Heartin' the Tartan

Lately, everywhere I turn, it's a plaid, plaid world.  

Holiday Library from the very cool site, http://www.ruemag.com/
(Dear Homeowner, if invited over for a hot toddy in that room, I would gladly accept. Sincerely, Natalie) 

I'll admit that it's taken me awhile to embrace the apparent pattern du jour. As you might imagine from the type of person who decides to blog about plain white houses, my taste in textiles is usually, how shall I say, "classic." I never met a cream, camel, or black that I didn't like.

For years, I have mocked (lovingly, of course) my unabashedly pink-and-green, Lilly loving, argyle clad, monogrammed to the hilt--but completely fabulous--sister. Her madras plaid for the summer and silk or taffeta plaid for the Holidays were always a bit too "Highland Chic" for me. But now, I think she is onto something--well, at least with the plaid.

Plaid, especially around this time of year, is certainly nothing new. But in the past few weeks, as I've been searching the Internet for Holiday clothes, valances, tablecloths, Christmas tree skirts, napkin rings, and maybe even pizza toppings, I have encountered seemingly limitless items in every variety of Stewart, Blackwatch, Campbell, Burberry, and any other ancient clan's plaid I could ever want...

Even this past Monday's Gossip Girl ended with every single one of my favorite Upper East Siders wearing the season's must-have pattern. Maybe plaid is the new black (although Serena has been sporting various Michael-Jackson-in-the-Thriller-Era outfits lately, so I'm not sure the show's stylist is as reliable as she once was).

Suddenly, I can't get enough! I have three Holiday table options all involving plaid, I'm desperately trying to track down the (on sale!) plaid Barneys dress below for Christmas Eve, and I've pretty much cleared out eBay's virtual shelves of vintage plaid wool throw blankets. Oh! And I should mention that Hermes recently released a new plaid wool throw. The Hermes Altai. It's not exactly plaid, per se, because the stripes only go in one direction so there's no cross line action, but Hermes describes the pattern as "Plaid Pistes." I don't speak French and "Plaid Pistes" might mean "not plaid" but I do speak Hermes, and the blanket is gorgeous. Plus, for the low, low price of $700.00, it's now the least expensive blanket they sell. I told my husband that, well, seeing as how this is practically bargain basement for Hermes, we should collect all four colors!  He doesn't agree. Okay, then maybe just the Fire Orange and the Pumice Gray??

Anyway, the countdown for guaranteed Christmas delivery is on, so I'd better sign off...I need to go see what other must-have items in my new favorite pattern are out there just calling my name (with a slight Scottish brogue)... 


Blair on Gossip Girl. Barneys New York Tartan Dress.


If I am unable to track down Blair's Barneys NY dress (shudder to think), I suppose this option from Pendleton is still cute, and it is significantly cheaper:

Silk Plaid Taffeta Dress, Pendleton, $248

 


Coach Cambria Tartan Flat, $108. On the fence about these shoes--they might be a little too Willy Wonka?

 

Christmas Tree of Beverly Hills, CA Designer Mary McCarthy, from Veranda

Burberry Brit Plaid Belted Coat, Bloomingdale's, $1095


 

Celia Pillow, Crate & Barrel, $30

 


Scarves, Mod Cloth, $24-32



Blackwatch Sequin Pillow, Ralph Lauren, $350

 

Stewart Plaid Tablecloth, Williams-Sonoma, $70-90, depending on table size




Lake Placid Lodge.
So cozy, less than 5 hours from Boston or NYC, and a real deal for two- or three-night stays on Rue La La right now.



Italian Style Green Plaid Umbrella, http://www.umbrellastand.com/, $35

Nolan Tartan Frame, Ralph Lauren, $75 

Vintage Plaid Thermoses (is that the plural of Thermos?) with Green Depression Era Glass.
Doesn't this remind you of a Mad Men set? 

Plaid Holiday Table, from Country Living



GP, How I Love Thee

As Coco Chanel was to the tweed suit, G.P. Schafer is to the Classic White House ("CHW")...

Greek Revival in Upstate NY, designed by G.P. Schafer

I love real estate listings. I am a house voyeur of the most incurable sort. I can amuse myself for hours perusing the multiple listing service. Friday night movie, schmovie--at least not when there are "New Listings" on the MLS!

I even look at listings in cities where I do not live. Take Chicago. Chicago boasts numerous fabulous lofts. If you're in the market, I'll send you photos of a sleek, but still incredibly cozy, exposed brick and beams place in a converted church in the Ukrainian Village. I also recently saw an unbelievable Windy City Beaux Arts flat off Michigan Avenue, with a mahogany paneled library, four fireplaces, and a huge white marble "scullery" kitchen (like living in the Ralph Lauren store, but with views of the lake to boot).  Lately, I've found myself lying awake at night, feeling very torn between which residence suits me best...which would be preferable for entertaining...which is the right choice long-term. Problem is, I'm not moving to Chicago.

I don't stop with Chicago listings (or for that matter, Boston, or Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, or Tucson, AZ listings). Not when the New York Times features multimedia views into homes of all sorts! Sometimes they even publish articles about the houses of New Yorkers. Enter G.P. Schafer, Stage Left...

