Quay House

In my growing up years, we would go visit my Grannie and Grandad in Cornwall, England.  They lived in a beautiful old house right on the sea.

My brother and sister pushing each other in an old pram (stroller). 

It was a beautiful place and I have great memories of spending time with my grandad in his wood shop and on his little motor boat.  I remember time in the kitchen with my grannie and in her garden admiring her beautiful flowers and herbs. I remember each room in the house had such character and I especially remember the stairway being all stone.  There was always a raging fire to keep us all warm.   I would love to go back now and see what a beauty this house has become over the years.  It was named the Quay House, which means - a landing place,  one of solid masonry, constructed along the edge of a body of water; wharf.

That's exactly what it was.  It wore its name well!
Me on the far right, my brother and sister and my cousins at the end of the garden.
I remember it being really cold down by the water.  Aren't my cousins little British cuties?
We loved feeding the swans with the left over bread!  We loved our Wellington boots and needed them because of all the mud.  This picture was on one of our visits when we were much younger.
This was the view from the bedroom window where we kiddos stayed.  You can see my grannie playing with us here.  As a kid you just don't appreciate those times enough.  I look back now and feel so blessed to have been somewhere so beautiful with grandparents that loved me so much. 
Now that's being a true kid!  You can see that the tide has gone out in the background.
I loved the little village that it was in, so quaint and quiet.

Quay house is on the left in this photo, you can see the name on the side of the house.

The narrow streets that led to the house only allowed one car at a time.  If a car came the other way, you would have to pull over to the side of the road to let them pass.
I decided to google Quay House to see what other homes had that name, just because I was curious. 
I found this wonderful home (now a bed and breakfast)in Ireland, named Quay House.

Right by the harbor.
I immediately went crazy because the decor in the rooms were right up my alley.  Each room has a quirkiness to it.  There are 15 rooms in all, each with their own bathroom.

Here are some of my favorite rooms.

 

This  mirror as the headboard is fantastic.  I so want to do this!!!!
The little table and chair set is perfect for breakfast by the window.  I don't usually like pink carpet but in this room it works.  The antiques add so much character.
This antique furniture is very similar to what I have in my office!  I'm especially fond of the chair.
Great mix of antiques with wicker and a splash of zebra print.  The oil paintings I'm sure have history and a story to tell.  This room definitely looks collected over time.  The kind of character I'm always trying to achieve in my living room.
A zebra print rug adds some spice to this room.  There is no reason you can't mix it up a little.  In fact, that's how it should be done.  Keeps things new and exciting. 
The family portraits within the home are gorgeous and I love that they are so large and framed so beautifully.
Another room with a headboard mirror.  Not as ornate as the first one above.  I'll take the couch, thank you very much. 
 
The yellow striped wallpaper is a perfect backdrop in this room.
  Not sure where they were going with the drapes here though?
The sconces above the fireplace are the favorite thing in this room.  Your eye immediately turns to them because of their great curves.
This sun room is a happy place to have a full cooked Irish breakfast.  The copper molds on the wall are fun (at least I think that's what they are).  Somebody correct me if I'm wrong?  Are they silver serving dish covers?

Now this bed makes a statement.  Doesn't that balcony look inviting? I wonder what kind of a view there is?
Maybe this is the view? 
 It looks similar to "our" Quay House in England doesn't it?

Cozy, warm and comfy.
Another angle of the room with the sconces.  More family portraits on the wall.
Perfect room to curl up and read by the roaring fire.  I wonder who the china belonged to that is now hanging on the wall?
Simply classy.
The Quay House in Ireland was voted one of the 100 Best Places to Stay in Ireland in 2010.
I can see why!
Go to Trip Advisor to see comments about this bed and breakfast!
I so wish we still had Quay House in our family but my grandparents are no longer with us and house was sold.  However, I am happy for the great memories of a beautiful home with family.

Have a great weekend!

