European Style Garages and Garage Doors

Its already time for this weeks "Which is your Favorite" post.  They house our parked cars, store our lawn furniture, keep our yard equipment protected, and keep the kids bicycles safe.  They are our garages.  Why is it a garage never seems big enough to hold all of the "stuff" we all seem to accumulate all to quickly?

CHOICE 1

Love the stately presence of this garage.  So much detail, from the french light fixtures, window corbels, to the copper downspouts.  I love the solders row of brick above the glass arched garage carriage doors. Looking at the gate pillars I am guessing they may have used a Boral Brick product (which I can't wait to show you our choices).

 Houzz



CHOICE 2
These darker garage doors have more of an Italian feel to me.  The color of the stone and cedar shakes go so well with this darker tone.  I also like that the driveway is not solid surface.  The use of a stone between the tires is a great substitute for grass which requires more maintenance.

CHOICE 3
This is a great garage carriage door with large square glass windows.  The hardware adds to the feel that this operates like an old fashion carriage door.


 Houzz / dynamicgaragedoor.com

CHOICE 4
This arched wood garage door again feels more Italian.  It almost looks like the kind of door you would expect to lead to a wine cellar.  Great hinge and ring pull hardware.

 dynamicgaragedoor.com

CHOICE 5
Great stain color on these wood garage doors.  While you would expect them to open like a carriage door, they actually open like a standard garage door.

CHOICE 6
For a more rustic approach, this open air (or car port) French garage does serve its purpose.  This home is for sale for anyone looking for multiple car ports in France.

CHOICE 7
An Amazing French style garage.  So much detail from the wood beams, to the arched wood doors.  Great stone work trimming out each garage door.  The dormers and cupola add more details and character to the roof.

CHOICE 8
Another great example of wood garage doors.  Enjoy seeing dormers above the garage.

 houseplansandmore.com

CHOICE 9
This is the first time I have seen a double garage door made to look like two single wood garage doors.  With the addition of hardware it is difficult to notice at first.



CHOICE 10
Like many others, this is a fine example of a wood carriage door with glass windows.  What is it about cedar shakes that make them look so good?

CHOICE 11
These wood carriage doors stood out because of the arbors above them.  A great way to frame in your garage doors using your favorite vining plants.

 

 

CHOICE 12

Last but not least, another great Italian style wood garage door.  Again they take a double garage door and try to make it look like two separate doors.  Anyone know what the red plant is growing up the side?



fullmerchantcircle.com

Hope you enjoyed a quick tour of some of our favorite garage and garage door styles.  Which garage inspires you?  We would love to know!

Have a great day!

Tonya and Rob

Thirsty Thursday: French White Hot Chocolate

Good Morning Everyone!

The weekend (and college football gameday) is almost here!  If you are like us, then you will be partaking in tail-gate events.

Every week we have a new gameday drink.  Because the weather is a little colder this week, we have decided to go with a French White Hot Chocolate.  Our version is a slight modification from a Cosmo Chic Cocktail we heard a few years ago.  Now this is our first Thirsty Thursday, so please go easy on our food photography.


French White Hot Chocolate

8 oz. Cold Skim Milk
1 oz. Chambord
1 oz. Creme de Coca
1/2 oz. Godiva White Chocolate
1 1/2 oz. Monin White Chocolate
2 Roasted Marshmallows
Grated Bissingers Dark Chocolate to Taste

 

Make sure your milk stays as cold as possible.  We typically keep our frothing pitcher in the refrigerator so that the milk stays cold after pouring and prior to steaming.

 

Keep steaming your milk until it becomes hot and foamy.

 

Once your milk is ready, add the remaining ingredients to your frothing pitcher.  Stir until well blended and pour into your favorite hot chocolate mug.

We toasted a few marshmallows under the broiler and added them to the hot chocolate.

 

A few dark chocolate shavings and this drink is ready to enjoy on any cold day!

 

We hope you found some inspiration in this first installement of our Thirsty Thursday series.  Now lets drink to your teams success (unless they are playing ours!).

 

 

Have a great day!

 

Tonya and Rob

Bathroom Sinks: Which is your Favorite?

We have started to experience some chilly mornings here in Indiana.   Just another sign that fall is quickly approaching and that we will soon be celebrating, and decorating for, the holidays.

 

Today we want to share some inspirational photographs for bathroom sinks.  We are trying to narrow down some selections before we visit the showroom next month.  As a side note, we will also be visiting the Bentwood Kitchens showroom in Chicago next month to review cabinet designs.  It should be fun and we of course will share all of it with you.

 

Now on to some sinks! 



 

CHOICE 1 

I expect this blue and white inspired sink to be a hit with many. 

 

 

 CHOICE 2

Our master bathroom will have two separate vanity / sink areas slightly larger than this space.  The tile being carried up from the floor to become part of the back splash adds a great look.  We still are not sure about a bowl sink, as we plan to utilize wall mounted faucets to make cleaning counter tops easier.  A bowl sink may conflict with this objective.  Who has a bowl sink?  Are they difficult to clean around?

atticmag.com

CHOICE 3

Now this sink may be better utilized in a garden room, but we have also seen large sinks like this in bathrooms.  It is a very impressive rectangular sink. 