G.P. Schafer is a Manhattan architect who initially specialized in historic renovations primarily in the NYC area. When he tried (unsuccessfully) to find his own vacation home in New York's Hudson Valley, he decided to build his own new-old house, with all of the charm and warmth of an antique farmhouse sans the plumbing and structural challenges. Nowadays, he's as well-known for his gorgeous horse farms and Greek Revivals sprinkled along the banks of the Hudson, as he is for his glamorous Upper East Side updates. Recently, another Manhattan couple who couldn't find an old farmhouse they liked in the Hudson Valley, commissioned G.P. to design a new house that looked like an old Classic White House. The quaint country house in question is called Willow Grace Farm and is owned by writer and producer of the hit TV series, Will & Grace.

Willow Grace Farm

All of these swoon-worthy G.P. Schafer houses have been built in the past decade or so. Pretty lovely, right? GP, if you're ever looking for a new project in the Boston area, do give me a call?

Willow Grace Farm. I read the Elle Decor credits-they didn't have Grace and Karen decorate.

I've been scouring eBay for an Empire foyer table like this.

Interior of a Manhattan home renovated by my darling, G.P.

Breakfast nook. Who wouldn't want that fireplace with their morning tea?

Dining room turned library? I want the whole thing, including all those coffee table books. 

Sitting room...manages to be cozy but still elegant

Lovely kitchen. I might learn to cook if I was working in here!

Mister Sandman, bring me a dream...and if possible, bring it to me in here?

Bathroom. Looks antique, probably has heated floors. 

Regal bedroom, no?

My CWH has an enclosed room off of the LR--this could work nicely!

Sheesh, it's gorgeous even without the house...

The CWH

The Classic White House that started my obsession-"Father of the Bride"



The Classic White House that solidified my obsession--"Mr. and Mrs. Smith"

Hello, my name is Natalie. I'm addicted to new shoes with red bottoms and old houses with white siding.

For as long as I can remember, I've loved the Classic White House (the "CWH"). You know the one. It's a symmetrical, white clapboard colonial with shutters on the windows and brick steps up to a center front door flanked by columns. For me, the CWH is the house of happy families who sit down to dinner together, prune their prize-winning roses and grow heirloom tomatoes in their backyard gardens during the summer, decorate to the nines for the Holidays, and host fabulous weddings at home, coordinated by even more fabulous Europeans with names like Franck. While there may be occasional trials and strife--say, when one CWH resident discovers that another is a paid assassin--these differences are always worked out in the end, the music always swells, and all is well again within the four walls of the Classic White House.

As the Christian Louboutin Simple 100 Pump (preferably in black or camel) is to a complete wardrobe, the CWH is to a happy home. What can I say? These are simple truths cultivated by Hollywood in movie after movie, so I refuse to accept all of the blame for my wholly unrealistic approach to shoes and real estate.

So...after years of renting an apartment and investing in cultivating a mighty fine collection of the aforementioned red soled shoes, my husband (and I, albeit reluctantly) decided it was time to invest in something that would potentially generate, how shall I say, "better returns": Real estate. On this point, I would argue that "better returns" is a relative term, especially given the volatile housing market. If and when we ever sell the CWH, we shall see whether the real estate market actually outperforms what can only be described as a "bull market" for sold-out, and discounted gently worn Louboutins on eBay.

Still, when an old CWH "fixer upper" was the featured Home of the Week in a Boston newspaper whose real estate writer very generously noted that the home would "delight the buyer who loves vintage details," I was interested. I am the buyer who loves vintage details. I am the buyer that especially loves vintage details in a reasonably priced CWH, in a neighborhood with good schools and great Italian food. I promptly scheduled an appointment.

When reviewing the photos above, one might not immediately (for that matter, ever) make the connection between the first two beauties and this house, sans landscaping, curb appeal, or a sound roof. I realize this. And the inside is much, much worse.

The Classic White House that is now mine--a/k/a the "Money Pit"

1902 Colonial Revival on the outside, but it's all 1968 inside. The entire house is wallpapered in variations on a handkerchief pattern theme--who knew that endless handkerchief wallpaper options were readily available to the 1960's decorator?!? Walls needing a little something extra (i.e., where the handkerchief wallpaper somehow just isn't busy enough) are paneled in marbled mirror squares. Ceilings throughout the house sport glittery popcorn finishes. The kitchen has red handkerchief wallpaper, banana yellow Formica counters (also with glitter, presumably to complement the glittery popcorn ceiling), fake orange brick linoleum floors, dark stained pine cabinets, and the world's largest shiny brass and white ceiling fan with lights. Oye. Upstairs, a "Bahamas Blue" bathroom--wall to wall turquoise. A finished wood paneled "sauna" room in the attic.

Still, with some updating, I thought the place could be charming. I told my husband that we could move in, host some "Mad Men" parties with spot-on period decor, and update over time. He told me, "Betty Draper would never host a party here." He had a point. We bought it anyway.

And so the tale of two not-at-all-handy, gradually-home-improving, Boston lawyers who have no business renovating a hundred year old house begins...