My Mountain House Kitchen: Before and After

I am one of those people that love to bring something old, ugly and tired back to life. Somehow, I think you get a more charming and personal space when you renovate, and pay homage, to what is already there. We could have just gutted the whole space and put in a bright, shiny new kitchen but instead 

took the road less traveled and decided to work with what we had.

I shutter as I post these before pictures and can hardly believe how far we have come. We are not yet to the after phase but I thought you would enjoy seeing some of the changes we have made. 

As I mentioned in earlier emails, we thought the kitchen had good bones. Now, as I look at the before pictures, I am absolutely floored that I always saw the beauty in this space. 

I will also say that I speak confidently here but often times, I second guessed myself. I found a lot of inspiration from blogs and Pinterest and often times just took a leap of faith. I have the greatest husband in the world who trusted me to know what to do. Take down that bank of cabinets. Remove the soffits over the windows. Recess the pantry even with the refrigerator cabinet. Let's replace the bi-fold pantry doors with old french shutters. Leave the planking on the ceiling natural - You should feel like you are in a mountain house.

A traditional galley style, the kitchen was nice and wide yet we felt like the ceiling was falling in on us. The main drag on this space was an imposing fluorescent light box. Notice the lovely yellow-green light cast over the before pictures. The ceiling in the kitchen, as well as the ceilings throughout the house, had stucco texturing that had yellowed over the years. You gotta' love the eighties wallpaper! 

The window over the kitchen sink looks out into the garden. 

I started by taking down the window treatments that were blocking the view and all of the beautiful mountain sunshine that streams in this window. That wasn't enough so I removed the (lovely) wooden trim piece and then decided to take an even more bold move and remove the soffit between the cabinets. I painted the cabinets and the soffits a beautiful gray to elongate the cabinets.

The before picture is below.

We have come a long way and are almost finished!

Here's a picture of the new sconce in place.

Life Happens Outside

I love entertaining outside and was absolutely thrilled to be asked by Lloyd Flanders to participate in their spring marketing campaign 

"Life Happens Outside." 

The Lloyd Flanders invitation inspired me to pull together my ideas for a chic evening on my new terrace. My hydrangeas should be in full bloom in just a few weeks and I look forward to sharing a brisk spring evening entertaining friends using some of these ideas.

I hope you will stop by the Lloyd Flanders idea book on Houzz! 

When entertaining on the patio, I like to put a bar at the top of the stairs, so that it is the first thing guests see as they arrive, a non-verbal invitation to relax and help oneself. 

My essentials for a well-stocked bar include not only an assortment of beers, red and white wine, water, and nibbles but also flowers and a candle. The flowers are lilacs from my garden. 

When styling the bar, I like to bring together organic elements and textures found in nature.

I love the simplicity of the fresh cut flowers, lilacs from my own garden, with the texture of the wicker. 

 At the bar, I like to feature small decadent treats - something sweet and something salty. Tonight, I am offering Dark Chocolate Almonds with Sea Salt and Turbinado Sugar with Asiago Breadsticks.

I found the carved granite bowl during my recent shopping trip to the Antiques and Design Center at the High Point Furniture Market. The antique dealer I bought it from explained that it was from China and was formerly used at the base of the bamboo downspouts. I also think it would be beautiful planted with an assortment of succulents. It should have come with a warning - I am heavy!

One of the things I enjoy most about entertaining is creating the tablescape. 

It is something I do at least a week in advance of the evening. I like to play with textures and organic materials and love the juxtaposition between something very fine and elegant with something rustic. I am a big fan of white dishes and linen napkins.

There is something so amazingly magical about Al fresco dining. 

I love watching the shadows from the surrounding gardens and the way the light changes as the sun goes down. As the sun fades away, dinner by candlelight is so romantic.

The breeze and the sounds and scents in nature set the tone for a relaxing evening.

I always think it is a nice touch to include place cards in your table setting. 

Living in the South, there is always a magnolia tree close by. I thought using a magnolia leaf as the place card was the perfect way to tie together the outdoor setting with the fine china and crystal.

The flowers are arranged in my favorite container, a concrete faux bois stump. 

When planning my flower arrangements, I look first to see what is blooming in my garden. This arrangement is primarily greenery from my garden ~  Elaeagnus, Camellia, White Quince, Popcorn, Viburnum and a little boxwood. I added white Hydrangea, white tulips and some beautiful yellow Ranunculus I found at Trader Joe's.

I buy interesting containers when I see them so that I always have something on hand when I am planning to entertain. My good friend, Susan,  also owns two of these faux bois stumps. We enjoy borrowing from each other when we need more than two.

One of the small things that I like to do when I entertain is serve one course in a individual baking dish. There is just something about it that is unexpected and makes my guests feel special. 

