2016 Summer Home Tour

I am so happy to have you all here for my summer home tour! I’m excited to be included with 29 other bloggers in a fabulous tour put together by Marty at A Stroll Thru Life. Did you see Linda’s tour over at It All started with Paint? I love how she uses color and unexpected patterns so flawlessly. I love bold color as well, so come on in and we’ll get started.

If you are new to Far Above Rubies, welcome:-) We live on North Carolina mountain land that was my great grandfather’s summer respite from the heat of Hypoluxo, Fla. My dad was born and raised here and my parents live next door.  My Puerto Rican husband and I are both professional musicians, and we both like an eclectic mix of styles, cultures and art in our home. We have a small cottage, and love to change things up with reclaimed, repurposed, thrifted and family heirlooms.So with that, let’s get the tour started!

We have three porches around our house and love using them when the weather is nice. They do require a ridiculous amount lot of work every spring, though. But it’s all worth it when it’s done. 

On the front porch, you can see right away I like color, and currently it’s hot pink and fuchsia. I especially love pink with black.

I was really excited to discover Spoonflowerrecently and ordered this black and white print fabric to make pillows. They print everything to order and have lots of designs to choose from. 

This fabric was an ebay find and I love how it coordinates with the rest of my outdoor fabric.

Let’s head on inside now through the french doors …

We don’t really have an “entry,” so this space has to provide that function. 

I have layered Turkish overdyed rugs and added kilim pillows to the antique Harden settle, which was in the original house when my great grandfather bought it. The settle was sold and graciously gifted back to me by a sweet neighbor a couple years ago.

Our house is small with no storage so there are literally guitars in every corner, and this one found its way here.

Next up is the living space, which for us is the only indoor space we have to sit and watch TV, etc. I love, love, love my Turkish fuchsia overdyed rug from the Unique Rug Store, and have layered it over a jute rug. It makes such a bold statement and I’m all about that.

I love to mix old with new, and these days I am into mid-century everything. I also like to mix in pieces from my collection of Native and South American art as well as plants, kilim pillows, fur and Indian silk sarees for a Boho vibe.

My grandmother took this former lamp from boring white to mid-century colorful in the late 1950s. My grandfather’s old books and windows from the old house keep me connected to my past. 

I bought the statue in Bolivia, and one of my Cherokee stick ball sticks hangs on the window.

I love my kilims, and like to pair them with fur and silk for a variety in textures.

Because we have kids and we lounge around in here, I keep throws within easy reach. I actually bought this print bedspread last summer for the bedroom but liked the color it added to the french chair in here. 

I gave the 1970s swag lamp a makeover this winter and love it hanging over my grandmother’s mid-century modern guitar pick table and the Eames-style lounge I recently bought my husband. He *loves* this chair.

The awesome pink pillow is from the Kilim Pillow Store. I *love* their pillow covers and love that they offer covers made from the same kilim. I have several of these pink ones.

I made the black and white pillow from more fabric I ordered from Spoonflower. They have so many wonderful designs to choose from, that it was hard to decide what to get. 

On the other side of the room is our dining area.  I have filled it with Native art, kilims, antlers and and a Moroccan-style wool rug from RugsUSA. 

I made the box out of a newel post from the old house and filled it with succulents. An Afghan kilim adds color and texture as a runner.

I just got the square Italian Countryside from Mikasa and really love having this pattern in another shape.

The chargers were from Overstock years ago, and the flatware is also Mikasa Italian Countryside. 

I made the tabletop from wormy chestnut and had a local craftsman make the iron base years ago. I have yet to actually decide on a chair style that I like with this table, so I keep trying different things.

Next up is my music space, which is really just the other side of the entry. My baby grand lives here — because there is no other space for it, and I use it to practice. Since I left my job as a worship leader and lost my office space, most of my gear and music is packed up and stored at my parents’ house and the home of a friend. 

Luis built the beautiful cabinet from a walnut tree and scraps of wormy chestnut. 

