My Secret Garden Wish...

Ever dream about that "Secret Garden"? I sure do! And with all of our fabulous resources these days it's made it even more exciting and accessible! 

I feel like a whole new world has opened up with all of the help from fellow bloggers and Pinterest and just the internet in general! It's so much fun to see what everyone else is doing out in the garden world!

Boy was I glad to hear that last sentence from her!! I can't tell you how many mistakes I've made in my feeble gardening attempts! I'm glad to know that even an expert says you can always start over!

I know my last post was also about this genius couple and their magnificent property in New Jersey but it focused on the Barn…this focuses on the property! I for one am busy planting away in my own yard and it's always a trial and error type of thing! Now…I'm hoping to try even harder at being inspired by such an incredible talent!

I'm really enjoying reading about all that this couple has done in the way of transformations and in their expertise in gardening and design. I guess it's ok to live vicariously every once in a while!

I wouldn't mind actually meeting them one day either!

 

For now…I will just study their gardens, share what I find and try to incorporate it into my weak attempt at a garden! At least it's fun for me to try and grow new things…and I love watching the progress! 

The urgent issue at the moment..the one that's easier to deal with I should say…is choosing all of the right pots, urns, garden decor, etc….I've seen so many choices lately!

Especially on my new found blog that I'm in love with! Tone on Tone with Loi Thai. Trust me, you don't want to miss out on anything that he puts up! 

I'm in love with this pond and "birdbath" or fountain…that sits on Andrea and William's property.

And who wouldn't want to entertain on a table like this! 

And in a garden setting so wonderful!!

But with all of the pictures on Pinterest and everybody's blogs that are so wonderful, sometimes it can be a bit frightening to simply pick out that perfect garden urn! Or that pot that looks aged and worn with time! Not to mention the stress of planting the plants in them to make them look like a gorgeous piece of art or a spectacular painting!

I feel certain that if we were friends they could advise me on which urn to buy…what to plant with my rosemary bushes on my front porch….and all kinds of really helpful…meaningful advice!

In fact, they might even say, "Carolyn…that rosemary is way too small for that beautiful pot you just bought last week!" And then…I think they would get distracted with precious Zoie and finally tell me that I was doing just fine with my planting...

Now I do know that I need to remove the bag of dirt, sweep up the debris…and finish planting the trailing  Ornamental Oregano and Creeping Jenny! ( I just love the name, Creeping Jenny!) It makes me laugh! Ok…enough already…back to what Andrea would say…

( I bet she would LOVE my Ornamental Oregano!)

You go girl! I like the way you think and I REALLY like the way you garden and design! I hope I'm not being a Creeping Carolyn by researching all that you are doing on this gorgeous property but I for one happen to love it! It's inspiring, it's innovative and it's Incredible!!! I know everyone is enjoying getting to see the end results of your hard work and loving attention to such a beautiful place!

Happy weekend and Happy planting to everyone! I'm hoping we get to finish ours…we shall see! I will have my "hop along cassidy" hubby beside me to help! Bless his heart! Maybe he planned to get hurt right now just to get out of planting! No…..surely not??

Much love and well wishes for a wonderful weekend!

There's Just Something About A Barn...

Little did I know that my love for barns, covered bridges and all things forgotten would lead to my loving and searching out houses that have been transformed from barns! Or should I say….barns that have been lovingly transformed into homes and havens! 

I fell in love with this beautiful barn/home when I saw it on Rachael Halverson's blog which you can see here. To my delight…I found out that it is right here in my own home town!
 Designed by one of my favorites, Dungan-Nequette ,just makes me want to find it all the more! Wonder if it will ever have a "FOR SALE" sign in the yard? 

Wishful thinking I'm sure!!! 

Oh well, while searching Pinterest and other design sources my heart stopped at the article I read in Elle Decor magazine! What an amazing transformation this couple performed on such a lovely piece of property in New Jersey…..

Just take a look…..

Ode to the Past

A couple transform four derelict barns in the middle of New Jersey into a lush and romantic haven richly layered with artifacts and artistry…

Four ramshackle barns in the middle of New Jersey horse country.That's all Andrea Filippone and William Welch could see on the windswept, 35-acre plot when they first drove up in 1993. But instead of desolation row, the husband and wife saw the ideal canvas. "The place was pretty much abandoned, but we saw what could be," says Filippone. "In a way, it made it easier that only the bones were there."

The couple, who met as students at Harvard University's School of Design, have spent the past 18 years turning the property into a grand, sprawling estate. By linking the barns, they have created an 11,000-square-foot live-and-work space that serves as the base for their company, Tendenze Design, and as a showcase for their style, which revolves around ambitious architectural salvage. In 2000, after five years of construction, they finally moved in. But things are never done. "We tend to keep changing every year," says Filippone

So imposing are the couple's own home and gardens that magazines and luxury brands looking for a historic setting with aristocratic undertones (Ralph Lauren, Vogue) often book photo shoots there. In June, Filippone will host "Earthly Delights," an event for rare-plant enthusiasts and garden-antiques dealers that will be open to the public.

It isn't hard to imagine what editors and stylists see: In addition to the vast formal greenery, the couple have strenuously preserved the charm of the original structures. Despite the mammoth chore of joining the barns into a graceful home, Welch and Filippone kept as many of the beams and structural elements as possible. In their effort to make the place habitable year-round, for example, they resisted the usual barn renovation tactic of covering up the beams with insulation and slapping drywall over everything; instead, they lifted the roof and put the insulation between the existing beams and the new shingles. "It was a big job, but it leaves the most beautiful part intact and gives an enduring sense of history," says Filippone.

In fact, far from seeming like four barns jerry-rigged into a single dwelling, the home looks as though it could be a manor house handed down through the generations. The main barn stands as an illustration of their approach: As big as a banquet hall, it is dominated by a huge plaster-cast mantel that was once in a Manhattan brownstone designed by McKim, Mead & White. Filippone and her father, a surgeon who shares her love for beautiful old things, spent a year chipping the paint by hand from the plaster. "Everything flowed from that mantel," says Filippone, "the furnishings, the layout, the feeling."

When it comes to furnishings, Filippone and Welch aren't much for color or pattern, for themselves or for clients. "Our projects tend to be more about structure, shape, and craftsmanship," she explains. In their own home, the walls are shades of taupe and green and the upholstery is mainly mohair, linen, and leather. "To make the architectural elements really stand out, the background has to be muted," she says.

The property is also the perfect expression of Filippone's boundless landscape-design ambitions. "William mostly concentrates on the architecture part of the practice these days, while I've found myself more and more involved with things outside," she explains

(If this doesn't make your heart long for a barn…or barns…that you could transform then I don't know what will!)

(In my very humble opinion….there's a design quality found on the East Coast that we just don't see down in the South…I'm not saying that we don't have beautiful, gorgeous designs ourselves because we do! But my heart has always had a special place for the East Coast!)

(In fact, when I opened my shop in 2000 my husband and I took a trip up the East Coast to buy for the grand opening! I'm longing to go back!!!)

In the end, says Filippone, the biggest compliment "is that people say this place looks like it's been here forever. That's what makes me smile. That's what we're going for."

( she is a woman after my own heart!)

I hope you will make the time to read this entire article for yourself…it is definitely worth it! You can find it here.

I know I enjoyed seeing this "More Than Fabulous Article" on the barns restored by such a talented duo and their business called Tendenze Design and I intend to find even more treasures that have been transformed at one time or another!

And just in case this didn't convince you that barns ARE ALL THAT!! Take a look at some more of their wonderful work!

Thanks for stopping by!