When it comes to their homes — and many other pursuits domestic — women seem to be throwing out the old “sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G” approach to settling down.
No longer is “first comes love, then comes marriage” the standard order of business. More and more, single women are taking the route of first comes a house, then comes a designer. And if Mr. Right comes along, that’s OK, too.
“If you’re waiting to get married to decorate your place, you may be waiting a long time,” says Sara Ruffin Costello, creative director at Domino, a style magazine catering to 25- to 45-year-olds. (more…)
Some interior designers think of neutrals as comfortable, safe and soothing. Darryl Savage uses them for drop-dead dramatic effect.
“I get tired of color,” he says. “I love white. It’s very crisp. You can always change things up by adding flowers or pillows. Or add a little bit of black for punch.”
A decade ago, Savage’s parents bought a small 1950s rancher on the Severn River to use as a weekend house. They couldn’t have dreamed that when they sold it to their son after his divorce, he would transform the simple structure into a combination art gallery, stage set and rustic lake getaway. (more…)
Rick Kleponis describes his house as two-faced. There’s the street side and the water side and both with different personalities.
The street side has the traditional contemporary look of a 21st-century house. The windows are shuttered with a small front porch and stone facade around the two-car garage. It’s very prim and proper.
The waterside has what Mr. Kleponis calls a Carolina look with a wide-pillared porch, a patio apron around the pool and chairs and tables for relaxing and dining. It’s beachy and casual. (more…)
You don’t just open a door and wander into a Parade of Homes house.
You travel through custom-designed iron gates and into an expansive courtyard. Or into a room with a wall of windows and a view of the pool.
Then comes the Italian Travertine floors, European cabinets, massive stone fireplaces, coffee bars in the master suite and outdoor kitchens nicer than your actual kitchen.
At the 2006 Parade of Homes in New Braunfels, it’s all about the details.
“Everything is hand-done and custom-ordered,” said Bart Goldblum of the Laredo-based Artison Homes, whose parade home entryway features a cross vault ceiling covered with Travertine in a herringbone pattern.
The Parade of Homes continues through Sunday in the RockWall Ranch neighborhood, a rural, gated community in New Braunfels. (more…)