Ruthie

DecRenew Interiors and English Style Decorating

I've always LOVED English cottages and a touch of English decor!  With the current trend where any style goes as far as mixing different styles in the same home,  it is always nice to have a little touch of English somewhere in your home.  Of course, for me, I love it because I'm English and grew up with some of this style in our home. 
English Farmhouse

English homes are usually set around their gardens. Lots of seating and beautifully kept grass and rambling roses everywhere. Thatched roofs, stone fences, neat herb gardens, and soft, washed-out colors.

There are some clever ways you can give your home or apartment the feel of the English countryside without breaking your budget.   In English Country decor, the colors are taken directly from nature, and are seldom bright or loud. After all, English cottages might be several generations old, and continued use has caused colors to fade gently over the years.

There are always blooming flowers outside cottages in England.
There might be a fireplace in every room or only in the "main rooms", and furniture is comfortable, eclectic, and a lot of time mismatched.
The main living spaces will be cozy, with scattered area rugs and dark woods. Family heirlooms (or reproductions) add an antique feeling: old silver or pewter, mismatched picture frames and mirrors, a footstool with a needlepoint cover and old brass fireplace tools might be seen.

Anywhere you could "whitewash" a fence, an old garden bench or an interior wall, for example, isn't a bright white but more of a thinned white which allows the surface beneath to show through. Autumnal colors of greens, cream, and golden yellow are one color path to follow, while a bedroom might be pretty in soft pinks, light green, and pale yellows accented with white.
Love the rustic fireplace.  Oh, you could make this so comfortable with two wonderful slip covered wing back chairs facing this fireplace. 
Soft lighting is important when creating an English style – table lamps, floor lamps, and candlelight is preferable rather than overhead lighting or recessed lights. Light a fire in the fireplace, if you have one, and add fresh wildflowers in a crockery pitcher.

Lots of charm here and I could go to town on making this even more beautiful.
Great bones to work with in this room.
This house could look something like the pictures below inside. I'd love to take my morning walks and pass by houses that look like this, wouldn't you?
Love all the stonework.

Love this chair!  I could enhance this window seat with some beautiful down filled pillows and a new paint color.
Bookcases should be plain, filled with not only hardcover books (look in used bookstores for classic titles with gently worn bindings), but also mementos of your travels or collections of shells, teacups, or smaller framed artwork.

Love how English homes have beautiful antiques and stunning woodwork on their banisters.
Cozy kitchen.
Farm table and chairs make this so inviting to have a cuppa tea with a friend.
Simply casual.
Beautiful antique bed.  Can you just imagine what you could do with fresh new crisp linens and some accessories! 
The thatch roofing has such great texture and blends in so nicely to nature.
Oh what you could do with this courtyard.

Adding English Oil paintings to your mix adds so much character, color and warmth to any room.  Grouping several of these paintings like these makes an even better impression.  These are two of my favorites.

Artist:  William Hogarth
Artist:  Reynold, Sir Joshua

 Make or purchase slipcovers using soft floral prints of the "cabbage rose" or chintz variety, and add pillows with soft fringe, buttons, or braiding trim.  These are a few of my favorites

If your furniture doesn't match, don't worry – you can give various pieces a distressed paint finish or leave them as is, with perhaps a table skirt covering the most modern odd pieces. These are nice places to use your vintage linens.

Found this picture in my files of an English home that has been updated and made more modern.
My whole house isn't English that's for sure.  I love to mix it up!  By adding one ottoman, one painting, one antique, you can add a touch of "English" to your home.
Shake it up a little with a touch of English style.  You will be surprised how much you'll like it.
Ruthie

Jungle kid and what it taught me!

