Personal Touches (125)Gretchen and Dick Evans share their Ohio home, which has the history of an old home and a touch of the style the couple had enjoyed during their many years on the west coast. By brightening a dark home with sunnier colors and emphasizing the home's built-in details, such as hand carved door frames, they found a way to modernize an older home without overlooking its natural charm.
Next, join Joanna and Bill Seitz in Connecticut, where they have created a home that reflects the places that have influenced each of them — the southwest for Joanna and India for Bill. Their home reflects their eclectic tastes.
Then, meet Christina Ungard, who has combined an eclectic furniture collection with pieces reminiscent of her childhood in Germany. Inserts from an iron fence act as legs on a table, while another iron piece became the base of her dining room table. A German wood wagon became a sentimental conversation piece in her conservatory.
Finally, we travel to Memphis, Tennessee where Michelle Pinstein created a look of the south in her two-story, four-bedroom home. But it was the look of the south of France, not the U.S., that Michelle successfully captured. Michelle designed the house in its entirety and even created a new color for its exterior, now referred to as Pinstein Pink.
Colorful Tudor Facts:
- Tudor revival houses feature tall, narrow windows, brick façades and steeply pitched roofs.
- Multi-paned windows were framed in iron from the 1850s until 1918 — steel and cast stone became more common in the early 1900s.
- Tuscan style kitchens include hanging herbs, natural stone sinks, open shelving and pine storage pieces.
- Wide, arched doorways are common in Tudor revival homes.
Artistic Influence Facts:
- The Seitz's shop has been recognized for excellence in store design by the National Retail Federation.
- The eclectic style integrates old and new, uses mixed prints and florals and combines design styles.
Childhood Memories Facts:
- A well built conservatory can match any architectural style and can be used year-round.
- Be cautious: historic ironwork is often coated with layers of lead paint.
Southern France Facts :
- The French country style features coarse plaster, distressed ceiling beams and rough stone walls.
- French country flooring is simple with natural colors and a rough finish.
- Consider using a range of earthy and bright colors — warm golds, cobalt blues and russet reds.
- Faux tortoiseshell looks best on small smooth surfaces like sconces, screens, door panels and furniture.