Tonight, I have chosen to serve one of my signature dishes, my very own recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese, in individually baked ramekins.

In honor of Lloyd Flanders, I am sharing my secret recipe:

Gruyere Mac and Cheese with Toasted Pecans

Macaroni and cheese is Southern comfort food at its best! 

Always a crowd pleaser, my mac and cheese celebrates everything you love about the classic dish with a few twists that make it especially rich and decadent!

For the sauce:

4 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 ounces about 1 cup grated extra sharp cheddar cheese

4 ounces/ 1 package about 2 cups grated Gruyere cheese

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (important!)

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 pound Penne Pasta

For the topping:

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup Gruyere (reserved) cheese

1/4 cup (reserved) cheddar cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup toasted pecans pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the sauce: Melt the butter in a large saucepan and slowly add the flour to make a roux. Gradually whisk in the milk and bring to a boil while constantly whisking the sauce. Reduce to a simmer and continue to stir as the sauce thickens for approximately three minutes. Add the cheeses, dry mustard, and nutmeg. Salt and Pepper to taste. Remove from the heat.

For the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the Penne pasta and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta while reserving 1 cup of pasta water. Stir together the pasta, cheese sauce and reserved pasta water. Transfer to a buttered baking dish or individual ramekins. 

Toast the pecans and set aside; Melt the butter in a saucepan and remove from the heat; Stir together the Panko bread crumbs, cheese and pecans and spread over the mac and cheese.

Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven until golden brown and bubbling - about 20 minutes.

This decadent Mac and Cheese is equally at home with fresh grilled burgers, roasted chicken or beef tenderloin. Just add your favorite salad for the perfect summer meal!

Special thanks to Lloyd Flanders 

for inviting me to participate in their spring campaign! 

They will be sending me a gorgeous all weather wicker Nantucket rocker for participating! I love it so much that I have pinned it onto my Terraces, porches and outdoor rooms board on Pinterest here!

Spring Crush

So many ideas, so little time!

I don't know what it is about Spring that makes me want to start fresh, try new things and get creative!

I just don't feel like there is enough time in the day for all of my creative thoughts!

Yesterday, I cut my hair! 

Yes. And short!

Do you ever feel like everything you ever learned about hair and make-up is from your college days?

I found this picture on Pinterest and took it into my hairstylist and ta-da, I love it! 

But, now I have to style it all by myself, something my 18 year old daughter pointed out prior to cutting all of my hair off. I am leaving soon to purchase one of those new curling irons that you wrap your hair around for this wavy curl look. 

Wish me luck...

I have been working Pinterest for a new Spring uniform...you know, thirty minutes to get dressed (and look good) throw on jeans, white blouse, cute shoes...

I love the new Madewell Spring look book...I just wish my legs were that long!

Lovin' these camel flats from Tory Burch, a great wardrobe basic. 

Of course by the time I found them on Pinterest, I can not find them on the website anymore. That seems to happen a lot...I plan out my look on Pinterest and wrap my arms around my spring look only to discover, it's old news.

Love this slouchy leather tote from And George! I would like it in a lighter color.

I thought this would be a great outfit for cruising the booths at Marburger Farm at Round Top, happening right now in Texas. 

I have always wanted to go and hope that maybe next year, I will get the chance.

Happy Spring!

My New Garden

{My new boxwood garden in progress last spring}

As you may remember, last year, we started on a little home renovation project with the main purpose to add a new garage. With the new garage came the opportunity to add a new garden where we used to park behind our house. I have always wanted a vegetable garden but didn't want it to sit barren in Winter or look disheveled next to our terrace.

As I look forward to getting out in the garden again, I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you the before and after pictures. Keep in mind that I really don't want to ever get to the after stage as I like the process of planting and recreating, adding and updating.

Here are some before pictures as the construction for the new garage is underway. I have a small butler's pantry off of my kitchen that used to have a desk under the window. We removed the desk and made a doorway where the window used to be. I REALLY miss having my desk just off of my kitchen!

This is where a new garage now resides. 

And here is a different point of view, standing in the backyard and looking towards the street. Our garage now fills this space and my new garden was built just to the right of the bulldozer. 

The elevation of our lot drops off significantly from the front of the driveway to the backyard so we had to bring in huge loads of top soil to bring this area up.

The image below is one of my favorite inspirational pictures from the gardens at the shop Merci in Paris. I know my garden looks significantly different but this is the image I shared with our landscape designer to get the design process started.

I worked with a very talented landscape designer, Amy Priode, from Piedmont Carolina Landscaping. She worked closely with my husband and I to put our vision into a workable plan. We had two main structural issues we had to solve before moving onto the decorative (and fun) phase of design. We had to plan for the sea of water that runs down this path and into our backyard every time we have a downpour and we had to bring the level of the garden up by about two feet, no small task.

