Last week on my way down to work on the show house in Alabama, I stopped at my friend Lucy’s for lunch.
I acted like I was stopping for the chicken salad and coleslaw, but just between us….
…I really came because I wanted to see this ceiling and those beams and these succulents in an old vintage container and that random glass sculpture on that table that looks like it was made by some pilgrims and hauled over on the Mayflower.
And I wanted to see those corbels.
I always brake for corbels.
Here’s my friend Lucy.
She makes jewelry and writes a blog and in her spare time stars on the HGTV show Beach Flip.
But that’s not the most amazing thing about her.
Nope.
Not even close.
The most amazing thing about Lucy is that when you meet her you feel like you’ve been friends forever.
She makes you laugh and makes you chicken salad and waves her hands and tells you your hair looks cute and tells you to pull up a chair and settle in for a while.
And she has this amazing sunshine that radiates from her heart.
Just like her house.
I took these pictures last week in between bites of chicken salad.
It was hard to concentrate with doors like this at every turn.
And after I got home, I edited the photos a little bit and sent them on to Lucy to make sure she saw them before I shared them with all of you.
This was her favorite photo.
Look at that light she said.
And I told her that I had photographed tons of houses and hers was so easy to take pictures of because there was light streaming into the house from every angle. I barely edited a single photo. It was like they leaped from my camera onto the blog.
I mean look at that light.
Seriously.
Glorious, wonderful sunshine streaming in from every room and every angle.
Dancing across reclaimed wood floors and filled the house with warmth and joy.
And as we discussed her house and artwork and all that light, she told me that when she and her husband built the house that was her one request.
Every room.
Every wall.
Every space should have windows or doors or skylights. So that on the darkest of days, when the storm clouds rolled in and the sky’s were overcast….
….there would be light.
And then she laughed and told me that after the house and all its windows and skylights was finished.
And she went to decorate her rooms, there wasn’t any wall space left to hang anything.
All her walls were windows.
I looked at all these windows and pictures and all that light and sighed.
Decorating your walls? I said to her. Really? I wouldn’t worry about that.
And then I paused and smiled across the phone line. Your house was already decorated before you moved in….
….with extra sunshine. 🙂
PS You can see more of Lucy and her jewelry and HGTV adventure over at her website, Lucy’s Inspired.
PPS If you are looking for some fun fall front door ideas, I’m sharing some ideas over on the Homes.com blog. You can check it out here.
PPS Here’s a video of the house we filmed the day I was taking pictures (you have to click the play button twice to make it work). BTW….this was our second take. And spoiler alert…there’s a lot of laughing and I am randomly showing off that nail color again. #calmdown 🙂
you have much creativity karianne, I'd like to talk to you in private... you could send me your email, God bless her for so much creativity and imagination...
What a wonderful home! The light is amazing, Kari, but what truly shines is Lucy's personality. Hers is a home decorated with quirky, unusual things, it has personality, something many homes do not. A combination of antique, vintage and contemporary pieces, I love it!
This tour was so much fun...the photos of the gorgeous rooms and your fun video!....I loved seeing Lucy on Beach Flip and was rooting for her and thought truly that she had the win....but in my heart, she won!....Her blog and home are exquisite...
Wonderful home- I really love her doors! And you take awesome photos:)
Wow, what an amazing and beautiful home. Every piece of decor feels like it was meant for Lucy's home. Thanks so much KariAnne and Lucy for sharing all this inspiration.
Beautiful!!!! However, I am shocked that as a mother of four beautiful children you, did not find the "mail slot" in the bathroom door genius. ; ) I trained my two daughters that they were not to ask (yell) questions thru the bathroom door. I can not tell you how many times I received notes slid under the bathroom door. Now I'm wishing I would have saved more of those notes...they would be bathroom reading at its best. My friend, Lucy's door is amazing. PS Think of the funny memories it could provide.
Oh, I love Lucy's home...what's not to love!?! Also loved hearing you laugh on the video!! : )
This was such a fun home tour...so beautiful and personal...and full of interesting whimsy! Thank you for sharing it!
that first photo of yours...sigh. i saw it. i gasped and said, "OMIGOSH!!! LOOK AT THOSE CORBELS!!!" and then i sighed again. and again. and instantly had corbel lust. and then i mostly lusted through all the rest of those glorious pictures. man....sigh.
Beautiful home, and your fabulous photography, brought all of it's wonderful features out for us! Thanks for sharing it and your friend with all of us. You and Lucy both have such creative souls
Wow. Just....wow.
well okay then.....I need to start gathering rocks and bringing them inside so I can THROW THEM AT MY HOUSE! Wow, such gorgeousness, all in one spot! I absolutely love how she used all different kinds of reclaimed doors. They don't have to be matchy matchy....I love it! And the floors.....who ever made the rules that floors need to be the same so they flow from one room to another, needs to reconsider that rule! I love this whole concept. Thank you Lucy for sharing your home with Miz karianne, and karianne.....you are amazing....thanks for sharing this with us!! Okay, I need to go outside now and start looking for those rocks....
