Interior Designer Shannon Bowers

Today I'd like to show you a once-dark, two-story Georgian house transformed into a haven of pale European furnishings bathed in sunlight. Interior designer Shannon Bowers from Dallas, Texas, restored her house using colours found in nature like robin's egg blue, light sand and the lavender of hydrangeas.

In Shannon's words: "When we saw this house, I just loved it. But it was mauve with dark wood floors, and it had mini-blinds blocking out the sun. I wanted more natural light, airiness and a fresh new look."

Inspired by Swedish furniture as well as the light shades of flooring in many European homes, she found a linen with a blue undertone that dictated the colors of the interiors. "Often I'll pick one fabric, and it will determine the palette for an entire house. The wall colour is also a derivative of that fabric."

Complementing the Swedish pieces are numerous French antiques that exude a similar aesthetic. "Most of the French furniture is from the Directoire period, so the lines are very clean, and those pieces work well with our Swedish furnishings."

Bowers wanted a consistent look throughout the home. "If I have antiques in the living room, I think they should also appear in the children's spaces. I want to share them with my whole family. I would like for my children to develop an appreciation for them just as I have as the daughter of an interior designer."

Lots of antiques in the living room: Swedish 19th-c. cabinet and horse, a French 18th-c. chair in linen, Louis XVI chair near Louis XV limestone mantel and French 19th-c. bistro tables. Columns and lamps from 18thc., Gustavian sofa, accent pillows in vintage Fortuny fabric and a Swedish table, c.1750.

Gustavian settee and pillows in French muslin. A 19thc. Trumeau.

Swedish, Dutch and French styles combined: Swedish chair, c.1800, in muslin, a Dutch 18th-c. table and an antique French sculpture on wall. The Oushak rug is c.1920.

In the dining area, a garden statue and milk jar, both 19th-c. French. Antique tole and porcelain flowers in zinc pots.

Above the 18thc. sideboard, antique French ceiling panels as art. Handmade cloth pears in antique Swedish dough bowl and an Italian iron topiary.

In the kitchen an iron table with marble top, Belgian 19th-c. chairs and curtains in French linen. French charcuterie table, lantern and overdoor carving, all 19thc.

In the dining area, garden statue and milk jar, both 19th-c. French. A Mora clock, an antique tole and porcelain flowers in zinc pots.

Swedish 18th-c. library table with 19th- and 20th-c. Chinese jars. French light fixture and a pair of 19th-c. fauteuils in vintage Fortuny fabric.

In this sitting area a custom armchair and sofa, antique Swedish ottoman and Belgian armchair, pillows in French muslin and feedsack fabric, iron 19th-c. floor lamps, Louis XVI bergère in French linen. A custom cotton dhurrie on the whitewashed floor.

In the master bedroom linen slipcovers on headboard and footboard, an antique French table and seagrass carpet.

Lovely nursery with bedding in linen by Ralph Lauren. The mirror, French horse tricycle and Orkney child's chair are all antiques. The light fixture is a vintage French hot-air balloon. Custom cotton dhurrie.

Hope you enjoyed this tour. I have linked this post over at The Inspired Room, Friday Favourites and Furniture Feature Friday. Thanks for the parties Melissa and Jessica and Miss Mustard Seed!

All images and information from Veranda.

Before & After Guest Blogger: Marianne from Haven & Home

Hi Pure Style Readers, I am so happy to be here!!! Lauren was one of my very first blog friends, she is such a genuine, sweet person and I am thankful we met in this crazy blog world!

Okay, so on to the before and after. I decided to do a nursery I have been working on that is almost finished. This client wanted a tranquil nursery that was more on the refined side than funky (those who know me know I love both). Before this room was a "catch all" room with horrible carpet and an u-g-l-y ceiling fan. I give this description because I really don't have good before pictures (that I can use without risking my life) other than these:

*Before we get to the After I should say these pictures are taken by me and it is not styled (I ran out of time), so please excuse the lack of photography skills. Here is the After (what was I saying about lack of photography skills? ahhm, dark dark picture):

We looked at a lot of different options for color including white but this room is SO dark and gets zero natural light so we went for cozy with a blue on the trim and subtle stripes on the ceiling.

Here is the other side:

On thing I love about this room is the lighting- the mirrored hanging light, the floor lamp and the aged blue lamp on the dresser:

The crib bedding we had made. We both loved the the blue fabric on the outside of the bumper and loved the idea of a linen skirt so for a more custom look we added the blue again at the bottom. I wish you could see the inside bumper fabric, it is a pretty diamond (and yes all washable).

The stool is actually from Ikea, we had it monogrammed and added the ribbon along the bottom. The shelf we had made:

Since this room is very small we put the changing table in the closet and painted it one shade darker than the trim color.

loved these hooks to hang the curtain to hid the closet, the electrical covers look similar.

One more:

I hope you enjoyed the nursery- there are still some minor things missing but I really love the way it turned out. Thank you Lauren for having me as a guest blogger, I have enjoyed being here!
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Marianne!!!  This is one of the most beautiful nurseries I've ever seen!! It has such a sophisticated feeling and is fit for a princess!!I love the touches of blue throughout and all of your gorgeous custom touches.  Amazing work- I love it!!!

