Nancy and Her Daughters

Today we first view Kiery Braithwaite's wedding reception which she wanted at home; her mother, of course, made it all perfect.  The weather did not cooperate, but Nancy had planned for that eventuality.  If you read my earlier posts on Nancy, you will recognize her garage, her living room and her impeccable taste.

From July-August of 2003

"The ultimate outdoor party" referred to on the cover is Nancy's and Kiery's.  And their confident color is red.  Can you believe the image below was taken in a rented tent?  Nancy used a sheer gauzy fabric stretched across the ceiling of the tent and used white table runners on the chairs.  Brilliant.

Note the red buttons on Kiery's dress, bridesmaid's shoes, ribbon on bouquets and the plan-ahead umbrellas.

Nancy planned two tents for the reception, one in the front yard for cocktails and one in the back yard for dinner.  Below is the cocktail tent with its own beautiful touch of red on the chandelier.

Kiery and her bridesmaids with their red sweaters and Kiery's red ribbon on her white tulips.

Remember the Braithwaite garage from my previous post?  Here it is transformed with two huge wedding wreaths.  (With the chef standing nearby, the garage may have been the staging area for food prep.)

Guests' table assignments held in a grass-filled basket, and a small red heart on menus.  All so perfect.

Baskets of slippers for wet feet all sporting a red star.

Just in case of rain, Nancy purchased red umbrellas one year ahead of the wedding.  However did she guess it might rain?

How pretty is this!  The room's details are in the box to the left - red evident in the strawberry Belinis.  So cool.

Here we see Nancy's living and dining rooms transformed for the wedding.

My blog, of course, is not about wedding planning at all, but having planned one rehearsal dinner and one reception for my own children, I cannot help but be in awe of the forethought, planning, and beauty of this reception.

Onto the home of Chaffee Braithwaite, Nancy's other daughter, where mother's touch is again evident.  All images are from Cottage Living, March 2008.  While Nancy's tastes may have influenced her, Chaffee definitely seems to have her own taste too as you will read in the article.  

I've  included all the text from the article.  Nice change from my comments and more informative.  (Sorry for the see-through print here.)

Just one quick comment, five years later, Kiery is seen below with her daughter Kate and Chaffee.

Can definitely see her mother's influences.

Really like the bathroom mirror, but then I really like the whole house.

And now a few photos of b braithwaite, the store co-owned by Chafee and her mom,  as seen on LuxeCrush.com.  Chaffee and Erich below.

Photos of the shop and in the shop are by Alice Park.

How sweet is this shop, and note the lack of primary colors.  Everything is still pale and serene.

Leaving the Braithwaites and Atlanta for a bit, and considering there was only one kitchen in this post so far, I will  end as usual with images of a few other kitchens I have loved.   Love the paneling and the stain in the first kitchen...

the art and white simplicity in the second...

the art and simple cupboards in the third...

and the funky, industial-ness of the last.  Really need those seven houses just to have all my varied kitchen styles.  I see little room for comprimise here.

And lastly, a beautiful and season-appropriate still life by Jonathan Koch.  I'd like this in any of the kitchens above - well, maybe not #4.

So ends today's post which seemed a bit disjointed as I read it over, but sometimes life is disjointed.  Right?

Next time, my last Nancy Braithwaite post with more of her rooms I really love.

Till then,

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A Still Later Nancy Braithwaite

Many of you may have seen the House Beautiful and Veranda issues in which this later work of Nancy's appeared, but if so you should see it again.  Such beautiful work should be immortalized.  Why doesn't she write a book??  (Every other designer has.)  I'd buy it and do not think I'd be alone.
Here we go.

From November of 2000...

The article below features changes made to her home while still using most of the pieces we've seen in her earlier work.  She reuses and rearranges her things and adds a sunroom to the house.

Cute sheep history.  I'm so sorry for the center crease - her book would never have such a thing.  Remember the stone garage - it will appear in a future post about Nancy.

She had a mix of slipcovered arm chairs around a table long before Restoration Hardware did.  (I love Restoration Hardware, but how can it be as unique as Nancy if everyone has their product.)

Her new sunroom is to give one's eye teeth for.  Do you recognize her tables and wonderful bowls?

Again, apologies for the crease.

Family room now displays drawings by self-taught Alabama artist, Bill Traylor, which we have seen earlier in her living room.

Her newly remodeled kitchen - very contemporary with antique touches - stool and jugs.  Love it.

Gone is her checkered wall :(

But, a bathroom with a simply stenciled wall pattern matching the stone floor appears.  Great shutter - you know how I feel about interior shutters by this time.

Burlap has disappeared from her bed draperies but has reappeared in the bathroom's window treatment.

Checkerboard walls have disappeared, but dalmatian spots have appeared.  Again my eye teeth are in danger - that kas on the left is so, so great.

Couldn't you move right into this house??  

But wait till you see it at Christmas in the 2002 November-December issue of Veranda.  Please know, I am not trying to rush the Christmas season at all, but am trying to stay on my chronological journey.

Interesting details about her design aesthetic and work history on the right.

OMG, is this not to die for!  When I saw this room, all my children's homemade ornaments were relegated to the attic, and my quest for clear glass balls began.  Can you just imagine how wonderful this room smells - not an artificial anything to be found, just trees, apples and a roaring fire.

How cool is this room and note that the mantel is still the very one from my earliest images of her work.  Could the wall be subtle checkerboard treatment?

Just to refresh your memory on the mantel...

So, so "not-cutesy"; so, so uniquely natural.

Note the cranberries in the bowl.  I must have bought ten bags of cranberries that year trying to emulate this media room (which I had not see before).

How beautiful are her colors here.  Note the difference between her holiday decor compared to the decor on Verands's cover.  I am really in love with what she did here.  As the above caption wrote, "Subtle."

I don't know where to end here, so subtle "kitchens I have loved" came to mind.   One from Bobby McAlpine.

One from AM Atelier.

And one from John Saladino's Villa Dilemma.

All subtle in their own way.  And last but not least, I leave you with food of the season.

Next time, more Braithwaite, more current and still beautiful.
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