Wow! What an interesting home! Love all that sunshine pouring in! ;)
Who wouldn't want to be friends with Lucy?!!! Fabulous house tour and photography! Check out the new coffe table book My Stylish French Girlfriends from blogger My French Country Home. Lucy should be featured in YOUR book of your stylish girlfriends!
I loved watching her on Beach Flip. What a gorgeous welcoming home. You're right, it is all sunshine and beauty and maybe even rainbows. What more could you ask for? Maybe some cute nail polish and an HGTV show. Loved it. Thanks for photographing it and sharing.
You can tell Lucy is such a sweet person just by looking at her and her home is amazing. Very unique!
Lucy's home is just beautiful. How could anyone not be happy in it? I especially love the "headboard" made of windows. So creative. Thanks for the morning smiles, KariAnne.
Wow! Thanks for the peek into Lucy's home. So many unique personal touches that I would want to run my hand over all those amazing surfaces. Those doors, the corbels! I would of been nibbling the chicken salad with my eyes darting everywhere, chuckle! What FUN!
Love Lucy's home! The wood...the floors...the, painted flag ceiling.....Everything! We so need a letter box in our bathroom! Loved the video although had a few connection problems with it.
Yes! I can see why you'd want to stop by and visit -- see, I'd come over to your house bringing a food gift (bribe) that I made with my two little hands and then being the polite wonderful person that you are, you'd invite me in for a glass of tea of coffee. Well, then I could kinda look around (snoop) and see what you've been up to :-) And then I would kind of whine a little about how I would love a tour of your gorgeous home. And being the sweet southern lady that you are you would roll your eyes, paste a smile on you red lips and do it. Conniving aren't I, beware of Italians bearing gifts!! Oh!! You know that beautiful picture of the master bedroom? I think you missed a little piece of chicken salad on the lower right hand side -- could have been on the lens-- heh!heh!heh! Big Hugs!!! Love the photos and the tour - thank you.
This house and all of its treasures are fabulous! Thanks for sharing your beautiful friend and her wonderful house!
Very pretty house! I crave light, light and more light, so I am really loving all the natural light coming in - just wonderful! Thanks for sharing, Suzanne BTW - Too funny, about the potty messenger door! ;)
Lucy's home is gorgeous. It's kind of rustic elegance. Just beautiful. Also, no one should be allowed to have that much fun! Your video was awesome. I enjoyed it. Cute stuff.
Lucy is very lucky to have a friend like you! And what a wicked cool house!!!! As always, your post made me laugh out loud. Every time. You are so gifted.
The upright piano action looks very chic displayed as wall art. I can't quite tell the maker from the photo - from the 1800s? Was this from a piano that Lucy or family once played? The front panel of an old upright that I played as a child now decorates my living room. It's a great nostalgic piece. I never thought to use the action itself. What a great idea!
Such beautiful pictures of a beautiful house (and Lucy is pretty cute herself)! I definitely would have chose looking around rather than lunch : ) The light is amazing. Coming from an area that can be pretty gloomy at times I crave light in a house.
I knew Lucy looked familiar. This is definitely my kind of house, gorgeous!
Thank you for the pics of Lucy's abode!!!
Love, love all the corbels! Great house Lucy! Kariann, you are a hoot!
Lucy is a charming lady. Know she was a perfect Southern hostess. I love the light! Her house is exactly what I would have envisioned were I that creative!
The light is INCREDIBLE!!!! in this house! Gorgeous! Light is so important to how we feel about a space. Wow - what a nice thing to be able to design your dream home to be so light-filled!
Oh. My. Gosh! That house! and the bathroom sink! Yowza. That's is totally my sink in Heaven, I'm telling you. And if the bathrooms in heaven (because we are totally going to be neighbors in heaven) have doors with mail slots, I will totally drop you a note when you are "otherwise engaged" in the restroom. Potty letters. that's the best idea. How hilarious. I suppose that nothing would be off limits in a "potty" letter, right? Isn't that what your mother always told you. Don't use potty language? Well, if you're in the potty.... And you're right. I need to hang with you on periscope. And in person. Send positive money thoughts out in to the Universe for me so I can find the $$ to go to Haven next year. Cuz it's in August again!!! There is hope. Have a jolly weekend my friend, The Other Marian
So beautiful. So many pinnable photographs!
Beautiful house for sure.......but when I saw that tin ceiling painted like an American flag. My freaking heart stopped. Like seriously, I should have fallen over. I'm absolutely in love with that idea.......I have a wall in my backyard that it would be perfect on..... Thank you for the inspiration, as always.
Heyya., Wow! What an interesting home! Love all that sunshine pouring in! ;)
What a stunning home - thanks so much for sharing it! I LOVE the flag ceiling on corrugated metal, and the piano hammers wall art!