Design du Monde

I will be sending many of you emails in the coming days to announce the change of venue.

Design du Monde

I feel it is time to change my blog name. This one does not go with my focus on design.

Please visit me at DesignduMonde.blogspot.com for the ongoing dialogue on the World of Design and designing the World from my Virginia  home.

Antiques in Virginia

Today I drove to Culpeper to see this bombe chest.

Fredericksburg is great for antiques too, but a little pricier.

Driving and picture taking not recommended

Culpeper is a charming small town in central Virginia with the Blue Ridge Mountains as a backdrop.

The town full of historic buildings was hit hard by the recent earthquake and aftershocks.

Difficult to see evidence of earthquake damage

There is an antique shop that I frequent mainly because of their fantastic prices and ability to browse before I go by checking the website. GeorgieMae's is a tiny shop but they have a small warehouse a mile away filled with tons of goodies.

These gorgeous demilune tables are $275 each.

I wish I had gotten better pictures of this ormolu corner cabinet with marble top. It is wonderful and I might have to have it at $699.

I bought my dining chairs there at quite a bargain.

As for the bombe chest, it was $385 delivered!! So exciting.

Be prepared

Flanking Byrd Park in Virginia's capitol city of Richmond, is a special yellow brick mansion.

The home served for two decades as the headquarters of the Robert E. Lee Council, a Boy Scouts of America district.

 The home was originally built by a successful Coca-Cola bottling franchise owner in the 1920s. It was given, by the original owner's granddaughter, to the Boy Scouts of America in 1958.

Owners, Steve and Amy Williams, had some renovation to do when they purchased the 8000+ square foot home from the Boy Scouts.

Take a look and read more HERE in Virginia Living Magazine

 The mural is truly enviable.

Very Charlotte Moss-y.

homegrown furniture



Yesterday was a beautiful day for a drive through the Virginia countryside. We drove to Madison, Va about 25 miles north of Charlottesville.

The drive was for the purpose of picking up

 my almost 2 year old's birthday present at E. A. Clore and Sons furniture.

This youth chair is her "big girl chair" and while I could wax sentimental here, I'll just keep it to the facts.

The chair is wonderful and satisfies my aversion to plastic furniture.

It is made right here in Virginia at a most charming little factory in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains.

Even the people that work there are charming.

The furniture is heirloom quality and I hope it sees many a future generation in our family.
You won't find any sleek lucite consoles here but I wanted something other than that and Fisher-Price just wouldn't do.

Here is a bit of info gleaned from the E. A. Clore and Sons site.

E. A. Clore Sons is a family owned business that has been in the Clore family since Moses Clore began making furniture in Madison, VA in 1830.

E. A. Clore Sons was listed by Family Business in the Summer 2008 issue as the 43rd oldest family company in the United States.


The Clore family has continuously produced handsome and enduring furniture in the Early American tradition since 1830. The knowledge and skills needed in making our handcrafted furniture has been passed down with pride from generation to generation. Each piece of Clore furniture is crafted to remain beautiful for years to come using techniques such as mortice-and-tenon construction and dovetailed drawers.

I love buying locally and I am just thrilled with the chair.

Mmmm--Virginia

I have not posted anything "Good Tasting" in awhile.

When I think of Virginia I think of southern tradition and history and some of the food (the non-French stuff) that I grew up eating.

In honor of my upcoming move to Virginia I made a Chess Pie, a southern favorite.

This is it, piping hot out of the oven.

Here is the reciepe I used :

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

2 cups white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 eggs

1 tablespoon cornmeal

1/4 cup evaporated milk

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

In a large bowl, mix the butter, sugar and vanilla together. Mix in the eggs, then stir in the cornmeal, evaporated milk and vinegar until smooth.

Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 40 minutes. Let cool. Cut and top servings with whipped cream. You will think you have died and gone to heaven.

I used a Pate Brisee reciepe for the crust but any crust you like will do.

Another Virginia favorite of mine is Peanut soup. It was enjoyed by several of our Virginian forefathers and combines both West-African and European tradition and technique.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

2 tablespoons grated onion

1 celery rib, minced

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup half-and-half

2 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts

Preparation

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; add onion and celery, and saute 5 minutes. Stir in flour, and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.

Add broth; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer 30 minutes.

Stir in peanut butter and half-and-half. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, 3 to 4 minutes or until heated. Sprinkle with peanuts.

This is most delicious alongside a plate of ham and bisciuts.

These are all very rich. Just the thing to comfort the soul and transport you to a place and time that should never be forgotten.

Nice digs!

I was searching for pictures of Virginia hunt country dining rooms and ran across a few listings for hunt country properties. It has long been a dream of mine to live on one of these grand farms.

This is Ovoka Farm.  It is listed for sale at 6.2 million.

It is one of the many beautiful properties in the Crooked Run Valley near Paris, Virginia.

Part of my Virginia house hunt involves a five hour drive from western Pennsylvania to Fredericksburg, Virginia. We usually take this scenic route through Crooked Run Valley.

The interiors are as grand as the view of the valley and farm.

The living room is tasteful and elegant.

Everything about this kitchen is perfect in my eyes.

The entryhall makes quite a statement, but if that is not grand enough for your tastes you might like Cloverland.

Located further south along Rt. 17 is The Plains, known for the Virginia Gold Cup Race and yet another prime Virginia horse country location.

The real esate description is as follows "Overlooking 290 splendid acres of Orange County Hunt territory in The Plains, Virginia, Cloverland Farm is truly a masterpiece of fine country living. Ten Minutes from Middleburg, 30 minutes to Washington Dulles International Airport, and just over an hour to the Nation’s Capital, this grand stone manor home boasts magnificent views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, as well as stunning gardens and orchards.

The interiors are magnificent.

It is listed at 9.5 million. For those with more modest budgets...

Elton Farm in Middleburg offers the same equestrian chic.

While the interiors are decidedly more modest and rustic than the previous homes, it is listed at 2.1 million.

The view of the Virginia piedmont and the Blue Ridge mountains in the distance might just be worth it.









Virginia is for Lovers!

This weekend involved a trip through several towns in Virginia. This door above is one of a number of places that would be great to call home.

Old Town Fredericksburg is a charmer and we ended up spending much of our morning driving and walking through its neighborhoods.

Without knowing what we would find, we headed towards the historic district. That lead us through the neighborhoods by Mary Washington College.

Instead of cruddy student housing we saw houses like the two above.

And these.

When we arrived in the historic district we decide to walk it. It is chock full of history. Like Kenmore Plantation that was home to George Washington's sister Betty.

George was a very good boy. He built this house for his mother, Mary, so she had a home in her old age and a garden to tend. Ferry Farm, his boyhood home is nearby and perhaps the spot of the legendary cherry tree.

The Washington's were busy here. George's brother built the Rising Sun Tavern.

The house next door happened to be for sale. I said to my husband that I have dreamt of living somewhere like this. I stopped to admire it and he struck up a conversation with the owner who happened to be outside. She is the nice lady in the corner of this photo.

It was built in 1907. Of course, my husband charmed his way into a tour of the house. I felt a bit guilty but was glad I got to see it. I did not photograph the inside. It seemed too rude. The back garden was lovely and smelled of boxwood and magnolia, which was in bloom.

The charm was everywhere.

There was not a tiny sniff of the apathy and decay that I have seen in other places.

The grand houses...

are well kept.

Even this more modest row house is cute as a bug's ear.

If you are still not convinced that Fredericksburg is as charming as it gets, let me tell you that this drugstore actually has an old-fashioned lunch counter. It comes complete with stools that spin and a Coca-cola fountain.