my childhood

We all look back at our childhood memories and reminisce.  I've been doing a lot of that lately and have come to realize that a lot of how I was raised is now influencing the way I run my life and my interior design business.
Our house in the village where we lived.
As some of you know, I was a missionary kid and for part of my childhood grew up in a pretty primitive part of Mexico (Chiapas).
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My parents were on staff at Jungle Camp where they trained missionaries how to live in primitive areas.  Above is the local people meeting our family when we landed.
plane greeters
We flew in on a small airplane and landed on a tiny airstrip in the middle of nowhere.
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My mom was a nurse and my dad was one of the lead instructor for training those missionaries.
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Teaching them how to make a bed to sleep on from sticks.
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Things like how to survive in the jungle, how to learn the languages, how to adjust to the culture, how to find food, how to steer a canoe, how to wash your clothes in the river, etc.
canoe trip
My  mom was such a good sport! She is in the middle.
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  We had to live in a small village for part of that time to actually experience it for ourselves.
butchering the cow
Here are some of the things that I learned from that experience.  We lived in many other countries as well and each experience gave me the same lessons.
 I'm grateful that while we eat we don't have kids peering through watching us.  Grateful for privacy.
We lived very simply.  I don't know how my mom did it but she always made it feel like home.
Notice the mud stove where she cooked ALL our meals.  Including boiling the water that we brought up from the river each day.
 As I look at this, I'm so thankful for my double oven and my Ttavertine and wood floors.  I daily remember that it is about simplicity and not having to have everything.
Making our own bread and cinnamon rolls.  We baked them in the mud stove with a special technique using the coals.
Feel blessed that I was able to teach my kids how to make bread and also love my Krispy Kreme Donuts and Starbucks down the street! 
We were home schooled and often were  accompanied by a neighbor playing the guitar or little kids peering through the windows as they were so curious about what we were doing.
I'm thankful for the memories with my mom and that my kids have an incredible school they get to go to.  Mom you did a great job but  how blessed I am that we have great schools where we live.
 
We had no electricity so we had dinners by candlelight.  It made us eat as a family, that's for sure.
  Love that I have a switch that turn my lights on and off.  I also still love my candles, even though my house almost burned down because of them (that's another blog entry).
My sister and I washing clothes in the stream with our friend Cecillia.
Dad called us his twin tub washing machine.  Guess who had to hang them all out on the washing line?  Yes, We did.  Cecillia taught us how to carry the silver buckets on our heads and we felt quite pleased and proud about that.
I am thankful for being able to adjust to another culture and make friends with kids that didn't even speak my language.  Hand motions does the trick every time.    My washer and dryer are also at the top of my thankful list even though they aren't the red front loaders that I love so much.
Mom doing dishes outside.  Luckily we couldn't reach the sink!  She never complained (at least that we knew of).  She always said, "I have a great view."
I'm thankful for my mom and dad that instilled in me a great attitude in hard circumstances and am extremely happy that I have a dishwasher that washes and dries my dishes within an hour - it disinfects them with HOT water too!
 
Reading letter from home - 4 week old news but we were glued to every word from our grandparents and cousins in Africa.  Notice the mud floors and my precious porcelain bride doll on the window ledge that went everywhere with me.
 
 What a blessing to have e-mail and Facebook where I can communicate with my friends and overseas family by the minute.
 
We bathed in the river but we often loved walking to our favorite waterfall "our shower"!
It was absolute heaven on earth and we tried to make the trip each weekend.  We didn't tell a soul we knew about this hideaway!
I'm thankful for pool in my backyard and for my hot water that automatically comes on in my shower each morning.  I'm also glad that I don't have to hike 2 miles to get to my bathroom!  I'm also happy that I get to use shampoo and conditioner instead of just plain ivory soap!
Our grocery store.
My parents trained other missionaries on how to survive in the jungle.  We would stock up for 3 weeks and take everyone out for a test survival run.  Above are all the moms stocking up for their families.
I'm loving my Tom Thumb store that has more selections than I could ever imagine!  The first time my mom came home to visit she cried when she saw all the fresh vege's in the store because she was so happy - I still think of that now when I'm choosing my fruits and vegetables.
Our beds: hammocks! Is this heaven for kids or what?  Poor dad had to put up 5 of these!  Thanks Daddy!  Not only did he hang all our hammocks, he also dug a hole for our outhouse and even made a seat for us to sit on :)
My hammock.
I was so proud of it and made it all comfy cozy inside.  The first night I slept in it some kind of animal bumped up underneath it and scared me half to death.  I kept our whole family up all night.

 Thanks Daddy for all your hard work and diligence that has taught me so much about patience and hanging in there even when it is tough.  Pushing through even when it isn't fun.

