red and purple sparkle pillow along with the green one to the old rocker hopefully brings that all together. I would have never consciously chosen green, red and purple for a room but I quite like it as it is mostly the light sage green with the darker, colorful accents. There is very little of the purple...the secondary color is red.

When I look at the rug I will think of all of you and how you helped me decide. Thank you so much it was fun. Becky was my turn key person when she said it looked airy and whimsical...both things I ♥ in a house.

So I know this was over thinking it, but I like to do that when making a purchase that I know we will have for a long time. Sometimes doing that reduces the risk of buyer's remorse on things you just do not want to return! On something smaller or less expensive it is not as critical.

Another option we will have is if we don't like the way they look we can switch them and I know that would work too because of the chairs and their placement in the room. But I think we are going to like it. Thanks again, Ladies, for confirming my suspicion of which one would work best.

Something's Gotta Give

If you loved this movie like I did, you may enjoy this eye candy treat. Julia has done an amazing job on this post, over at Hooked on Houses.

Keanu Reeves was adorable, Jack Nicholson was kinda creepy and hilarious, but The House was what put my heart rate over the top! This house blows my mind over and over again. Love to watch it at least once a year. If I had a lot of money, a house like this would be my number one indulgence. How about you?

The Dunsmuir House

Today my sister-in-law, Gail, and I went to the annual Christmas Season Tour of the Dunsmuir House in the Oakland Hills. This is something our family has done every couple of years for a long time but I had never been there with Gail before. We arrived for the first tour at 11:00 and it was so Christmasy and cold and crispy out. The sun was shining and the sky was bright blue but a jacket and scarf felt excellent.

The 40 acre grounds of the mansion are so beautifully kept and there is always excitement in the air at the gates. There is a large pond/small lake on the estate with geese, ducks and even some wild turkeys making themselves at home. There are gazebos and arbors, and benches everywhere, it is a little paradise really. Since the family actually lived in San Francisco, this place was just their summer home and get away spot when stress overtook them. What? Sadly, though the lady of the house only lived a short time after they moved in so she did not have much time to enjoy it.


This is a post card photo. If you had been there today you would have seen lots of wreaths in the windows and beautiful garlands everywhere. This house was built in 1899 by Alexander Dunsmuir as a wedding present for his wife, Josephine. It has 16, 224 sq feet, 37 rooms, 20 bedrooms, 9 and 1/2 baths and 10 fireplaces and had 12 servants on the house staff. Ladies, where did we go wrong~this was the poor girl's wedding present? Hello! You' ll know I am just kidding when you read what Jim did for me while I was off playing!

You cannot take photos inside the house so these two pictures were on greeting cards. They do not do the inside decor justice at all but I just wanted you to be able to get a feel for the inside by looking at them. This house is truly magnificent. A docent once told us that that wood working in the dining room could not be duplicated today as the craft has died away with the times.

Each year different groups of people decorate the mansion. Boy, would I ever love to get in on this project. That would be fantastic. The Christmas tree in the foyer of the home ascends up through the staircase opening and must be 25 feet tall. It was decorated with gigantic red and orange glass glistening ornaments and was absolutely breathtaking. There is a stained glass dome in the cupola just above the tree~beautiful!

This room was far more elegantly decorated this year than this photo depicts

This is a photo of the front porch today. It was not crowded at all~we were happy about that but it is just another indicator of harder times or perhaps people were just doing other Christmas activities~hopefully! We had a similar feeling about the economy though when San Francisco seemed deserted last weekend. But on with the house... The porch wraps all the way around this gorgeous Colonial-Revival home and they had done a beautiful job of making it look festive and oh, so Christmasy. The Santa you see is just under life size.

Here is a photo I took of the back side of the house.
The flowers in the foreground were brilliant.

The grounds are absolutely beautiful and very tranquil.
This little tree is the only one that is
decorated outside. The white cement bench behind it faces
directly toward the front of the house acrossed a small meadow.

The Pathway Leading to the Carriage House

~This is Gail~
We had the perfect day and will make this our new tradition!
After the mansion tour we went to Lafayette
for lunch and some fun holidays shops touring of our own.

The House From the Meadow

Can you just imagine a wedding reception in this meadow? They entertained a lot of friends here and I can just envision a summer game of croquet with all the ladies dressed in their long pastel corseted dresses and big fancy hats and the men in their spiffy jackets and vests and ruffled shirts and top hats ...can't you? In the name of progress we have lost a lot of our style, haven't we?

The stroll we took to the Carriage House
~the peacefulness was wonderful~

The topper to the whole fun day was that Jim was home cleaning up the yards and he also cleaned our carpet in the family room and washed the floors. Hello, I am truly in heaven, I'm sure of it...when did I die?

These are some the things I love doing during the Christmas Holidays. If you read my blog regularly you know that I have been doing this kind of stuff for the past three weekends. But just so you won't think that all I ever do is party...I spend five long days this week decorating our house for Christmas. It was just like moving but not going anywhere. As I was doing it I was thinking I must be totally daft~but when it is done...I love it. And I know that this kind of work is my play actually too! It is totally worth the struggle to get it all done. I just love it when the first string of Christmas lights are plugged in~it is so magical. I have had that same feeling every year since I was a little kid.