Here are a few of the drawings Amy presented to us offering different graphic patterns for the boxwood parterre garden. The site for the garden dictated the shape of the garden. It was a hard decision.

In the end, we actually combined a couple of the plans to create our garden. 

Here is the final working drawing (below).

And here are the photos of the garden just after it was installed.

I wish I had taken pictures when they were lining up the boxwood and making sure they were perfectly aligned, a very meticulous task. I bought the little expandable willow hurtles so that I could grow tomatoes in the middle and climbers such as squash, zucchini and cucumbers on the sides.

My long term plan is to plant an espalier fruit tree at the end of the path against the garage wall.

Sadie is starring at me because I am standing in the middle of the hydrangea. 

Here is the view looking down the path and into our backyard. We continued the path on the other side of the terrace.

You can see here to the right boxwood lining the path, an area that we created to let the water stream through when we have a big rain. We created several "catch basins" to take care of all the water.

Amy suggested we add Knock-out Roses and Limelight hydrangea on the other side of the path from the garden for color. They bloom all summer long and into the fall.

Sadie is never very far away when I am planting. Here I am planting yellow squash and cucumbers.

An iPhone picture from later in the summer.

I actually wanted to create this vegetable garden so that my daughter could experience the joy of growing her own vegetables something that i remember fondly from growing up.

My daughter Madison loaded up with her fresh picks.

One of my favorite Instagram photos from this summer...gotta' love the blue fingernails!

I hope you enjoyed my garden tour. Today is a beautiful Spring day and I have been working in the garden adding some Winter blooming plants.

Have a joyful Easter!

Bedside Table Bliss

{Bunny William's bedside table from NYTimes The battleground on the Bedside Table}

I read a really interesting article last week in the New York Times that I thought you might enjoy as well ~ The Battleground on the Bedside Table.

The article really made me think about my own bedside and what I could do to improve both the way it functions and the way it makes me feel as I pursue a good night's sleep.

I also loved the opportunity to peek inside the bedrooms of a few of my favorite designers and bring home a little of their advise on styling the nightstand.

{Alexa Hampton's bedside table from NYTimes The battleground on the Bedside Table}

Here's the scoop! 

For a blissful night's sleep, the bedside table should be a marriage of beauty and function and answer your specific needs. The bedside is one of the most private spaces in your home so "styling" should be about creating a personal sanctuary and keeping you organized before bedtime.

1. A Great Bedside Table. Consider the tabletop size and whether you prefer open or closed storage or a combination of the two. Always, always have his and hers nightstands! I love a room with an antique table at the bedside or a quirky piece with personality converted for use as a bedside table.
2. Good lighting ~ a pair of beautiful lamps or swing arm sconces. A sculptural lamp provides height and adds interest to a bedside table vignette. Don't overlook the lampshade! There is nothing more beautiful than the filtered light coming from a pleated silk lampshade.
3. Beautiful tray or box to gather glasses, electronics, cell phone, jewelry, coins and electronics.
4. Notepad, Journal and a special pen reserved only for bedside.
5. Personal items that make you smile such as art and family photographs. Consider leaning and layering art for a more interesting tablescape.
6. Fresh flowers or a touch of greenery adds softness, texture and another sculptural element to the bedside. A touch of something from nature always makes me smile.
7. Books and magazines. An essential element if you like to read before bedtime.
8. A Favorite Scented Candle. I wish Charlotte Moss still made the Virginia Candle (hint, hint)! My current favorite is the Baies Candle from Diptyque.
9. A Stylish Alarm Clock
10. A Way to Organize and Store Electronics - think about what you need at the bedside - the iPad, Kindle, cell phone, remote(s), docking...ugh! The latest electronics have made designers rethink the bedside table. Many of the latest options have special features built-in for corralling electronics and managing cords.

If I were to follow my own advise, I would need to do a little spring cleaning and rethink how I might organize and plan for the things I need next to the bed.

Allison's favorite things for bedside bliss:

1. Chelsea Textiles Gustavian Bureau
2. White porcelain lamps from Christopher Sptizmiller
3. My favorite scented candle - Diptyque Baies Candle
4. A Silver Tray to collect jewelry and electronics
5. Fresh flowers, preferably white, arranged in a simple glass vase or antique goblet
6. A journal for my thoughts - One Line A Day

I am also particularly fond of this little honeycomb porcelain plate in grey available at Jayson Home and Gardens. It is handmade in a Connecticut workshop using an object made for use in beehives. 

It would make a nice little catch-all on a bedside table.