Page 179 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2016

HOME personality and charm
OPPOSITE PAGE: THE ENTRANCE to this french-style home has lots of charm.
ABOVE: The live oaks surround this home offering a gorgeous view and inviting shade throughout the year.
Together they’ve produced a home and surroundings with personality and charm. There’s a sophisticated French vibe throughout the home with an evident love of antiques. It begins at the front entry where a Welsh sideboard, green plants and wall-hung wire baskets give a preview of all that is to come.
During the renovation, old carpet was removed and revealed asbestos tiles underneath. “We could not disturb the tiles so we poured concrete over it,” Harry said. “We had to pour four inches to make the floors level. Then we stained it black.” The effect
is eye catching and makes a worthy background for area rugs.
The home’s wall colors are in neutral tones, making a lovely and restful foil for the furnishings. The large living/ dining room space is welcoming with a few spots of bright color — such as the red faux antelope head hanging over the mantle. Linen skirted Parson’s chairs surround a round concrete table that was shipped from California.
This room includes several outstanding antiques — a framed Chinese tapestry with sections of rich blue that indicate it was made for
royalty; an 18th Century farm table that’s used as a desk; stone fruit from the 1600s occupies a place of honor on the coffee table; an 18th Century French cabinet holds a collection of white ironstone. “The house had to have high enough ceilings for this French piece,” Adriana says.
The couple added a screened porch off the living room that is the perfect place to while away a summer afternoon with a good book, watch
a sports event on the TV that hides behind sliding barn-style doors, or have a snack at the corner table. The high, vaulted bead board ceiling, gas lamps and weather-proof fabrics add to the porch’s comfort.
The large kitchen is a cook’s dream with lots of cabinets and natural light — all in soothing shades of white
and gray. Custom-built cabinet doors have inset chicken wire in true French tradition. Both Adriana and Harry like to cook as evidenced by the serious appliances: a Dacor commercial stove and built-in German-made Miele steam oven that can do most anything and a coffee system that goes from beans to cup with the push of a button.
Harry likes to ask visitors to name
their favorite room, and says women usually choose the laundry room. That’s because it’s not a typical laundry room. In fact, it’s so attractive that it has a glass door making it easy to catch glimpses of this room from the living room and hallway. There are bright red rugs, a red light fixture, a skirted sink, French accessories and cabinets of reclaimed wood.
The den has drapes of archival fabric repurposed from Adriana’s New
York apartment, a 13-foot couch and interesting cow prints accenting the dark wall.
All the rooms of this home are tasteful and charming and have special touches. In one bathroom, old doors have been used to front shelves. There are framed dog prints from New Yorker magazine cartoons adding whimsey to a hallway. The master bath has shiplap on the walls and a beveled mirror over the sinks. The master bedroom sports a colorful beachy fabric, a custom-designed cabinet and a cherry bedside table.
It all comes together in a way that makes the “16-month ordeal” worth the time and effort.
FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net
October 2016 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 179