Magazine Envy

My heart beat a little faster today after I went to the mailbox. Enclosed, was the May/June issue of Veranda. It was the first issue of my subscription but more importantly was the beautiful cover, done in creams, whites and pink, my favorite color.

I have always been fascinated with houses. I am not sure where this obsession came from, but it’s been there for as long as I can remember. I was a young teenager when I spent the summer building our house with my father. The whole family would take a six week vacation to Idaho; most of the family stayed with my Aunt and Uncle at their home and my father and I used to stay at the house we were building. Dad had spent twenty some years in the army and had been out for a few years now and was building this house for us. He drew the blueprints up himself and had done just about everything except the electrical work. We would never live there though-he died a short time later and the house was sold.

I have a couple of homes in my dreams. I designed all of them and each have certain things that love. There’s the City Home that looks over Lake Michigan, high in the sky. This home would have a southern exposure which would give me great view of the lake plus some of the city’s skyline. The drapes in my living room would be done in a deep orange silk taffeta, the color of rich coral, and would puddle on the floor. The color, would be a perfect contrast to the aqua blue color of the lake and make it pop. It would have a cream sofa, done in a textured fabric, along with maple hardwood floors and a custom patterned rug. It would have Waterford crystal lamps, with the pineapple base, that would flank the sofa. The highlight of this home would be the deck or outdoor space. It would be loaded with all kinds of white and peach geraniums, along with white furniture with a blue and white ticking for the covers. There would be other beach momentos out there, perhaps some old country signs and a table for those cool summer drinks. There would of course, be some kind of chair that rocked, even if it wasn’t a rocking chair, and of course an ottoman, to put up your feet. There would be seating for two and that’s it. Just enough to have some conversation, but not too many chairs that you attract the whole neighborhood. One of the highlights of the summer would be the fireworks over the lake, only to be outdone by Venetian Night, which is where all the sailboats are decorated in lights for the evening, and circle the lake. I would spend my days watching all of the brightly colored sailboats out over the water, doing nothing mostly, and then fall asleep dreaming of spending a romantic evening walking along the sand with someone I love.

The Country Home would have lots of acreage. It would have a name of course, on a wrought iron sign at the far end of the property. You would drive up a long winding road to the main house. Along the driveway, there would be giant lilac bushes that would ambush your senses with the magnificent color and sweet scent drawing you closer to the main house. It would include wide expanses of a perfectly manicured yard that looked out as far as the eye could see. Throughout the property, would be the flowering crab apple trees, some with white and others with pink blossoms. On the far outskirts of the property would be a white railed country type fence, the kind with three long horizontal beams that go across between posts. At the end of the yard, there would be some large weeping willows, trimmed straight across, which would surround a beautiful pond, that was only visible, if you walked out that far. There would be a cutting garden of course, filled with row after row of roses, my favorite flower, all ready for me to cut and place in every room of my home, but especially on the dressers near the bed, so that I could smell them every morning, as soon as I woke up. There would be an organic vegetable garden too, so that there would be nothing but fresh vegetables, an herb garden and some pumpkins too, so I could have a spectacular fall harvest display. A lap pool would grace the south side of the house, for the occasional visitor that swimmed. A brick paver pathway would meander throughout the property making it accessible for Dear Son, and on the one side, a large wooden swingset, for him to swing on. A large pink Rose of Sharon bush would sit next to the swing set.

You would be enticed to come indoors by the sweet smell of hot baked bread or fresh tollhouse cookies, all baked in my AGA stove. With several ovens, I could make some or all of them, along with fruit pies or fruit crisps, all made with the organic fruit from my own trees in the orchard, that also resides on the property. The kitchen would feature painted cabinets and lots of bead board, and of course a farmhouse sink that overlooked the large yard. The drapes above the sink, might be done in a toile fabric, complete with children or flowers in the scenes. It would include a huge pantry, for all my canning jars and supplies, as well as for my canned goods.

The Country Home would also include 5 inch wide plank wooden floors, in a light stain that would contrast with the white covered furniture that would be throughout the house. There would be a large fireplace, used every day in the winter, and home made quilts, one of which the cat would curl up on, and make the house look real cozy. There would be large windows in every room that would let in lots of light during the day and those cool summer breezes at night. The bedrooms would be simple in design, most likely white walls, with beautiful simple fabrics covering the windows, all of which were washable. The guest bedrooms, would be covered in brightly colored pastel fabrics, like the pink and white room, shown above. The bathroom, would have a claw foot tub and a pine three drawer chest or armoire, to store the all white terry cloth towels as well as hold the candles and the pastel colored bath salts, all requirements for a wonderful soak in the tub, which would look out over the property. The highlight of the Country House, would be it’s large porch. There would be a large front porch, complete with a bead board ceiling, a painted front porch floor, a ceiling fan and a porch swing. There would be French doors from both the living and dining rooms, that would open up onto the porch. White rocking chairs would sit on both the front and back porch and of course, pots and pots of gorgeous flowers. Near the back porch, would be all of the herbs, so that they would be close to the kitchen, for cooking.

Of course, I would have a Main House too, located in the suburbs, but that will have to be a topic for another post. For the time being though, unless I win the lottery, I will have to just look at the magazines.