a day at the lake


Doesn't this image look like it came straight from a magazine? It's actually from my friend Diane's lakehouse. She's not a professional decorator, but, man, she can put a house together. We recently went down to her lakehouse on a warm morning last week, but of course, I was much more interested in the interior than in the lake....

The picture above is from the master bedroom. Diane painted an antique chest black and her husband painted a piece of found driftwood white. 




an antique card catalogue
 holds mercury glass containers




a vintage bottle collection





an antique pine hutch in the den



a beautiful painted chest in a guest bedroom




fabulous hand scraped floors
 run throughout the house


an antique industrial cart as a coffee table


this one is not from Restoration Hardware!
it's the real thing - from an old textile mill


hall chest


the shell of an old kayak mounted on a wall



oh, yes,...and the lake.....minor detail

My thanks to Diane for sharing her house and talents with us...  

can't get enough of those antiqued mirrors....

oh my gosh, as a headboard!

Barbara Franceski via My Notting Hill

Barbara Franceski via My Notting Hill

Anthony Todd via Thirteen and South


Windsor Smith via greige



and my favorite...
Daily Mail via Bright.Bazaar

what makes your house a home...

via Rummage
(if you have not checked out this blog, you must...)

Last Monday I posted an image of our son's growth chart on our hall wall. It's one of the things that truly makes our house special. It seems to have touched a chord with a lot of readers. This Monday, one of my very favs, Blue Hydrangea, gave us a lovely look into the heart of her home.  That got me thinking. Perhaps some of you would like to share the spaces and objects that make your house a home... 

Whatever the space or item is, the more imperfect the better. The more personal and loved, the better. How about next Monday? Is it a date? If you have a blog, and would like to participate, post under "What Makes a House a Home..." and leave me a comment by Friday that you plan to participate. I will do my best to post a list of links. If you do not have a blog and want to send a photo, please e-mail me at aperfectgray at yahoo dot com.

Is there really anything more beautiful than the heart of a home....?


amazing grays




The images above are from the bedroom designed by Amy D. Morris Interiors for Atlanta's Christmas, 2009 Showhouse. The bookcases featured in yesterday's post, the warm gray ones I absolutely flipped over, are from this room.


top three photos from Atlanta Homes Magazine

Below are more examples of the work of Amy D. Morris. All beautiful. In a piece in Atlanta Homes Magazine, Amy notes: "My signature colors are gray and white. In my opinion, they are classic, simple and timeless. Then I like to add a 'punch' with pops of color."












all photos from Amy D. Morris Interiors 


Fantastic, yes...?

Have a wonderful weekend....




Could this be it....a perfect gray?

Atlanta Homes Magazine

Yesterday, I saw this image on one of my favorite blogs, Greige. It stopped me in my tracks. The bronze/gold colors paired with the warm gray tones  -such a fresh and stunning combination to me. Doug Davis of Tracery Interiors, who had personally seen this room in Atlanta's Christmas Showhouse, was kind enough to e-mail me the paint used: Sherwin Williams Amazing Gray.

Babies, could this be THE ONE???  

Doug was also kind enough to point me to the room's designer and I hope to highlight some of her work tomorrow. (She's a gray gal, too!)

Thanks so much to Greige for continued inspiration and to Doug for the super fast information. And big thanks to Al Gore for inventing the internet and making all this possible...


lovely gray baths




Style At Home via Everything LEB


source unknown

Chicago Home Magazine

Elle Decor

what makes a house a home...

click to enlarge

I have been thinking about some of my favorite decor blog posts. The ones I like the most are more personal in nature. Photos of our homes, real and unstaged, and little glimpses into personal lives. 

My style is kinda quirky - a mix of antiques, new pieces, and art. But folks always gravitate to the growth chart we made with our son.  It's in our hall, you have to turn a corner to see it, and as you can see, we've painted that wall several times, but it grabs attention everytime.

It's one of the things that really makes our house our home.

  

antiqued mirrors


Love this image -  the blues, the vintage-looking nude sketch, and especially the aged mirrors. You know that I'm a mirror gal, right? Love antiqued mirrors. The more reflective surface that has fallen away - the better.

Now we're seeing new made-to-look-aged mirrors being used in the kitchen:

     
Tracery Interiors from their Southern Living Idea House

and in the bath:


Ahhh, that bath...

Do you like these antiqued mirror tiles in the bath and kitchen...?

gray and tobacco




I don't see it often, but I love the combination of gray and a tobacco color. Kinda like a pumpkin pie color. I don't know what to call that color really. The duvet/ spread in the first photo; the metal chairs in the second. I think it's a sophisticated combination. Kinda masculine, but I am always drawn to more masculine looks. What shall we call that color. . .?