Milagros Win Your Heart

The Milagros are from Behind the Garden Gate, in Houston Heights.

The antique Ex Voto is from Tongue in Cheek Antiques, the on-line Brocante in France

Handmade, antique gown from Willow Nest at Marburger Antiques Fair.

The long, gray linen scarf is from Beadboard UpCountry, Brenham, Texas. Maggie the Mannequin is from Heights Antiques on Yale.

Resources:

Behind the Garden Gate

238 West 19th Street, Suite B

Houston, TX 77008

713-864-1679

felix.flowers@yahoo.com

Beadboard UpCountry

Tongue in Cheek Antiques

Willow Nest

Heights Antiques on Yale

Arte Pura Giveaway at Beadboard UpCountry

This sensuous pillow is the Arte Pura giveaway at Beadboard UpCountry!

There is a fabulous giveaway over at Beadboard UpCountry: the Arte Pura pillow, above, could be yours...or mine. If you haven't felt Arte Pura's Italian linen, you haven't yet lived the luxe life.

To enter the giveaway, go to Beadboard's giveaway post and leave a comment. Good luck to you all!

Arte Pura Italian Linens at Beadboard UpCountry

Arte Pura Italian linen pillow with Swarovski crystals, just to melt your heart!

Tall Husband and I took another Texas road trip this weekend. Who knew that we would find the only purveyors in the United States of Arte Pura Italian Linens? That Maryanne and Robespierre of Beadboard UpCountry, had been shopping in Paris and discovered Arte Pura...bella occasione!

Well, what blogger needs an invitation to photograph beautiful linens?

And what perfectionist can help but zoom in on such details. Oh, I wish you could just feel the texture of these linens.

This is such an inviting bed, piled with all that Italian.

Not only are there bed linens but there are other items for the bathroom and table. There are even linen pajamas and shirts.

And if you bring home one of the Arte Pura coverlets, you get a bag like the one above to tote it in.

You're not in the mood for white? You want some color? As in the little bag above?

Above: Styling by Robespierre and photography by Tall Husband.

Well, there are forty colors from which to choose.

I know...you are wondering what I couldn't live without. I bought that white linen Arte Pura table runner for the antique dining table at The Bunny Bungalow...perfetto!

Links:
Beadboard UpCountry in Historic Brenham, Texas
Beadboard UpCountry Blog

P.S. Maryanne and Peter, shop owners, will ship items to you. Just give them a call or e-mail (info is on their website.) Arte Pura is special order only but those Italians are rapido.

Cloche Call

The small Cloche was recently found at EPO (Electronic Parts Outlet...of all places) here in Houston for $4.99! The taller cloche was found at Beadboard UpCountry in Brenham, Texas.

The wonderful reproduction milk bottle by the French company Comptoir de Famille is also from Beadboard UpCountry and is a recent find.

My favorite time of day is early morning, just as our day begins. In the pale morning light, with a hot cup of coffee in hand, anything seems possible...the world is mine. I sip my coffee and chat with Tall Husband, either in bed or on the front porch, about what the day may bring. Tall Husband wants plans and schedules, but I again remember that no matter how we plan, the day will be what it wishes to be. So, I shiver and wonder what stories this day will bring to us.

What's your favorite time of day?

New Blog: Beadboard UpCountry

Photo by Maryanne Flaherty of Beadboard UpCountry, Brenham, Texas.

Great News! Maryanne Flaherty, owner of Beadboard UpCountry in Brenham, Texas, has entered the blogosphere. We are all in for a great ride, as Maryanne is a wonderful photographer with an eye for all things French and chic. Also into the delicious mix...she and her husband Peter have great stories to share about their lives, including their buying trips to Paris.

Go sign on as her follower at: http://beadboardupcountry.blogspot.com and hang on for the ride.

Flamant at Beadboard Upcountry

Last weekend, Tall Husband and I visited Beadboard UpCountry, the chic Euro-country boutique that's nestled in a beautifully restored bank building in historic Brenham, Texas. The owners, Peter and Maryanne, recently returned from a buying trip to Paris. In addition to wonderful items for the home, they now have limited editions of European design books. Who could resist such beautiful books? Not I! Featured here are a few shots of one of the books: "Flamant Home Interiors: Here and Elsewhere" (hardcover.)  Text by Raoul Buyle and Photography by Bart Van Leuven with English translation by Martin Lambert. (Amazon didn't have this book available when I checked this morning.)

If you aren't familiar with Flamant, it is a fabulous European company that sells lifestyle. One can walk into the Flamant store in Paris and walk out with paint, tableware, fresh flowers, furniture, chocolates...you name it; if it's chic and for the home or garden, Flamant has it. Whether you live in a house in Brussels, a Houston loft or a bastide in the south of France, they've got your style, which they describe as bourgeois-bohemian.

Have a look inside their beautiful book: Click on photos to enlarge. You can get your English copy from Beadboard Upcountry.

Above is our favorite Flamant shop at 8 Place Furstenberg, 8 rue de L'abbaye 75006, Paris.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Note: Beadboard UpCountry has recently added contemporary designs that blend so well with their antiques and reproduction European style. Also, they are going green with their various clean-burning candles and decorative items made from recycled paper and metal.

Melt My Heart!

I just clicked onto Beadboard UpCountry (Brenham, Texas) and found that they have a new entry to their website. I remember the last time that I was there, Maryanne showed me this knock-out photo she had taken of that little settee before it was delivered to a client. If you look closely, you can find the reflection of the gorgeous photographer (Maryanne.)

Maryanne, love your photo. It captures the ambiance of your shop to a "B."

Beadboard UpCountry

When Tall Husband and I learned that Maryanne Flaherty and husband Peter, owners of Beadboard UpCountry, had redecorated the front of their boutique, we couldn't resist a visit to Brenham, Texas to have a look this past weekend. Also, I could not resist bringing home some of the pale, porcelain figs (photo below.)

Beadboard UpCountry, an exquisite Euro-country boutique, is nestled in the restored 1916 Farmers National Bank building on the historic square in Brenham, Texas. The light-filled space exudes the atmospheric chic of pale French-country interiors. It's no wonder that Beadboard UpCountry was the 2007 winner of "Best Commercial Interior," awarded by the Texas Downtown Association. The talented owners, Maryanne and Peter have gathered antiques, luxury linens, soaps, reproduction items and much more from North America and Europe. Whether you are desiring merely to create an original tabletop; slipcover or upholster a piece of furniture; or redecorate your entire home, this is your source. Maryanne and Peter also carry a stunning line from a Dallas company, Aidan Gray, whose furnishings, accessories and architectural elements appear to have arrived from Provence or Tuscany.

Click on Photos to Enlarge

Beadboard UpCountry, Brenham, Texas: Redecorated Storefront with Zinc Planters

Original Storefront (Photo from Advertising Card)

Shop Interior

Shop Interior

Original Floor of Old Bank


Ceiling With Tin Border


Ceiling: Old Wood Retained



Gothic French-Style Table (above & below) from Aidan Gray



Table Top is a Zinc-look Metal


Large, Wooden Trompe l'oeil Candlesticks with Metal Crowns from Aidan Gray



Chest in Beautiful French-Gray Finish, Aidan Gray



Antique Basket of Flowers



Charming Stone Doves with Antique Wire Basket



Distressed Stencil on a Side table, Aidan Gray



Sweet Stone Cherub with Antique Ceiling Tin



Porcelain Figs in a Bird's Nest

Thanks to Cote de Texas for first introducing us to Beadboard UpCountry!