Inspiration: There is an old Disney movie, Sword in the Stone, that I loved when I was little. I par

As an art therapist, Lauren knows that art can communicate symbolic self-expression. new orleans travel bureau The 1925 farmhouse she shares with her fiance, Paul, is a thoughtfully curated collection of colors, objects, and spaces new orleans travel bureau that combine to create a piece of art reflective of Lauren herself: feminine, but tomboyish; open and whimsical, but with a bit of dark mystery; fresh and evolving, but with an old soul. In this space, imperfect, everyday found objects, such as an ancient bone, feather, or key, are elevated into treasured artifacts, put on display in an ever-changing living museum, where touching, and feeling, are encouraged.
new orleans travel bureau Just minutes from Charlottesville's downtown, the urban location of Lauren and Paul's home has not diminished its farmhouse feel. In fact, the couple have embraced the idea of urban farming by converting their small yard into a lush vegetable and flower garden, complete with a chicken coop. The design of the interior of the home also embraces its farmhouse history. Despite Lauren and Paul having only lived in this home for a few months, the artifacts that make this home unique weren't collected in a day. This is a space that was organically grown, like the garden that grows outside the windows, developing new orleans travel bureau over time, after each visit to an antique shop or nature trail.
Every room in this home has a space that invites you to curl up in a chair with a cup of tea, reading a Kindle, or reflecting on the day's adventures. Surrounding new orleans travel bureau you are remembrances new orleans travel bureau from such adventures, what Lauren calls her "oddities and treasures": a medicine bottle found in the debris of an abandoned home; a buffalo hide salvaged from a yard sale; a walnut Sunday school chair found at a local thrift store. Individually, these everyday objects may seem plain or common. Arranged next to a giant white ostrich egg, beneath a pair of wooden snow shoes, or near a bright red frame displaying a page of a book on which Lauren has sketched the curling tentacles of a octopus, these objects suddenly become art, worthy of contemplation and examination. It's the unlikely combinations of damask next to heavy clay pottery, a simple bird's feather next to a gilded baroque mirror, and dark brown woods under soft white sheepskins that elevates the ordinary.
After wandering through new orleans travel bureau Lauren's house, feeling surprised by a collection of tiny animal skulls found in the forest, enchanted by the stacks of old books containing classic stories, and intrigued by the spiral courting candle next to the bed, you feel that a sense of magic and mystery abides here in these artifacts. By the time you find your way to the chicken yard, which Lauren and Paul have named "Yellow Owl Farm," you can't help but wonder if the chickens here lay golden eggs.
Inspiration: There is an old Disney movie, Sword in the Stone, that I loved when I was little. I particularly loved Merlin the magician's little cottage filled with books, animal skulls, rustic furnishings and strange ornaments I always wanted to live in a place like that.
What Friends Say: Most people describe our home as cozy, inviting, warm and relaxing . Biggest Embarrassment: I still haven't figured out how to hide the dirty laundry literally, new orleans travel bureau there are no full sized closets in the house since it was an old farmhouse from 1925. Right now there are two baskets that just hang out in the bedroom in full view.
Proudest DIY: My chicken yard. I dug the post holes, sunk the posts and put up the fencing in two days, planted blackberries and raspberries and rue along the fence line, and finished it off with planted flowers in baskets around the gate. My then-boyfriend surprised new orleans travel bureau me by adding his own DIY touch he made a custom wooden gate with a secret egg cut-out chalkboard onto which he scrawled his marriage proposal. It was a success!
Biggest Indulgence: I do a lot of scouting for project ideas and visual inspiration, so I usually stop by thrift stores, consignments, and vintage shops a few times a week. I try not to buy all the time, but 10 dollars for antique ice-skates? Who could resist?
Best Advice: This is advice appropriated from my dad, who has his own brand of kooky style, and often gives me strange found objects that I end up using in some projects. When I ask him what I'm supposed to do with a particularly bizarre object, he always says, "Use your imagination."
PAINT COLORS Dining Room: Olympic Tattered new orleans travel bureau Sail and Valspar Stonington Living Room: Pro Paint Shisu Mist Hallway: Benjamin Moore Spellbound Bedroom: Pro Paint Graceful Green, Pro Paint Pine Mist, Olympic Whispering Rain
DINING ROOM Cowhide: ecowhides.com Sheepskins: similar to IKEA Ren sheepskin Upholstered chair: Pottery Barn Blanket on chair: Pier One Imports Snowshoes: LLBean Cuckoo clock: Black Forest Clocks Sunday school chair: Circa
BEDROOM Desk: Crate & Barrel Jewelry new orleans travel bureau display: Rock Paper Scissors Bed accent pillow: Anthropologie 60-Hour Courting candle: Sundance Catalog new orleans travel bureau Water carafe: Pottery Barn Nightstand: new orleans travel bureau Pier One Imports Lamp: IKEA
HOUSE TOUR ARCHIVE: Check out past house tours here . Interested in sharing your home with Apartment Therapy? Contact the editors through our House Tour Submission Form . Are you a designer/architect/decorator interested in sharing new orleans travel bureau a residential project with Apartment Therapy readers? Contact the editors through our Professional Submission Form .
Love the chicken, even though they make me nervous new orleans travel bureau (like Mickey Rourke in Angel Heart); Very homey abode with nice touches. I'll pass on the animal hides. They are becoming the "IKEA" of floor coverings.
We live in an old home, too, with very small closets. We hung hooks on the backs of all the bedroom doors hang a laundry bag from the middle section, so it hangs close to the floor. When the doors are open, the laundry new orleans travel bureau is hidden. When the door is shut, only those inside new orleans travel bureau can see it a canvas bag doesn't look too bad :)
I just had to comment on the Sword in the Stone inspiration! One of the very best children's movies (Disney, even) and really holds up today. It's the King Arthur story and my kids love it! They really have captured the whimsical new orleans travel bureau flavor of talking owls, magical teapots, antique textiles, and childlike wonder at nature that exists in this film. Absolutely love it.
I had a novelization of The Sword in the Stone that was given to me for my birthday the year the movie came out (1963) and read it over and over. I never saw the movie until it was reissued in theaters in 1973. I rounded up my nieces and nephews and took them to see it, but that was just my excuse for finally seeing it myself! I recommend new orleans travel bureau it highly and was tickled to see it as one of the inspirations on this tour. Seeing it again a few years ago, one of the standout elements was indeed Merlin's cottage and I think the house on this tour does get some of that mystical and enchanted vibe but in an American, down-homey way, as if Merlin were transported through space and time to the Blue Ridge mountains. A delightful and unique tour.
I just reread the survey and have to ask Lauren new orleans travel bureau if you picked your paint colors at least partly for the names......Tattered Sail, Shisu Mist, Graceful Green, Spellbound , Pine Mist. Given your interests and inspiration sources, I bet dollars to doughnuts those color names spoke to you!
Kirrie81- I really enjoy the chickens- despite having lost one to a fox, and having to herd the flock out of neighbors yards occasionally, they are really easy to care for, and interesting to watch. When I need some quiet time I will go sit near them and just watch. :)
I am enchanted with the unusual chest of drawers with the leaf relief carving in photo 25. Was this a family piece? Where did you find it and what was the history of it's purchase? Did you have to refurbish it at all?
HHri- the sheepskins, like most of my hides, we're purchased second hand at a consignment store but if you don't have the time or access to peruse thrifts or consignments, I know IKEA had sold them for a while.