A manor house fit for a queen

Nestled within 66 acres of beautifully manicured gardens and parkland in Tunbridge Wells, England is Hepburn House, a manor befitting a queen. Or a princess. Or a really high-paid actress. The decor is fairly minimal and essentially all white so it frankly is underwhelming but what I can say is that helps to not distract from the glorious details like many fireplaces, panelled walls, incredibly detailed plasterwork, 12' ceilings, massive windows and dark wood floors. The rooms are SO BIG. What a dream home this would be to decorate. You could fit anything anywhere. *SIGH* Another location home available via Shoot Factory. 

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Foyers with painted wainscoting/wood paneling

Some of you may not believe this, but after reviewing everything I thought I had decided on for the flooring on my main floor, I made another decision. Brace yourselves.....I AM GOING TO PAINT OUT MY MAHOGANY WAINSCOTING! (You can revisit that awfulness in this post) I realized that if I am going to redo all of this flooring that I am totally unhappy with, how can I keep this mahogany that I really REALLY don't like? It will be a big job that I can hopefully hire someone to take care of so I do not end up in the mental hospital down the road, and I have not yet come up with a plan for the colour. I figure I will deal with re-staining the floor, see what the result of that is, and then find something that works with it and the Farrow & Ball lotus wallpaper I am dying to use for the upper parts of the wall. So on this note, I thought I would share some photos of foyers with painted out wainscoting and wood paneling that I came across while doing a little research. (Dear gawd, what have I gotten myself into!)

Philip Gorrivan

Better Homes and Gardens

One King's Lane

FusionD

Style At Home

ML Interior Design

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LOVE!

I was having a hard time trying to find something to follow my previous post with. I am head over heels in love with that last house...but I think this living room is in the same vein. It has a little more funk and I love the addition of the wall colour. By Mrs Sullivan Interiors. Photo: Francis Dzikowski.

A renovated Park Slope brownstone

And here I thought my new home had lots of beautiful architectural detail. This Park Slope, NY brownstone renovated by Abelow Sherman Architects has incredible panelling, moldings, stained glass and inlaid hardwood flooring at every turn. I am a bit sad that every single bit of woodwork has been painted (and white, blah). Yes folks, I have turned into ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE! (LOL)

Walls of wood

I was thinking about doing a blog favourites post today as I typically do on Sundays but I am a bit too distracted to spend the time blog surfing. You see, back in April I mentioned (ok, bitched about) a French oral test I had at work. Unfortunately I did not get the grade I needed, and since then I have had no French training (due to lack of a training budget). All of a sudden on Tuesday I found out I am permitted full time training for the month of October, then I have to take the test, and once again I need to pass the freaking thing or potentially lose the position I have been working towards for the past 8 years. No pressure or anything. So if I have any spare time for the next several weeks, I need to have my nose buried in my French notes. *insert expletives here* The joys of working for the government of a bilingual country.
I was trying to figure out what post I could do relatively quickly, and realized I had some photos saved of "wood walls" - inspiration for my house when it finally gets renovated (on that note, we're now considering tearing it down and rebuilding, which has thrown me for a loop, as that was never the plan when I bought this house). I want a rustic touch to the place, and what better way than a wall covered in wood slats...or maybe panels, but I'm leaning towards slats. Here are some photos with walls of wood that I really like. (See also this post on wood panelling)

House To Home
H&D Homes
Le Journal de la Maison
Design*Sponge
Avotakka
Design*Sponge

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