Guest Picks: Everything Old-World Is New Again

What do you get when a blogger who specializes in farmhouse French design builds a new house? A brand-new home that looks like it has been around for a hundred years. In fact, most of my visitors think that I remodeled an old house.

People assume it is old because it is a Craftsman-style home in the middle of the Houston Heights, Texas, where many of the existing Craftsman and Victorian homes were built in the early 1900s. I worked painstakingly to incorporate lots of reclaimed and salvaged items into the decor, and included lots of new items that have an old-world feel. The front porch ceiling is covered in antique painted beadboard, while the old beams and reclaimed oak floors came from a salvage yard just down the street. My newel post is a very old, rusty, wrought iron fence post that I repurposed for use indoors. Then I scoured the Internet to find new items that would fit in with the old-world feel I wanted to create.

Here are my sources, along with photos of the items in my new home. — Anita from Cedar Hill Ranch

The first thing people notice about my kitchen is the gorgeous reclaimed beams on the ceiling. Ironically, they were not part of the original plans, but were added to cover up a mistake.

When the final plans arrived, the architect had added a cased opening to the breakfast room and a column that would have come down at the end of the kitchen peninsula. I was adamant that the column would ruin the look of the room, so Ridgewater Homes (my builder) worked with me to add a large ceiling beam for support. They were then able to remove the column from the plans. The builder covered the structurally necessary beam with rustic reclaimed wood, then added the smaller beams across the ceiling of the kitchen to make it look planned.


Murray Feiss F2480/4 4-Light Traditional/Classic Up Lighting Chandelier - $322.15 This chandelier is so gorgeous in person, and it turned out to be the perfect jewelry for my kitchen. When the lights are on, the crystals act as prisms, casting little bits of colored light onto the refrigerator door. Clients ask me all the time if it is OK to mix gold and silver tones, and my answer is yes! Two of these gold chandeliers hang over my kitchen island and mix happily with my stainless steel refrigerator and freezer.


JVJ Hardware French Provincial Laced Handle Pull - $4.47 I loved these French pulls so much that I used them throughout the house. They are in the kitchen, butler's pantry and bathrooms. The brushed pewter finish adds a little bling.


I used a French lantern from Ballard Designs in my breakfast room. It's very large but works perfectly. Paired with the rustic beams on the ceiling and the antique French armoire, it looks like it was made for this sun-filled nook. For a little extra interest and storage, I added plate racks flanking the south-facing windows.


Francis Lantern - $199.99 This is Ballard Designs' new electric version of an antique French gaslight. It really is stunning in person. If you want to give your room instant weight and an old-world feel, this is my recommendation.


I wanted the master closet to feel like a luxurious dressing room rather than a room in which my husband and I simply store clothes. I added a wall of cabinetry to hide the inevitable mounds of messy things that just appear when one is married to a hoarder (er, I mean collector). Then I reupholstered and added a bergère that I found at a nearby thrift store. It's wonderful to have a place to sit when I put on my shoes. Lastly, the small chandelier makes the space feel special.


Quorum International 4-Light Florence Collection Chandelier - $218 This is the chandelier I chose for the dressing room. It is just the perfect size, and I love the color next to the gray cabinetry. I used low-wattage bulbs so the lighting would not be too harsh in the morning. If I need more light, I simply turn on the canned lights.


Here is the dining room. I knew I wanted that chandelier from the beginning. The look is what I call farmhouse French. The vintage chairs and the cabinet are French, while the rusty olive buckets and the antique crate add a farmhouse look.


Salento 6-Light Chandelier - $395 This was the first light fixture I bought for the new house. It is fun, rustic and elegant all at the same time. I just don't think you can go wrong with it.


Minka Lavery 4182 Preston Ridge 2-Light Wall Sconce - $93.90 I don't care for much of the typical bathroom lighting found at most lighting stores. When I found these rustic French (or maybe Italian?) sconces, I knew they would go perfectly with my old-world look. I used them in the girls' bathroom above the mirrors.


57-Inch Claw-Foot Bathtub With British Telephone Faucet Maybe this isn't the most practical choice, but when you live in a historic area, you just need a claw-foot tub. I am so happy I went with this tub for the guest room. Everyone seems to love it.


