Bohemian chic spring home tour

I am so excited to be participating in Marty’s spring home tour with a group of wonderful bloggers again this year.  If you are coming over from Laura’s beautiful home at Inspiration for Moms, welcome! 

First, though, a little background on our home.

We live in a newer house on property that has been in my family for five generations in the mountains of western North Carolina. It was my great grandfather’s summer home away from the heat of Hypoluxo, Florida. Some of the original structures are still here and house lots of treasures from the past. When the original victorian farmhouse was torn down, my grandfather painstakingly bundled and stored all the doors, windows, trim, stair treads, tongue and groove boards, and more, which we have been slowly restoring and adding to our house.  Now when I refer to the “old house” you’ll know what I’m talking about:-) Most of my furniture, art and accessories have also been passed down, and I have added to that with items from antique and thrift stores as well as our travels around the world. Every single thing means something, and that’s what makes it *home* for me.

And now on to the spring tour. As much as I love winter, I’m ready for green leaves this year. We had a severe drought this fall with many forest fires, so seeing the lush green plants and trees come back to life will be welcomed with open arms. So for spring, I’m also filling the inside house with more green plants.

First on the tour is our entry area, which doubles as a music space.

This antique Harden settle was in the old house, then sold at some point. A sweet neighbor gifted it back to me on my birthday a few years ago, and I couldn’t be happier to have it back home. It’s my only piece of Mission furniture, but it blends nicely with everything else.

I have a thing for kilim pillows and found the greatest place to get them in Turkey from the Kilim Pillow Store. 

I layered Turkish overdyed rugs in this room to help give the seriously formal aspects of the furniture a more laid-back Bohemian vibe.  A record player from my 1970s, and my childhood, sits on the 1880 pump organ and gets lots of use. An Indian sari is used as a runner.

My husband and I are musicians, and we have lots of gear and music, so this is really just a place for the baby grand to go — and a few guitars, and amps. I actually do practice here a lot, and there is usually a lot more clutter, but you don’t want to see that. 

For a peek at what I really do — be sure to click on HD for best quality. My husband is also a recording engineer so he shot video, recorded and mixed this just for fun.

Back to our space…

He built the corner cabinet out of a walnut tree my dad cut, then used wormy chestnut trim from the old house to finish it out.

Our living area is the only living space we have and is where we hang out or watch TV, which is more often than not a DVD of The Andy Griffith Show or I Love Lucy. Seriously. 

I love my Turkish rugs, so I have layered a Karabakh “rose” kilim, from the Unique Rug Store, over a jute rug so the size is big enough for the space.  I love the look of layered rugs, and they really add texture and depth to the space.

For spring, I really went green, so I kept out these velvet pillows I ordered from World Market last fall. The kilim pillows are from the Kilim Pillow Store, and I made the black and white cover from fabric I ordered last summer from Spoonflower. 

I have an eclectic mix of everything from Native American art and Bolivian pottery to Turkish wrought iron candle holders and American antiques.  I like to mix it all together because it tells our story, and I think that’s what every home should do.

The windows came from the old house and are lined with sheet music. My dad bought the Cherokee stick ball sticks for me and the basket is Nisqually.  My grandmother painted the statue, which was originally a white mid-century lamp.

The mid-century lampshade found a home on an antique lamp belonging to my grandmother that I rewired and painted. I found the adorable mid-century stool on ebay last year.

My dad made the wagon wheel table after we took a trip to Montana to visit his relatives, and it is very special to me. 

My great grandmother’s chaise is the perfect place for lounging in front of the windows and is dressed with a kilim pillow and one covered with a vintage Indian sari.

And in this corner, the black armoire hides the TV and electronic equipment. I found my grandmother’s mid century guitar pick table and restored it last year. The 1970s lamp is from my childhood.

There are a lot of styles and periods mixed in here, but it all works together to make an interesting room.

Next is the dining space. I moved my fuchsia overdyed rug here and love the color and foundation it adds to this space. 

I made the dining table from wormy chestnut and had a local craftsman make the base.

I finally settled on these Moroccan lanterns after trying out several different kinds of candle holders. 

On the table I layered an Indian sari and wood board with candles and cacti for a multi-layered and colorful centerpiece.

The buffet is a family antique, and everything on it has a story. The painting was by my late Montana uncle; the radio is antique and the one my dad listened to FDR’s funeral on in 1945. The pottery is Sioux; the statue I picked up in Bolivia, and the pottery with plants, my parents brought back from Santa Fe.

I kept out the orange velvet pillows from fall and winter because I *love* orange and pink together and loved how they look with the vintage Chinese silk pillows. 

A dreamcatcher I made hangs on a door from the old house.

Next is the kitchen.

This space is always evolving just as everything else in this house.  I’m creative, and I like to try different things, but they all have to work within a really low budget. So everything we’ve done in here has simply been cosmetic. 

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 installed this piece of old trim on the front of my cabinetry to give the impression of a farmhouse sink. I also love my large stainless steel zero radius sink and am happy to have made that choice.

An Indian sari is simply draped over a rod to cover the cabinet opening, and a chindi rug provides the color inspiration to tie it all together. 

We took out the cabinet here a few years ago, and I have never regretted having these open shelves. They’re fun to play with during different seasons.

One of the first things I did here was to replace the laundry/mud room door with a screen door from the old house. I ripped off the screen and attached hardware cloth and burlap, leaving the bottom open for air flow.

You can see the room my girls share HERE. 

Our master bedroom 

That’s all I have presentable for a spring tour, and I’m so happy you stopped by for a visit. 

For me, home is not the latest trend, but a collected and unique expression of my family and our experiences. 

Home is not a static place but one that is always evolving and changing to reflect our lives, which also ebb and flow. 

Thanks for sharing this moment with me in our home:-)

Thanks SO very much to sweet Marty for all the work she has done putting this incredible tour together. Be sure to visit everybody and be inspired!

Next, head on over to see Vel at Life & Home at 2012. She is amazingly creative and has a fabulous space to decorate.

Monday – March 20

A Stroll Thru Life – Marty

Decor To Adore – Laura

Southern Hospitality – Rhoda

Pink Peppermint Design – Tammy

Cuckoo4Design – Julia

21 Rosemary Lane -Barbara

Tuesday – March 21

Setting For Four – Heather

The Chronicles of Home – Jennifer

Nesting With Grace – Brooke

Refresh Restyle – Debbie

Haneen’s Haven -Haneen

Simple Stylings – Summer

Wednesday – March 22

Decorating Delirium – Jennifer

Dimples & Tangles – Jennifer 

Hymns & Verses – Doreen

Remodelando La Casa – Christina

Sand & Sisal – Kim

Common Ground – Debra

Thursday – March 23

Duke Manor Farms – Laura

It All Started With Paint -Linda

Life on Virginia Street – Sarah

Bliss At Home – Kristin

Rain On A Tin Roof -Jenna

ZDesign At Home – Bree

Friday – March 24

Thrifty and Chic – Alicia

Our Fifth House – Carmel

Inspiration For Moms – Laura

Far Above Rubies – Anita

Life and Home @ 2102 – Vel

Making Home Base – Chelsea

I’ll be joining:

Wow us Wednesdays

Metamorphosis Monday