My Personal Home: Beginning and End

The big reveal...

When I bought this house in 2006, I didn't have anything except a bed and some old furniture.   I worked with Anne Williams to pick out some new pieces and recover some sofas and chairs (originally plaid and jean).

You can see some of the new fabric above.... plus you can look at that cute Sister, so you're welcome.  She did a great job setting up my house so I could live in it.  It was sleek and minimalist... like a New York loft.  (I am KICKING myself for not having pictures of it when she finished.  It looked amazing.)

Unfortunately I like buying things.  Over the next five years I bought art and tables and accessories.  Having absolutely ZERO interior design talent, my house ended up looking like this.

There were great things there, but it just didn't feel finished.  Also, I started craving color.  Don't get me wrong, I love neutrals, but I was ready for a change. It was about that time when my good friend Cristi Holcomb of Charm Home suggested to Simply Buckhead that they feature my house.  There it was.  The push I needed to finish the house.

Having no idea how to start, I begged enlisted the help of my friend, the very talented designer Laura Green of L. Green Studios. She said the house was in desperate need of paint, refreshing and framed art.  Just as she gave in  agreed to help me, the snowpocolypse of 2011 hit.  For the next week and a half, my friends and family worked tirelessly (read the blog post about it here)...

There is my sweet mom painting book shelves.

My things all over...

Guest room with its bold new paint color...

At the end of the week and a half we were exhausted but ready for the Simply Buckhead photographers.

And then it was over.  I was happy to have the house finished and everything...  but as you know I am a photographer... a house photographer to be exact.  I needed to capture the project myself.

Enter Brian Patrick Flynn.  Among his NUMEROUS talents, he produces stories and photo shoots for his acclaimed blog Decor Demon.  He asked if we could shoot my house.  DUH.  I got coffee and sandwiches and waited for his crew to arrive.

We worked together for the next 7 or 8 hours, moving things around, creating vignettes, discovering Brian's vision for my home.

He directed, I photographed.

And finally we are ready to reveal my house.  Brian wrote the coolest story about it.  I am so flattered... and I can't believe I actually LIVE here.  How lucky am I?

This is my favorite photo we took!  To see the final pictures of my house, please visit Brian's blog, Decor Demon.

Have a great weekend everybody!

-Blayne

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Keith Summerour, the perfect glass of wine, my NYE dress...

For those of you who have been reading this blog a while, you know I am slightly obsessed with Keith Summerour.

If you are looking for a laugh you can read this post I write about him 2 years ago titles "Keith Summerour: What makes it a Summerour?"  I think it was maybe my 3rd blog post ever.  Cute Blayne.

I somehow got the nerves to interview him a year later about this house.  It was a wildly popular post.  Read it if you like.

People like Keith's houses because it is modern without being too modern.  It's clean and European and just a tad bit equestrian.  I adore his work, and that is true for Glennis Beacham's new listing at 5549 Long Island Drive. It's lovely and everything a Summerour should be.

The home is beautiful from the approach.  I love the arches (back right), which are so characteristically Summerour.

The heavy wooden doors are very wide (like barn doors), which provides a nice entrance to the home.

This foyer is open and welcoming.

Love this dining room with the wood windows and cathedral ceiling.

The best part about the living room is the curved/trey ceiling.  Oh yea, that fireplace is pretty amazing as well.  Oh heck... I love the floors and the arched hallways as well, so it's all great!

What a great kitchen!  There is so much prep space with the center island, and then you can have people eating at the island closest to us in these pictures.  The wood beams on the ceiling tie the kitchen to the rest of the house and echo the floors nicely.

This is the family room right off the kitchen.  You can see how the wood beams are continued in here, and the oversized windows let you look out to the back (we will see that later).

This hallway leads to the master suite, and is so reflective of Summerour's style with the arched doorways, beamed ceilings and wood doors opening to the front porch.

I like the trey ceiling in the master, and all the windows allow for tons of natural light.  That's also a really cool fan that I am just noticing for the first time!

Look at the archway leading to the master bath!  It's interesting how it's open from the bedroom into the bath, but the shower is off to the side, so it's still private.

Let's head outside!

Not to shabby, eh?

Oh yea, this is the approach to the house.  Amazing, right?  It's like something out of a childhood fantasy.  Once again Keith Summerour=Perfection....  duh.

To see the rest of this dream home, click here.

In other news....  (I'll make this quick... I know you only came for the houses!  ha ha.)

1.

My NYE dress came in, and I couldn't be happier!!  If you don't ignore my horribly messy closet behind me I'll die.  I cropped it as tight as I could.   Now I get to wear this $70 dress that looks much more expensive for the Christmas party and New Years!  Shhh.  Don't tell anyone.  Also, sorry for the confusion in the dress post.  I am FOR SURE going to NYC to see Phish at MSG for NYE (wow!).  I have THE BEST boyfriend ever.  He got us 4 nights FREE at the Four Seasons New York and got us tickets to all four nights of Phish.  He is amazing...  I am a very lucky girl with a REALLY cool dress.

2. 

We finally took our Christmas card picture.  This is usually painful because Ben bitches and mom and I always think we look bad.  This year was a breeze!  My uncle, Rod Collins, took the picture.  He's very talented, especially when it comes to people.  Let me know if you would like him to take a picture for you!

3.

I discovered the perfect glass of wine.  Jimmy and I went to Roswell on Saturday and ate at Salt Factory Pub, which Jimmy claims was the best place he's eaten in Georgia... so there.  This glass of wine is called "Knights Valley" by Beringer.  I went to Beringer when I was in Napa a few years ago and and was really impressed.  I have tried a lot of their wine, but this was the best glass I've had by them.... maybe by anyone.  Do yourself a favor and order a case.  Since I don't know how to talk about wine, I am stealing this from The Wine Enthusiast, "an appealing wine showing likable softness and flashy flavors. The palate brings cassis, mocha, licorice, sweet tobacco, sage, Asian spice and smoky oak; finished long and rich. Notable for its superb structure."  See?  Told ya.

Don't say I never gave you anything! Happy Holidays Kid-Os

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