An Enchanted Home Story
April 07, 2017 |
| An Interview With The Enchanted Home |
One of the most enjoyable aspects of blogging is making
online friends, and Tina of The Enchanted Home
is one of my besties as we go way back
to a time I was living in a Nordic French home,
and she was building an enchanted French-inspired
chateau along with a beautiful home decor business.
I can't tell you how fun it was to journey
with Tina as they constructed this magnificent
home, and she blogged about the progress,
sharing glimpses of her creative process and
daily life as the dream blossomed into reality.
The Enchanted Home blog and shop are
cherished by thousands because of the
loveliness at their core:
a friendly hostess with a
heart of gold and a keen eye for style.
I love her.
I would love this blogger if she called
home a cardboard box and decided to
blog solely about pauper-life enchantment.
She's smart, witty, tender, and could pull it off.
But her home happens to be exquisite,
and she welcomes us into it freely,
sharing inspiration beyond it
with fashion, recipes, and
entertaining tips we can trust.
If you know her, then you know blue and white
are totally Tina's jam...but let's pull back the veil!
Let's go deeper with this lovely blogger, oui?
Also.
I have a special treat for those of you who
love a good before/after story.
Yep...some shots of the enchanted home's
under-construction progress which were
shared years ago on Tina's blog.
Onward.
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| An Interview With The Enchanted Home |
Tina: Blue and white, Something mirrored,
Flowers, Texture, Great lighting (lamps or sconces)
and Books.
(For awesome blue and white options, visit her shop!)
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| An Interview With The Enchanted Home |
FOR A DAY, WHO WOULD IT BE?
Tina: Whoa, loaded question.
Several come to mind, but I would only want to be them
for one day and then get back to the business
of being me and living a conventional life. :)
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| Princess Kate (in blue and white!) |
Princess Kate...she is one royal I know
I would connect with, and it would be fun
to live her life for a day and see
if royalty is all its really cracked up to be,
Tory Burch or Aerin Lauder (to get to run their empire
with their global reach just to see what it feels like),
Angela Merkel (would be fascinating to see the world
through her eyes as a woman of immense power).
I could go on but think that's a pretty interesting list for one day:)
(I am not sure I'd like living in Princess Kate's
digs more than Tina's... get ready for
some before and afters of
The Enchanted Home!)
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| BEFORE |
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| BEFORE - KITCHEN |
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| BEFORE - KITCHEN |
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| BEFORE - KITCHEN |
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| DURING |
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| AFTER |
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| AFTER |
Tina: colors- blue, green and white
number- 2, 4, and 8...has to be even!
dog breed- Golden Retriever (of course)
food- either sushi or pasta
flower- a toss up between orchids and hydrangeas
season- fall, hands down
water- Poland Spring and Pellegrino for sparkling
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| An Interview With The Enchanted Home |
Tina:
I actually love a really broad range,
from reggae to classical to some pop
to bossa nova, go figure!
(I'm only slightly disappointed she
did not mention 'Belieber' in her response.)
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| An Interview With The Enchanted Home |
Tina:
Horses (of course after Teddy).
(I love Teddy too!)
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| The Enchanted Home - Kitchen Tour |
Tina:
I have many but a few would be:
Point of View by Bunny Williams
The Age of Elegance by Alex Papachristidis
One Man's Folly by Furlow Gatewood
Beautiful by Mark Sikes
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| The Enchanted Home - Kitchen Tour |
Tina:
Way too many but show me a luxurious
striae velvet and I melt!
In the course of 10 seconds, I can come up
with six reasons why I absolutely NEED it.
(Hahahaha. Only designfreaks
like the ones reading this interview
will understand!)
Tina:
Love many but a handpainted chinoiserie
mural/wallpaper from Paul Montgomery,
Gracie or DeGournay has impact like no other.
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| The Enchanted Home - Kitchen Tour |
Tina:
Maybe anything from La Prairie, a fabulous line
that works beautifully for my skin.
HL: FAVORITE LUXURY?
Tina:
Time!!! I just need more:)
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| The Enchanted Home - Entry |
Tina:
Provence, no where else quite like it!
HL: FAVORITE MEAL TO COOK?
Tina:
Beef Bourguignon, I channel my
inner Julia Child and make believe I am
in my country home in Avignon,
it feels almost real when I can pipe
in French music and open a bottle of red:)
(Apparently you can take the girl out of Avignon,
but you can't separate Avignon from the girl...
just look at this unbelievably enchanting
transformation of the family room in
Tina's French inspired beautiful home!)
