Hyde Park Haven

I really, really love this time of year. Can someone please tell me what there is not to love about Spring? First of all, you don't need an oven glove to put your car key in the ignition - much less open your car door, you don't have that embarassing leg sweat when you are sitting on a plastic patio chair with your legs crossed at an outdoor cocktail party and best of all, Mother Nature gives free A.C!


Case in point, this charming and serene home in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Austin, Texas which was showcased in a Summer 2008 edition of Austin Monthly Home. I fell in love with this home the first time I saw it and feel it depicts Spring beautifully. I've been holding onto it dearly in my manilla folder fun bag ever since I layed eyes on it. All photos are by the uber-talented Ryann Ford - who, as Jill from The Real Housewives of New York would say, "I just died" when I saw her work, so be sure to take a look at her stunning portfolio.

Now this is what I call indoor/outdoor living!

Personally, I think I would have been too afraid to combine these bad-ass flourescent chairs with an orange table but with this beautiful flower arrangement, everything just works, especially with a neutral interior with light floors and a nude brick fireplace.




There's my cute little table and chairs saying hello to me from afar. Sometimes you feel like dining al fresco, sometimes you don't.





Okay. I have to get something of the way. I really dislike those barstools. I can appreciate what is attempted to be accomplished here, but they are way too match-y match-y, don't you think?? Why not just some simple and minimalist metal wire stools or if you really want to get zany with contrast...natural wood. Ahhh, I feel better now. Moving forward, I do love me some white kitchen - especially with subtle pops of bright bold color.

Every so often on Sunday afternoons I love to open all windows in the bedroom and curl up with my cats, a good book which I've attempted to get past the second chapter a million times before falling asleep and a chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc. I love to listen to the birds and relish the fact we are no longer living in Washington, D.C. but rather in our homestead in good ol' Austin, Texas. If this were real life in my world, on the other hand, I would be praying my neighbors weren't staring at me in my PJ pants and that would probably be a Mimosa by the bedside. I'm just sayin'...

Remember what I said above with regards to all-white kitchens with bright bold spalshes of color? I love the same thing about bathrooms.