To check out Haven & Home and see more of Marianne's gorgeous work, go here.

xoxo,
lauren

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Restored Residence in Portugal

Good morning to all of you my lovely readers.
This beautiful country home, Monte São Domingos, was previously an historic nunnery and Alto Real horse farm located in the olive and wine region in the Alentejo, in Elvas, Portugal. Monte São Domingos sits on a hilltop with 360 degree views, including lake Caia, and was renovated over the last 5 years. Restored with original handmade tile floors, antique marble sinks, sculpted by hand baths 100 plus year old roof tiles and hand forged iron and glass doorways gives the feeling that the farm has been untouched by time. At the same time the house is technically modern with radiant floor heating, solar panel water heat, and fully equipped kitchen.


















An artist's dream atelier.



















All images and information from here.

10 Minute DIY Botanicals

We pretty much finished with the playhouse/ shed this weekend!!  I still have a few things to find- namely baskets & storage- but it was so much fun using cool things we've collected over the years to accessorize the shed.  (Does "accessorize the shed" sound ridiculous or what?)  Anyway, I'll take pictures once I've gotten the final things on my list but I thought I'd share one of the easy projects I did for the walls of the playhouse.   Christian & I picked leaves/ branches off a few things from our yard and I photocopied them on our scanner/copier to make quick& easy botanical prints.

{Honeysuckle}

I thought it would be fun to see how much I remembered (or actually forgotten?? eek) from 7th grade and attempted labeling parts of the plants.  (Way more fun than looking online to see the correct answers ;)

My lovely neighbor Melissa alerted me that the plant below (labeled by me "Unknown Weed") is actually Virginia Creeper.

We have a few more to do today & as soon as I have photos of the finished project I'll post.  Also, I've been getting the hang of facebook and have posted progress pictures (sneak peeks ;) of the shed project on there.  I'm starting to really like facebook because it's really easy to just post a photo and a little blurb so will definitely be using it to post in-progress photos of jobs/ projects. 

LINK TO FACEBOOK PAGE

Hope everyone had an awesome long weekend!!

xoxo,

lauren

ps-  Tonight's the last episode of 9 By Design so be sure check it out on Bravo!!!  Here's a clip:  CLIP

Also, thanks so much to Laura Trevey at Bright Bold Beautiful for the supersweet post she did.  Check it out here.

Go Figure.

We've worked so tirelessly to get the inside of our house feeling good and now all we want to do is go outside. 

Summer's here (ok, maybe not really, but it totally feels like it) and it's time to break out the sprinkler for the little guys to play in!!  I found this awesome vintage (I think) set of black iron outdoor patio furniture this week at Lucketts and I can't wait to bring it home in our truck today!!  It's really not at all like this one from High Society below (it has  much straighter lines)  but its' the first thing I thought of (and my husband too--  poor guy has an awesome memory & I've been filling his head with decorating!!) when I saw the set. 

It has kind of a modern retro-chic feeling that will work really well with the exterior of our {not-so-pretty}70s house.  Here's a photo of it when we first moved in last year. (below)  Enough good things haven't  been done to it yet to warrant an "after" picture.  (But we have moved the neon playset into a less conspicuous area until we can get the wooden one we're after, and the tree debris & drain pipe are gone.)

...The back and sides of our house are still beigey/ "nude" (I love to say that about our house...  it cracks me up) while the front is now a rich gray.  (Still??  Yes, still.)

{My little fern hanging on for dear life}

...  I know the neighbors much just love us...  but hopefully they won't think we're as worthless as we look once we paint the sides & back of the house as SOON as Dave off of work for the summer.  (High school English teacher :)  I can't wait!!  (Both for summer vacation and a fully-painted house.)  

Anyway, the patio set is kind of a combination of these (in black iron) but doesn't have pillows that we can use:

{vintage set}

{image from Maas Brothers recoating...  It has a simlar 'X' back but with a large "O" in the center which is almost exactly the same as the caged lantern in our front entry.  (see photo of entry a few pics up)}

{Crate & Barrel via Hooked on Houses...  It has similar straight, spare lines but it's black. }

I LOVE its size (a massive 3-seater sofa, a chair and a chaise!!) and it has awesome lines, but the paint is peeling off and of course we need to have cushions made.   I can't get the High Society cushions off of my mind but might  go with a solid fabric and do pillows.  (I wouldn't be going pink out there...  but possibly an enlarged "grandma" floral...  I'm also thinking about orange as I love it with the gray on the house...)

We've also got plans to work on the shed/ playhouse this weekend...

Below is a photo of the ceiling all primed & ready for paint...

I set up a Facebook Page for Pure Style Home last night & posted a couple more pics of the shed as it is now.  I'm not quite sure how to really work facebook yet but hopefully I'll get the hang of it.  I'm thinking I will post little updates & progress on projects there.  Not as exciting as "voila" before & afters but I know some of you like to see behind-the-scenes & "progress" pictures.

LINK TO FACEBOOK PAGE

Hope you have a happy Memorial Day weekend & get a dip in a pool!!!  If you have some time, check out the new facebook page & send me some thought/tips/ideas!!  (I'm so slooooow with computers/ technology!!)  I'd love to know what you'd like to see on there.

xoxo,

lauren