Quorum International Salento 1-Light Wall Sconce - $68 The majority of light fixtures for bathrooms just did not appeal to me or fit with my old-world theme. This sconce was actually meant for a foyer, but I had already custom painted some mirrors in a similar finish and thought it would complement them perfectly.


Randolph Morris 66-Inch Cast Iron Double-Ended Pedestal Tub For the master bath, I wanted a pedestal tub. I was not a tub person when I moved in, but I am now! I had no idea how life changing this tub would be. It is so luxurious to take a soak now. It's worth the splurge.


Astoria Knob Most guests notice my doorknobs. Even the tattooed moving crew loved them! They were not cheap, but I felt they were worth the extra money, because they add a historic feel. Plus, they are just plain gorgeous.


Afyon White Marble Sink With Rope Edge - $279 A sink is not just a sink when you go with a vessel sink. It's a work of art. This particular piece is made from marble and can be used as a vessel sink on top of the vanity or as a drop-in sink. I put it in my powder room.


Valletta Candle Sconce - $179 Having admired this candle sconce for quite some time, I was looking for a way to incorporate it into my new home. The old, chipped paint works perfectly with my antique French furniture. I mounted one on an old French door that I bolted to the wall.


Oval Ribbon & Reed Entry Set When you have an 8-foot front door, it is important to find a door pull that is sized properly. I was looking for handles with a French feel, and these work perfectly. For the inside I used crystal knobs.


This is one of the built-in cabinets in the living room. I finished them with antiquing wax to give them a deeper, richer look. The doors have chicken wire rather than glass to continue the French country theme.


Hickory Hardware P3001-RI Country/Rustic Iron Cabinet Pull - $4.15 My friends know I am a rusty-crusty-chippy kind of girl, so it's no surprise that when I saw these pulls, my heart skipped a beat. I added them to the French built-in cabinets in the living room.


When you go to an auction, you never know what you will find, or what kind of deal might be waiting for you. I found these antique doors at an auction for $50 dollars apiece (not including the labor to strip the paint or the price of the hanging hardware). Because they are 8 feet tall, it was no small job to transport them, but in the end, all of my efforts paid off. Ridgewater Homes did an awesome job stripping off layers and layers of old paint, then hanging them with the reproduction hanging hardware. The antique French desk came from the same auction.


Hammered Arrow Barn Door Hardware - $289 When I found the antique doors, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them: I pictured them hanging with this type of hardware. The rust finish looks beautiful in person and marries perfectly with the chippy doors.


JVJ Hardware Lone Star Collection Texas Star Mushroom Knob - $3.05 Just to mix it up a bit, I used these knobs in the laundry room. The star in the middle reminds the family that we live in Texas. I know, we Texans can go a bit overboard.


Osric Brass Doorbell, Antique Brass Finish - $39.95 At first my friends laughed at the white plastic builder-grade doorbell on the front of my house. Of course I hadn't picked one out yet. I was determined to find something with a wow factor. I'm not sure what this style is, but it looks like it could be Craftsman or even French. It's big, too! I looked into getting a video intercom for the front door, but when the installer said I would have to get rid of my new doorbell, I said, "No, thank you!"


Cabo Standard Roman Natural Shades, Placid So what do you do to add privacy to a room when you love the look of the windows uncovered? I have wood sash windows with lots of gorgeous trim details that I wanted to leave exposed. I decided to go with inside-mount cordless bamboo shades. I spent a lot of time researching shades to find just the right color that would coordinate with my gray walls.


Aina Curtains, Natural - $49.99 As a complement to the bamboo shades, I selected these Ikea linen curtains for the girls' rooms upstairs. And because they are from Ikea, they are priced very well.


Textured Belgian Linen Drapery - $179 If you guessed that these curtains are from Restoration Hardware, give yourself a gold star. They are gorgeous Belgian linen with lots of texture. I am considering adding them to the dining room and the study. They are quite expensive, so I might end up making my own, but something with this look would be perfect.

Next: Warm Up Your Home With Old-World Wrought Iron Lighting

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