All the right choices

This home was featured in the Dec/Jan 2010 issue of House Beautiful, and it is a perfect way to start the year here at Verdigris Vie because it reflects many of the design principles this blog represents. When we look at a professionally styled and photographed home in one of our favorite design publications, it's easy to think that this kind of living is completely unattainable. We forget that these homes were not built in just a few weeks. They come together over years. Years of saving for and seeking your favorite pieces of furniture, artwork, antiques, and heirlooms A home doesn't' get painted in a weekend, sometimes you try a colour out for a few months (or years) until you realize you can't live with it. Mouldings and trim can get added over time, doors and windows replaced, until one day, when all the right choices have been made. And that is usually when it gets styled and updated for photos, or when it goes up for sale!
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This Baton Rouge home belongs to Interior Designer Ty Larkins, and is a new construction that is made to look like an old traditional house. The Chevron flooring throughout is beautifully reminiscent of Classic French Interiors. The designer has strong roots in traditional, evident throughout his home, but there is something very young, updated and refreshing here.
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A closed and quaint kitchen is finished in light bright cabinetry. Plenty of natural sunlight and high ceilings keep the space feeling open and spacious. Traditional honed carrera marble counter tops on the island can withstand some abuse from this young family. A smaller separate kitchen, is perfect for a busy family, and for entertaining without the stress of managing a mess.

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10 shades of brown graced these walls until the perfect brown finally made an appearance. In this updated but traditional library, built in shelving house books neatly, comfortable seating and work desk marry under exposed beamed ceilings.

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One of the best quotes from Ty Larkins, that you can read here is,"...buy what you like, first of all. You'll find when you buy what you like, there's a consistency. Those things will usually just go together, seamlessly."

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4 private outdoor seating areas surround this home. Verandas and courtyards are covered with lush green fig ivy that add to the intimacy. Wrought Iron Furniture create the feeling of a European vacation villa. Every room in this home, including outdoor rooms, is an intimate escape to eat, sleep, read, work, chat, and unwind from the restless world surrounding it.

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Also, the amazing Joni of Cote De Texas blogged about this guy way back in April of 2008, can she pick em or what? Her post on Larkins here, has some alternate views of the place, and some additionals as well. Worth a peak.