Belgium, California, Pennsylvania, and Maine

Bet you are wondering what these disparate areas have in common.  They are all places where I might (if I win the Power Ball) have one of my five houses.  But they are so different, you say.  Therein lies my conundrum.  But, since I have not won any lotteries, I will just stay put in upstate New York and dream of other lands and other houses like the ones that follow.

A Belgium home appeared in this 1999  edition of English Homes and Gardens and immediately caught my attention with its clean, neutral, spare design.

"You have got to be kidding!" my family and friends cried, "this is not you."  But it is - part of me loves it.

Moving along - California.  (Sorry I cannot note this article's origin- tore it from its original magazine before ever thinking about blogging.)  It has many common elements with the Belgian one above - a neutral palette, uncluttered-ness, serenity.

 

This home might be a bit too funky for me now - the driftwood bed, the canvas curtains - but I still love its clean, natural look, and it stopped me in my tracks years ago and made me look at design differently.  

Onto Pamela Pierce in 2006 - another lesson in neutrality.

Who wouldn't love this look??

Whether these doors are rust or black, you "gotta love 'em".

Similar neutrality and spareness here.

A bit of bright orange to enliven all the neutrals.  Necessary??

Even in October, Californians enjoy open doors.  All that wonderful weather has a tiny drawback.  A garden designer from California once explained to me that their gardens have to look beautiful all year long.  The northeastern climes have a respite from gardening several months of the year.  I have to say, by the time the leaves are collected, I'm ready for inside tasks.  Still, the open doors and vineyards look beautiful to me.

Touch of green inside.

Even the dog is neutral.

Love this bath.  At my home, a chipmunk would probably join me.

Breezeway leading to courtyard.

So, so lovely.  Who wouldn't want a home just like this one.

But then, there's Wyeth country in Pennsylvania with all its artists and antiques - a place I love. Remember this example from one of my previous posts.

There are no French doors or open baths, but the history and the antiques!

Oh, the antiques...

and wooden bowl...

and coziness,,,

and deep-set windows,

and the art.  Not a lot of neutrality here, but so much to match it in other ways.

Then I found the following article about Anna B (Andrew Wyeth's niece), in Maine.

And the family's art... 

no vineyards, but the ocean...

and antiques...

and history...

and antiques...

and studios...

and books.  Definitely need a home in Maine.  What to do, what to do?  If lottery winnings are not in my future, I'll just keep planning my five houses in my mind and on my blog!

I have not forgotten that this blog is entitled Kitchens I Have Loved.  So here's a few I have.

See how different yet how beautiful these kitchens are?   What's a non-winner of the Lottery to do?

Neutral, spare, antique, Belgian, Californian, Pennsylvanian, or Maine-r - love them all.  So, I'll just keep dreaming of my five houses and blogging about them here.  

Stay tuned and stay cool.  (Over 90 here today.)

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