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| BEFORE |
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| The Enchanted Home - Family Room Blueprints |
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| AFTER: The Enchanted Home - Family Room |
See what I mean about how fun it was
for Enchanted Home blog friends years ago
as we watched this home come into existence!?!
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| The Enchanted Home - Loggia with Blue and White |
Tina: Can I count my own? LOL, seriously I love
going to the D and D building in NYC,
so much inspiration all in one big concrete box!
HL: FAVORITE TRIP FOR DESIGN INSPIRATION?
Tina: France hands down...are you seeing a trend here?
Oui. And we likey.
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| The Enchanted Home - Loggia |
FIRST THING YOU DO IN THE MORNING?
Tina: C O F F E E!!!
HL: FIRST JOB YOU EVER WORKED?
Tina: Summer job at Godfather's Pizza...
I wasn't very good
and needless to say it did not last long,
I decided babysitting was far easier:)
That's it. We must have another interview
which strictly covers the Godfather's Pizza
chapter of your adolescence...I insist!
HL: FIRST TIME YOU BOARDED A PLANE?
Tina: At the ripe old age of 1 from California to Japan!
Talk about a pint sized jetsetter:)
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| The Enchanted Home - Bedroom |
HL: FIRST THING YOU DO WHEN
YOU ARRIVE HOME
AFTER A STRESSFUL DAY?
Tina: Change into my cotton pjs and exhale...
favorite part of my day.
I love that!
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| The Enchanted Home - Bath |
IF I VISITED YOUR CITY/TOWN?
Tina: Maybe start with Central Park to take in all the
"Newyorkcityness," stoll along Madison Ave and then
go into Soho to a fun, trendy restaurant.
(I am totally game for experiencing a New York moment
or 5 in Central Park with you, Tina...
hang on to your hard hats now, friends,
for a before/after of the enchanting home's exterior.)
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| DURING |
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| AFTER: The Enchanted Home - Exterior |
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DURING
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| An Interview With The Enchanted Home |
Boom!
THAT WAS SIGNIFICANT FOR YOU?
Tina: Well besides owning my first ginger jar...lol,
my first apartment...I was 22, newly married
and we bought an apt in NYC, all 880 sq feet
of it...and thought we lived in the Taj Mahal.
I'm seriously impressed that your apartment
was that large (our first house was that size!)
and that you married young like me!
We were children, Tina!
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| The Enchanted Home - Powder Room |
there was no turning back, and it was the
first time I discovered
what unconditional love is.
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| A powerful first. |
Yes.
And that's another important thing we share in
common as mamas of sons only...mamas who
can hardly wait for grandchildren!
Thank you, Tina, for your friendship,
your spirit of generosity, and your
beautiful sentiments.
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| The Enchanted Home Interview |
for making time for us
and for sharing so thoughtfully.
She's gonna shoot me for including this,
but The Enchanted Home is on the short list
of nominees for the
2017 JDR Industry Blogger Awards,
and you can vote for her blog here.
If you want to learn more about this
blogger, read another interview
I did with her here.
Visit The Enchanted Home and the
lovely shop born from it, where you
can journey with Tina and be inspired...
I know I am!
Peace to you right where you are.
7 comments
WOW!! Talk about ways to make a girl blush:) This is incredible and your "sleuthing" was epic, given the "archives" you dug up! It was actually fun for me to walk down memory lane remembering that stage of building...wouldn't wish to go back there but overall it was quite an experience and a vivid reminder of this journey. THANK YOU Michele for your wonderful wit, off the chart story telling abilities, uncanny way of being able to make a girl feel awfully special at 6am on a Saturday morning and mostly for your big, kind and giving heart. The world could use more like you...you too are my "blog sister" and anytime you head this way, you better be sure to let me know. We will meet, have a little adventure in the city we can listen to Beiber and I will even tell you about my one week career at Godfathers pizza, lol. Happy Saturday to you and thank you again my sweet friend:)
ReplyDeleteYou ARE very special. Nothing like a blog sister lovefest to keep the admiration society alive and keep the friendship fires burning across cyberspace...thanks for all these kind words, Tina. xox
DeleteI guess Tina's blog is the first blog I ever stumbled across and I was mesmerized! I am SO not surprised that you are blogger friends! Thank you for sharing this interview with us! Hugs!
ReplyDeleteYes! Mesmerized! Thanks for reading, lovely Katherine. xox
DeleteWhat a magnificent enchanted castle! Thanks for introducing us to Tina, a lovely and inspiring person just like you☀️
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping, lovely! xox
DeleteDo you have any idea what color her kitchen cabinets are? And what marble? I'm modeling my kitchen after this. It truly is my dream kitchen. Thank you.
DeleteYour comments add to the beauty...thanks in advance for your kindness.