I will post a few photos of our house if you want to peek in the window and see what I've been up to all week besides blogging. I am going to have a few luncheons between now and Christmas with a few girlfriends coming over for the fun and then a big family dinner on the Sunday before Christmas. I am excited about that~we love getting together with friends and family over the holidays. I hope you get to do the same. It is awesome! I hope you enjoyed a vicarious trip to the Dunmuir House with us today!

The Changing Face of Luxury

How To Market Luxury

This article was in a E-Zine from a local furniture rental company called Welcome Home in Dublin, CA. Although it pertains to home sales it has some great information for the rest of us as well. I had posted it on my other blog but I am not sure anyone goes there anymore so thought I'd post it here too.

"I had the pleasure to attend a great seminar and networking event last week that was just too good not to share. There were so many points relevant to our industry, my mind has been buzzing ever since. The seminar was entitled "Redefining Luxury in the West," given by Michael Wollaeger, Editor-In-Chief of Western Interiors & Design magazine.

Michael spoke eloquently about a new type of luxury emerging in the West that is influencing the global marketplace. Michael explained that this luxury is societal driven and is changing how the most important and influential builders, architects and designers are creating the hottest new living spaces. This is so apropos to what we do in the real estate industry, meaning that many of these trends need to be incorporated into how we market homes.

This new definition of luxury isn't about scale and abundance anymore. Space, in and of itself (and especially in the West), is a luxury. We have moved to an era where protecting space, such as in National Parks, holds great value. Architects are now being driven by the idea of land and sky, instead of just abundance. A very small space can now be viewed as luxurious simply because of the view. Even in urban areas, the idea of incorporating the cityscape view into the design is now more popular than trying to block it out.

Sanctuary places in the home to retreat from reality are now more popular than ever. This includes reading retreats, massage & yoga rooms, hotel style master bedrooms, and spa-like bathrooms. Spa style master baths are trending towards materials with rough textures; stone and metal and mixing them with natural light.

Indoor-outdoor extravagance is a trend that is gaining more and more momentum with sumptuous fabrics, rugs, lighting, and furniture for outdoors emerging in the marketplace. Now designers can fully furnish outdoor living spaces with formal dining and sitting areas.

Another major trend that is influencing almost every aspect of our lives is The Green Movement. In the luxury market, this trend has translated itself in many ways. Reclaimed materials, such as wood and metal, are unique and therefore luxurious. They are not obtainable to everyone. They are not materials that anyone can just go out and buy. They are rare and often have outstanding unique patinas. There is a desire for a sense of purpose to reuse and connect to the past to create a sense of soulfulness. The use of natural materials from local sources is now more luxurious than the idea of importing materials from half way around the world.

Small house lavishness has also emerged from The Green Movement. Buyers are seeking ways in which to make small spaces work in multifunctional ways. They want solutions that are easier on the planet. They want to make purchases based on what makes them feel good about themselves and their lives.

All these trends are on the cutting edge of Interior Design today. So how does, and should that, relate to how we market and sell houses now? We have the opportunity to use the knowledge of these trends on every home we prepare for sale. Often times when we need to market a home with an older floor plan that does not have a dedicated home office, we create a home office in one of the bedrooms. Even though our lives are now more dependent on the use of home computers than ever before, the ease and affordability of wireless networking has made the reality of a small laptop in any room of the house easily obtainable. We are trending towards using that space (that used to be for the home office) as a luxurious personal retreat. It can now be a yoga room, meditation space, or massage room. Almost any master bath can be made luxurious looking by adding the right accessories, art and plush towels. An unusual corner of a room can be transformed into a relaxing reading retreat. "

Jim and I like the trend towards smaller homes with lots of views and space around the house. Maybe our property value will go up again with this new trend. Fingers crossed anyway!

One Of My Many Dream Houses

A week or so ago Vanessa posted this great photo of her dream house on her blog so I promised her I'd send mine. The house I have chosen just whispers serenity. I love it! I would almost buy this house without even seeing the inside because the outside is so awesome. These people have such great taste that the inside just has to be fabulous.

You can tell by the way they take care of the yard that they do not neglect maintenance issues inside the home. Wouldn't you just love to sit in the gazebo with a lemon aid or play a little croquet? This house is almost oozing curb appeal!

~~~~~~~~*************~~~~~~~~

It almost seem too harsh to include some other homes I saw today to make my point but I have been wanting to photograph these houses for ages and so here they are:

They say a man's house is his castle....well, that does not mean his yard is his kingdom! These homeowners are a rude bunch with no regard whatsoever for the optic nerves of anyone else. You must consider your neighbors in your paint decisions~it is the rule!

No, no, no~People!
Egg Yoke is not a color for exterior paint!
Corner lot, naturally!

They tried to make this cuter by adding this
hideous paint on the picket fence around the front
of the house. Nope~not good!

Easter Egg Blue is only good one day of the year~

This is no way to win friends and influence people!

The camera has been kind to this
house it is much brighter in reality!
There are many blue houses that look good.
If the paint is too bright take it back and have
them add white! Don't just keep painting.

And now, drum roll, my all time favorite
Ugly House Award goes here!

This house is on a corner lot also so it destroys two streets!
And yes, folks you saw it here~
It is For Sale! Any wagers on how long it will take?
Curb Repellent instead of Appeal


This photo was so dark I had to lighten it but rest assured,
the true color is what you see on the side view of the house above.

There simply are no word except~

Never Stripe your Clapboard Siding!
Never, Never! Never!