The Houseguest: Fall Splendor

Welcome, welcome! It's been ages since you've come for a visit! I'm so pleased to see you, especially as we've redecorated since you were last here. I always change things up with the new season, and I don't just mean putting out new pillows or linens. I'm talking wholesale renovation!

As usual, I'm terrible at making decisions so I did not one but three sitting rooms. When I chose the pieces for this space, I was deep in the throes of Dickens' Great Expectations---so the room is very modern-day Miss Havisham. I guess at least it's good I wasn't reading a prison novel at the time!

You'll be glad to learn that I did tone things down a bit for the third living room. Lately I'm having a purple moment, and it's coming out in everything I do: from the soft mauve on this sofa to my extreme, unquenchable cravings for grape lollipops, I can't get enough of the romantic hue!

The first of my two kitchens. This one's just for show, really. When we have guests, I don a coordinating apron and bustle around in here as though I had been slaving over the stove all day. If only they knew I've never even turned on a single burner!

Here's where the real culinary magic happens! Three ovens might seem excessive, but you never can tell when you're going to have to bake fifteen pies at once. As for that ceiling-high shelving, of course I had to have a place to store my collection of rare 18th century Manx soup tureens.

When it comes to eating those fifteen pies, the rustic dining room is a favorite spot of mine. In particular, I like being able to open the French doors for a breath of outdoor air; plus that way I'm only steps from being able to jog off all that pie.

If the sunshine holds, a gossip session in the conservatory would be lovely indeed! I do enjoy lounging on that striped chaise. I even had a Juicy Couture velour track suit custom designed to match. It comes in handy as camouflage too---I can lie there all day reading romance novels and no one can find me!

This might look like a regular office, but looks can be deceiving! It's actually my online shopping room. Here I can replenish my wardrobe from the comfort of my big fancy chair, wearing nothing but my rattiest pajamas. A luxury, I know, but a necessary one in these trying times.

Okay, confession: I don't have kids, nor do I know anyone who does. But when I saw these adorable little chairs, I knew I had to decorate a children's room in my house! Though now I feel guilty about the unused room, so sometimes I go in there and have tea parties with the teddy bears...

Ah, the master suite. A haven of peace and serenity. I decorated this space with my two troublesome kittens in mind. There's nothing they enjoy more than scrumbling about in a tall pile of pillows. And those stools at the foot of the bed? Extremely sophisticated scratching posts...

Finally, the spare bedroom where you'll be sleeping. It's a smorgasbord of pink--my favorite color! I even engineered that soft glow through the window just for you. Never let it be said I don't treat my guests right!

All images courtesy of Elle Decor, November 2009.

Comments

[Julia]

I love those little chairs too :)

[The Bella Girls]

Ohhh ~ if I could one day have a conservatory, life would be complete. This is a beautiful home and I am in love with the kitchen.

~Camberley

[cassandra @ coco+kelley]

oh, my dear - this is one of your best houseguest stories yet! you totally had me giggling! god forbid a san francisco earthquake should come and topple those soup tureens ;)

LOVE the dining room. love love love.

[margot]

Thanks for the voyage. Love what you've done with the place. Really needed the escape and so great that I feel so refreshed now with no sign of motion sickness or jet lag!

[cathi]

thank you for allowing me to be a guest at your place....it was a wonderfully relaxing visit...!! :)

[stephanie]

that black metal shelf in the kitchen - be still my trembling heart.

holy wow.

[Paige]

Lovely and hilarious. Can I come to a teddy bear tea party, pretty please?

[Emily]

That picture of the kitchen is to die for! I am so envious of large kitchen spaces for preparing yummy treats!

[Cyd]

Yes, yes, I agree with Paige. I'd love an invitation to a tea party, please and thank you! ;-)

[Heidi]

I need some camouflage sweat pants. Maybe then I could get more reading done. A weekend (month) in your guesthouse wouldn't hurt either. You're brilliant by the way!

[my favorite and my best]

gorgeous and hilarious. hilarious and gorgeous. and i have no idea what the fuck manx soup tureen is but i will be glad to slup soup out of it in that kitchen with you.

[Lilah]

i'll happily join you for the teddy bear tea party! I love the purple mood, too :-)

[suann]

all so, so gorgeous and so inspiring.

[Jaime]

Lovely! Adore the first kitchen and the room for "Juicy Couture tracksuit" :)

[blair]

Oh love the online shopping room:) And that kitchen is divine.

[desiree]

I really thought for an instant that it was your house! esp. the purple....

great pictures anyway!
Come visit my white place haha

[Carolynn Cecilia Campbell]

Forget about the 3 ovens. Did you see that fireplace in the kitchen. I'd gladly take on the role of Cinderella if it meant gathering ash in front of that beauty.

[Rebecca]

Such beautiful images. I don't have my November issue of Elle yet, but now that I've seen your post, I can't wait to get it in!

[callie grayson]

oh the blue velvet sofa, be still my heart!!

[Lindsey]

I LOVE the two kitchens. So light, airy and beautiful!

{ Lindsey }
http://greatfullday.blogspot.com

[Paula Grace]

What a great read! Fab pics too. I could stay there awhile.

[{this is glamorous}]

beautiful! what's a prison novel?

hope you're having a great week, anne!
xo

[The Perfect Palette]

inspiring.

[Rachel]

I love what you've done with the place! You had me giggling so much that I had to read part of it out to Husband to explain myself!

[Eliana Tomás]

first space is just breathtaking. beautiful combination of colours and fabric textures. i can feel that velvet...