On the other side, the 1880s pump organ holds my parents’ 1970s GE Mustang II record player, and I have had fun using it to play records. 

Next up is our kitchen, which I have tried to give as much personality as possible without a major reno. We made the counters several years ago from antique wormy chestnut, and I could not be happier with how they have held up. I chose to use a floor grade Varathane  instead of tung oil, or Waterlox like everyone else was using, and these look as good, or better than when we installed them. There are *no* water marks, stains, etc., that other finishes seem to get, and I still have the old store counter look I wanted. 

I would really like to rip out these upper cabinets, add a marble/glass mosaic backsplash and wood shelves to this area. 

The brass pot was inherited from a relative who lived in China and spent time in India after World War II. 

I draped an Indian sari over a rod for a sink skirt and changed out the Turkish kilim for this Afghan kilim.

I love these shelves and love the opportunity to change them up — often. 

The Noritake Chandova china and the Indian brass pot are also from a relative.

I like having my cabinetry painted different colors so it keeps the kitchen from having that “builder-grade” look. 

My dad made the Indian Motorcycle sign in the late 1950s, and the screen door is from the old house.

I rescued the slab of marble, which came from my grandfather’s store here, and love the incredible patina it has.  Now if I could just get marble countertops for the island:-)

I recently replaced the chandelier here with this mid-century double swag light that I rewired. I love so much how it looks and only wish I’d done it sooner.

That’s it for the kitchen. 

You can check out the makeover I did on my girls’ room HERE. Our 10-year-old son’s room still has the baby nursery paint on the walls. Maybe that’s why he has been asking me to paint his room. I have plans to do his room, really I do…

And finally on the tour, is the master bedroom, and it is a collection of antiques, vintage, and inherited items.

I didn’t change a lot in here from the spring tour, but added the macrame plant hanger in the corner. I cannot tell you how many of these I made after learning how in elementary school in the 1970s. 

I restored the iron bed, which was stored on the property here, several years ago. I simplified the bedding for summer by taking off the down comforter and a few of the pillows. 

I made the mantel from an old door and scraps of wood, and accessorized it for summer with a Moroccan mirror, Navajo pottery and a cactus.   

Hanging from the mantel, is my corn bead necklace.

Corn bead necklaces are made from the seeds of the corn bead plant, also called “Job’s tears.” 

The gray color represents the sorrow of the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears in 1838, where a third of the Cherokees forced by the U. S. government to march in winter, died along the way to a reservation in Oklahoma. According to legend, where tears fell on the ground, a corn stalk-like plant sprouted producing seeds in the shape of tears.  It’s a reminder of my mother’s heritage and ancestry here in western North Carolina.

That’s it for this tour:-) 

I’m so happy you dropped by and hope I have inspired you to try something outside the box and different! Our home is always evolving, and I love to try something new or unexpected. If it doesn’t work, you can always try again, right? 

We also have two other porches that you can check out HERE and HERE. I’m still working on getting them ready for this season and making some fun changes.

Thanks so much to Marty for hosting this tour! If you missed any of the other tours, you can click on the links below. There is some amazing inspiration out there, so go by and visit:-) 

I’ll be joining:

Wow us Wednesdays

Monday – June 6

A Stroll Thru Life | Life on Virginia Street | Remodelando La Casa | Thrifty and Chic | Rain On A Tin Roof | Duke Manor Farms

Tuesday – June 7

Life Love Larson | Haneens Haven | Claire Brody Designs | My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia | The House of Silver Lining | Hymns & Verses

Wednesday – June 8

Dimples & Tangles | Our Southern Home | Simple Details | Decor To Adore | A Thoughtful Place |  21 Rosemary Lane

Thursday – June 9

Our Fifth House | Decorating Delirium | Driven By Decor  | Making Home Base | Simple Stylings | Cuckoo4Design

Friday – June 10

Refresh Restyle |Splendor Styling | Monica Wants It | Life & Home | It All Started With Paint | Far Above Rubies