It's a Stone's Throw......

I'm a big fan of audio books.  I download them to my IPhone and listen while I do other things..... my favorite way to multi-task!

 I've just finished 40+ hours of Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet.

What a story! 

The scene is  the 12th century in England,  and centers around the building of the cathedral at Kingsbridge. There were many discussions within the story about architecture and engineering.  It was like peering into the design history books to see the initial thought processes that created the historic cathedrals of that time.

It's a story of stone...aquiring them, building with them, engineering them.

It got me thinking about how we use stone in structures today. 

Certainly, it's easier to shape them and use them as an architectural element in our designs, but

I think their impact is still the same...dramatic, warm and timeless. 

Country Living

Cathy Kincaid in House Beautiful

Mark Cocanougher, Interior designer

Massucco Warner Miller Interior Design

Jill Sharp Interior Design

Canadian House and Home

Blue Star Trading Co.  Hico, Texas

Bouldin Castle

Richard Powers, Interior Designer

Austin, Texas

The Pillars of the Earth has been made into a TV mini-series for Starz and will debut July 28. 

I'll be watching...will you?

What a girl wants

I have a bad habit of going to sleep with the TV on, and the other night, I woke up and the movie "What a Girl Wants" with Mel Gibson was on. 


 I began to think about what I want....I'm still a girl after all. 

I like to visualize my ideal house and what I would want it to look like, so for now (because you know it might change later!), these are some must haves for me in my dream home.

Space!.....I want space...inside and out. 

This would do. 

Hey!  I'm dreaming here!

I need trees.  I want to look out my kitchen window and see a rolling hill or two.

or a canopy of beautiful trees.

After all.......

 Henry-Big Dog needs a great yard to run in.

I want a glorious lanai for spending time outdoors with friends and family.  It will have all the amenities of indoors...ceiling fans for the Texas summers and a fireplace for chilly fall evenings. 

Of course, it will be stylish and chic!

Design by Garden Structure

An outdoor kitchen is a must complete with a pizza oven for the grands....

...and the privacy of this saltwater pool and hot tub for me!

Where's my glass of wine??

Are you dreaming with me??

Let's go inside.

I want a great room.....and I mean a GREAT room!

Interior designer, Cathy KIncaid for House Beautiful

I love this room.  The stone work brings the feeling of history to the space...so warm and inviting.  I'm not usually a "blue" person, so I might choose a different decor...like this...

Riverhills showhouse for Southen Accents - Library

or this......

Anchor woman, Jayne McGarry's great room, photographed for D-Magazine.

Ken Blasingame, Interior Designer.

Or even this.

I find this room inviting too.

Image courtesy of Elle Decor

I think this is very eclectic...modern, yet elements of traditional styling.

I like that the sofas are dark because of this....

Like most of the clients I design kitchens for, I want an open concept greatroom/kitchen combination.

The Southern Accents Riverhills Showhouse had the most wonderful kitchen and keeping room.

I might prefer something a little more open to the  family room.

private client, Sally J. Designs

private client, Sally J. Designs

Stay tuned for more dreaming in my next post.  I think I'll dream about dinner parties and dining rooms.  Won't you be my guest?