 
I'm grateful for my king size "Heavenly Bed"  from the Westin Hotel that has no animals living underneath!
 
Our pantry and closet.  Oh my, how did my parents do it?  The food had to be in bags off the floor so the animals couldn't get to them.
I'm thankful for my pantry and for my closet..even though it doesn't have Elfa shelving.
 
Making bread on the open fire.
My mom and dad always found a way to entertain even in the jungle.  Our jungle home was always filled with people.
Glad I have friends around that come over and share life with us in the good and bad times.  Learned that my house doesn't have to be "perfect" to enjoy others. Our door is a constantly revolving and we love having people in our home.
We walked everywhere!  Sometimes my dad would carry us because it was just too hard.  The mules carried our belongings behind us.
Happy that my Honda Pilot SUV serves me well by getting me around and has seat warmers.
My 11th birthday - Our second house behind us!  We upgraded to the mud hut with thatch roof.

I'm thankful my parents always made us feel special on our birthdays.  All it takes is the simple things like friends, lots of hugs,  pinatas and cake for a kid to feel special on their big day (of course back then it only lasted a day...now I milk it for a week....shhhhh, don't tell).

Rope swing we made!  We also had one that swung into the river!
The simple life made me get creative when we were bored.  We didn't have to be entertained.  I'm hoping I can teach that to my kids.
 
Of course we all know that our childhoods start the process of who we become as adults.  All of life's experiences turn us into the people that we are today. 
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What I've learned that I can apply to my business daily is that "using what we have" and making the best of every situation is a great lesson to apply to life.  Fortunately we HAD to do that as kids and it has made it easier for me now as an adult.
I wore thick glasses until I was 10 -
the best day of my life was when I got contacts.
I learned not to worry about what I looked like but what was in my heart.  Still working on that one, it's a constant process.
My business was started with the philosophy that I can "use what you have" to make something spectacular for your home.
It's been fun for me to see where my creativity was stemmed from.  I thank my Mom and Dad for teaching me so much about life from the experiences they gave me.  It was so hard for them I'm sure. 
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However, for me it was the best of times. Thanks mom for always making a HOME no matter where we were. You guys always had us involved and kept us active even in the middle of the jungle.
roper
I've been able to apply these skills to my business and use these life lessons daily as I'm introduced to new people and go into so many different homes.   

What lessons did you learn from your childhood that has made you who you are today? 

 

Ruthie

Window Shopping in Paris

The windows in Paris were all ready for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving!  We enjoyed a stroll, join me down memory lane!
The chocolates were divine!
LOVED the chandelier in Cartier's window.
This was gorgeous at night.

Sephora was hoping, I could barely walk by!
The Marriott's entry was beautiful.
Chocolate fountain flowing with dark chocolate.
Oh my!
The kids were in heaven and ate candy as we walked.
Of course, we didn't just window shop......there was lots to buy too!

Windows and Balconies in Spain

After looking at these pictures, you'll see why my neck hurt from looking up.  I was in a trance walking around this village in Spain (Pedraza).  Gorgeous, absolutely breath taking!

The views were spectacular.  Check out these rooftops as we looked out these windows.

Absolutely love this balcony above.  I'd love to frame it!
Here's the whole balcony and look at that door.  I'm going to do a post on all the doors I saw (get ready for a long post).
We at on this balcony overlooking a gorgeous courtyard!
This was our view!  Come on now, it felt like we'd gone back in time.The kids were skipping and playing just like they did in old times while we sipped wine and ate our amazing meal!
Walking back to the car, I took a few snapshots.
The above balcony is Downtown Madrid - gorgeous paintings on the buildings.
Everyone has such a different balcony and you never see dead flowers, always blooming beautifully!  Probably has something to do with not living in Texas.
Love these beams on top of the windows.  My husband made some for my kitchen about 5 years ago and I love them. They aren't inset like this but go on top of windows and doorways.  I've been able to make them work in both kitchens each time we've moved!  I'll never depart with them, especially since they were made with LOVE.
At the top of a castle looking out of the window!
Happy Tuesday to you!