Down South

I promise more interior shots of the house are coming soon. Until then, I thought these photos of our Thanksgiving trip to Alabama would tide everyone over. It's funny how different southern architecture is from what you see up here in Vermont. Yet as we drove around my hometown of Fairhope, Alabama, I realized I actually drew from some of the houses I saw every day as a kid in designing our own...particularly the scale. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for small, cozy cottages and now, looking across all these photos of homes in Fairhope, I think I know why! I also feel like the wraparound front porch on our new house channels a southern aesthetic. (Granted we'll be drinking hot chocolate on ours rather than sweet tea most of the year but still.)

So which one of these cuties is your favorite?














Now if only the shores of Lake Champlain looked like this...

Bathroom tile

Another exciting thing we did this weekend was pick out our bathroom tile. The folks at Best Tile in Williston were fantastic and made the experience really fun. We chose a black and white hexagon pattern for the floors and white subway tile for the tub surround. We're going for a classic, black and white, bungalow style with a modern twist. Our salvaged sinks from Mason Brothers will give the room(s) an old-fashioned feel while the squared off edges of the tub will hopefully keep it current. We'll see if/how it all comes together.

A sink similar to ours from Mason Brothers. Ours are less round, more square.


Here is the flooring we selected. It's American Olean tile.


But we're going to use a dark gray grout rather than white to really make the shapes pop. Here's what it will look like.


Here are some inspiration shots that semi-capture the look we're trying to achieve. The first two are from Apartment Therapy, the second from Subway Tile, the third from Remodelista, the fourth from the Vintage Seattle blog, and the final from a house listing I found online awhile back.

Inspiration from Ace Hotel

Ace Hotel has been featured on a lot of other blogs lately and I figured it was about time to play copycat and post about it here, too. My trip to Homestead General got me in the rustic industrial mood :) I love the vibe of these hotels...part industrial, part army base, part vintage. It's all glorious. I think I want our house to be a tad warmer than this (maybe not the intense concentration on grays and browns) but I really like the juxtaposition of metal, wood, and white/cream. Enjoy.

Homestead General

So I have lots to post from my weeked jaunt to my hometown of Fairhope, Alabama. Sometimes it takes a bit of time away from a place to make you realize how beautiful and special it is. Fairhope is literally awash in blooms. The city has its own nursery and greenhouses and it plants gorgeous flowers on every street corner downtown. There are even flowers planted on the top of trash cans--no lie! In addition to the physical beauty of the town, I am happy to say that they are catching on to the green building movement (post to follow on my tour of the Fairhope Green Home) and to the localvore movement. They host a farmers market downtown every Thursday and several restaurants are serving locally raised grass-fed beef. It all makes me very happy...and very proud of the town I called home as a kid.

But one of the most exciting discoveries of the trip was a new store on Fairhope Ave. called Homestead General. My parents and I drove past it Saturday evening and I fell in love as soon as I saw the window diplay--a large set of wire baskets with weathered picture frames on top. Ahh, industrial rustic. Love it. So with less than 30 minutes until I had to leave for the airport on Sunday afternoon, my mom indulged me and we dashed downtown for a quick look. The window display was only a teaser. The entire store was filled with gems--rustic tables and vintage signs, metal wire baskets and tubs, organic canvas bedding, iron beds, rustic/modern furniture. It actually had a vibe similar to the White Flower Farmhouse. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I spent more money per minute than I ever have in my life (although the pieces were very reasonably priced). Below are some shots of my purchases. This woman blogged about her trip to Homestead General and took some great interior shots of the shop. (I'm kicking myself for not bringing my camera!)






The last one has an interesting story. A woman in the area collected wood scraps after Hurricane Katrina and turned them into unique decoration pieces. I think I'm going to hang this in the master bathroom to hold wet towels.

South Farm Homes in Hinesburg, VT

I am really excited to check out this new green development in the neighboring town of Hinesburg, Vermont. The houses are beautifully designed and will be part of a fantastic green community. The developer's website explains that 14 acres of the land were set aside for agricultural use (including a community garden) while the remaining contains a small cluster of active/passive solar homes. The development is within walking distance of the bustling metropolis of Hinesburg--i.e. the local school and grocery stores. Residents also have access to public hiking trails on the neighbor's family farm.



Some more green features of the project include:

Conservation of prime agricultural land
Cluster homes to minimize land impact
Location within three miles of school and grocery store
Homes built into hillside and with southern orientation
Passive and active solar
Geothermal heating
High performance windows
Cellulose insulation
Composite siding
Certified wood

Here is a great Seven Days article about the development and other green projects in the area. Ryan and I are headed to the South Farm Homes open house tomorrow from 12-4pm. I hope to take pictures to post...

School Outfitters

This Apartment Therapy post on using a science lab table as a kitchen island got me interested in School Outfitters. Look at the great industrial-looking items you can nab on their website!


Stainless steel tub cart: $209.99


Diesel Series Industrial Stool: $86.99


Heavy-Duty Ventilated Lockers: $254.99 (assembled)


Transport Series Mobile Cabinet: $234.99


Lab Table: $349.99

More gray kitchens...

So I'm sort of into this gray kitchen thing.

This remodel from Urban Grace Interiors is gorgeous.




Not thrilled about drawing inspiration from good ol' Martha Stewart but apparently she outfitted her new kitchen in gray. Come to think of it, there is a pretty good chance the kitchen in the prison was a nice steely gray...but there were no pictures of that in her mag.




Here's one from blogger Cote de Texas.