Decorating in Antique Blues

Good morning, hope you had a restful weekend.<br /><br />This gorgeous house in Houston we are going to visit gets its colours from antique items which are displayed in every room: soft blues and platinum grays from authentic tapestries and furniture take us back in time, even though it was built in the 1980s. The whole place has an American-in-Europe mood. Calmness, a serenity and a feeling of soul and grace and history.<br /><br />The interiors were designed by Babs Watkins, her daughter Julie Watkins Baker, and Eleanor Cummings.<br /><br /><b></b><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/95/0310-watkins-02-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 550px; height: 704px;" /><br />Louis XV carved-walnut front doors with traces of the original paint open into a foyer lighted by a gilt-edged Venetian lantern.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/nk/0310-watkins-01-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 550px; height: 703px;" /><br />One of the many 18th-century French tapestries. Blues and earth colours on gently worn surfaces, lead the eye from room to room.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/Am/0310-watkins-living-room-03-de.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px; width: 550px; height: 430px;" /><br />In the living room, French and Italian chairs work well together. Extra full curtains. A 1920s Oushak carpet, an Italian tole chandelier, and a Gustavian painted breakfront round out the mix of styles.<br /><br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/mJ/0310-watkins-04-lg.jpg" style="top: 55px; left: 68px; width: 550px; height: 423px;" /><br />Silvery tones are the dominant note in the dining room, where Gustavian chairs ring a table set with antique Royal Crown Derby china. Floor to ceiling French tapestry.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/EJ/0310-watkins-06-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 550px; height: 702px;" /><br />A Swedish hutch, aging gracefully behind a Gustavian bench in a guest bedroom.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/Et/0310-watkins-05-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 548px; height: 700px;" /><br />An antique onion-dome aviary frames the kitchen range hood, perched above a backsplash of 19th-century concrete tiles. Antique Belgian blue limestone countertops, cabinets built with wood from a Scandinavian dairy, and a vintage French worktable set off the stainless-steel Viking stove and Sub-Zero refrigerator.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/TW/0310-watkins-07-de.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px; width: 550px; height: 430px;" /><br />In the library, an Empire chaise longue and a Louis XV flank an 18th century mantel from Aix-en-Provence. Shelves hold part of the client's collection of religious artifacts.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/T9/0310-watkins-12-de.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px; width: 550px; height: 430px;" /><br />The master bedroom with a parquet de Versailles floor, an 18th century Buffet de Corps armoire, and a Louis XVI chaise.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/J6/0310-watkins-11-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 549px; height: 701px;" /><br />A Baroque Italian mirror hangs above the powder room's antique basin.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/jN/0310-watkins-09-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 550px; height: 703px;" /><br />Just right for informal meals, a massive Belgian blue limestone pedestal table anchors the family room.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/fr/0310-watkins-13-lg.jpg" style="top: 19px; left: 104px; width: 450px; height: 584px;" /><br />In the master bedroom, a painted Italian ceiling panel hangs above a headboard made from a salvaged boiserie fragment.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/Xz/0310-watkins-14-de.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px; width: 550px; height: 430px;" /><br />Rich textures in subtle shades of blue and gray give the guest bedroom a luminous beauty. Embroidered throw pillows were made to order.<br /><br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;">Photographs by Kerri Mccaffety</span></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">Produced by David M. Murphy</span></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">Stylist Gregory Bissonnette</span></p>All images and iformation from <a href="http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/colors/blue_as_a_titian">House Beautiful</a>

Decorating in Antique Blues

Good morning, hope you had a restful weekend. This gorgeous house in Houston we are going to visit gets its colours from antique items which...

Read more »