“A friend loves at all times…”
Proverbs 17:17

 Last week, Butch had to travel for work again, so guess who got to go along?!  Yours truly!

First, we made a brief stop in Bristol, Virginia.  We then made our way to Asheville to the historic Grove Park Inn, and the next day we traveled on to Raleigh, North Carolina.  While Butch attended a two day seminar in Raleigh, I was able to spend some long overdue time with my friend, Patti.  We share so many common interests:  a love for travel, food, antiques, decorating, to name just a few.  Although the rain came down in sheets while I was there, we enjoyed a day inside her gorgeous home doing a few things that we love: drinking Snickerdandy coffee, arranging tablescapes, and munching on cheese straws and “aggression cookies”–all of which you will see in a later post!  As an interior decorator, I have been privileged to work with Patti on her classic Georgian home, a beach house, and a mountain retreat.  She is the happiest in rooms of blue and white with a touch of yellow and red!  I am sharing some public spaces in her home that I helped decorate and I think her passion for blue will be evident!

This is a warm and cozy room for reading or sharing conversation. The gold camelback sofa and side tables are antiques.

With many family photos and momentos, this is one of Patti’s favorite rooms!  The rug is an antique Oriental.

Lush silk window treatments

Pair of antique French side chairs upholstered in silk with silk striped pillows

The striking red wall color is Benjamin Moore’s Mediterranean Spice.  This is the same as in my dining room–I have never tired of this lipstick red!

Patti loves books, just as I do.  Two bookcases, two stools, and an ottoman hold some of her collection.

The blue and white kitchen is a cook ‘s dream–which is very appropriate as Patti is an excellent cook!

Schonbek chandeliers with cobalt blue crystals light the blue butterfly granite island

A cobalt blue AGA stove with imported Delft tile backsplash.  One of the selling points of an AGA is that it produces the “perfect fried egg”.  As we were standing in the kitchen, Patti’s husband, Mike, insisted that she fry an egg to show us!  And, indeed, it was the perfect fried egg!  Afterwards, Patti mentioned that having an AGA was a lifelong dream of hers to which Mike responded, “Really?!  That’s funny, because I never knew that!”

Detail of the glazed cabinetry

Patti selected quotes that were meaningful for randomly placed tiles

An antique cabinet used as a pantry and hand painted by Donna, an artist that I have worked with on dozens of projects

Small wet bar with hammered nickel sink and hand-painted cabinetry

Beautiful arched windows with toile swags and Schonbek chandelier lighting the space

Antique French table and chairs make for an inviting place for morning coffee in the breakfast room!

Antique French sofa covered in a linen toile with needlepoint pillows.  Behind the sofa sits an antique table and chairs (barely visible) used for large family gatherings.  This room truly functions as a family room with plenty of seating and a large table for eating.  Also pictured is a desk used for work and to manage the household.  Mike and Patti’s home is a classic Georgian with it’s brick facade and symmetry. The interior furnishings, however, lean towards Patti’s love for the warm and gracious country French style.

A skirted round table that I designed with a pair of wing chairs upholstered in a striped linen fabric make for a perfect place to relax or watch TV

To the right of the chair is an outstanding sideboard often used for serving when Patti entertains.  A French landscape complements this vignette.

Hand-painted toile scene in the family room

Cross-stitch that I made in 1981 as a gift to Patti

A treasured friendship for forty years!

“True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils.  Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island…to find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep her is a blessing”
Baltasar Gracian