 

CHOICE 4

Again a different version of a bowl sink, this time in white porcelain instead of the marble bowl sink shown above.  This designer has also used wall mounted faucets.  I think this would have looked better with a tile back splash instead of the same granite.

designlinesltd.com 

CHOICE 5

This is a very traditional sink design.  We are considering this for use in our powder room more than the master bathroom.  The wainscoting behind the sink adds to that traditional feel.

decorpad.com 

CHOICE 6

This white pedestal sink is nearly identical to the one above, but slightly smaller.  We tend to gravitate towards the larger of the two.

 houzz

 

 

CHOICE 7

This open design vanity / sink is very European in feel.  Again the wall mounted sinks and recessed bowls make cleanup a snap in this bathroom.  The stainless steel sinks actually look very nice with the polished chrome faucets and plumping.

decorpad.com 

CHOICE 8

Another variation of a traditional white sink with marble counter top.

homedecoration.net 

 

CHOICE 9

Here is something a little different for all of the contemporary sink folks out there.  The large glass sink bowls are the perfect size.

houstonarchitecture.com 

 

CHOICE 10

This shows another open vanity / sink design.  These wall mounted faucets also have wall mounted soap dishes.  How great is this sink to clean!? A quick pick up of the tray and wipe it down.  Nothing to get in the way on the counter top.

decorpad.com

 

 CHOICE 11

Again another beautiful bowl sink with wall mounted faucets.

architecturenewsplus.com

 

 

 Okay I realize this isn't a bathroom sink but who wouldn't want this in their bathroom?  The color, size, and appearance of this french blue bathroom cabinet is amazing.  Such a beautiful piece for storing away towels and other bathroom goodies for when you have a vanity / sink with no cabinets or drawers.

 

Those are our inspirational photographs for today. 

 

If you missed our last post on Wine Cellar Designs you can see it HERE.

 

Next Thursday we will be starting our "Thirsty Thursday" drink series.  This series will be designed to give you ideas for your college game day tailgates.

 

Again, thanks to all of you who continue to comment and sign up to follow our blog.  The feed burner feed is on fire!!  We love hearing from you and will always try to respond to every question and comment.

 

 

Thanks again and have a great day!

 

Tonya and Rob

 



Old World Rustic Wine Cellars

Well summer is now unofficially over.  Here's to hoping that everyone had a terrific sunshine filled summer of fun.  This sounds like a perfect time to insert "raise your glasses", so it's fitting that today we are sharing some inspirational images of wine cellars.

 

You may recall that we have chosen to leave some of the new basement unfinished.  The one room that will be complete, however, will be the wine cellar room.  Proper storage for wine is extremely important, especially if you have purchased any wine for long term investments.  A wine cellar room with a dedicated temperature control system can maintain your wines at a constant temperature (55-57 degree's) and humidity (60%-70%).  Now your wines will feel like they are deep in the legendary wine cellars of France.

 

These are some of the design options we are considering.  Which would you select for your wine cellar room?

 

CHOICE 1

 

This wine room has great wood shelving that has been divided into squares rather than individual bottles.  This allows for large wine crates to be incorporated into the storage unit.

CHOICE 2

This wine storage has a great "cellar" feel with its old world brick and arched brick ceiling.

CHOICE 3

This brick wine cellar also stores its wine in square storage bins with stone shelving.

Wine cellars are not just for wine.  If there is a collection of cigars in your home then it is also a great place to incorporate a cigar humidor.  The temperature and humidity of controlled wine cellars are perfect for storing that cherished or rare cigar.

CHOICE 4

This wine cellar has a great shelf that allows for the storage of spirits.  These items need not be drank immediately upon opening and thus do not need to be stored on their sides as do corked wine bottles.

CHOICE 5

Can you say brick wine cellar?  This room has a great arched brick ceiling, as well as a brick paver floor and arched brick wine storage bins.

CHOICE 6

Also important is the wine cellar door.  This cedar door comes complete with a traditional arch and old world hardware.  A perfect entrance into this wine room.  The cedar shelving on the left side of the door is particularly convenient for placing full wine crates.

 

CHOICE 7

A recent hobby in this household is dry curing meats.  Just like with cigars, a temperature controlled wine room is the perfect environment for dry curing your own prosciuttos, sausages, and other meats.  Bring some old world charcuterie into your household and give this hobby a try.

CHOICE 8

This wine cellar appears to be multi chambered.  It too has great arched brick supports for  wine bottle storage. We really like the fact that candles are used as a light source.  They just add to the feel of an old wine cellar.

CHOICE 9

Some may not have the space for a huge wine cellar.  In that case, this kitchen floor wine cellar might be just for you.  The five steps extend down into the basement or crawl space of your home while giving a huge amount of wine bottle storage.

CHOICE 10

We really like the look of this cellar.  Like many of the others, it too has brick supports with brick arches.  The wine bottles rest on wood or stone shelves.  A favorite detail in this room are the recessed upper storage spaces which allow for the creation of a small counter top.  Here they have placed candles and a few wine bottles.  This would also be a good place to store spirits.  Like seeing the candles and lighting in this room.

CHOICE 11

As you can tell by now, we tend to favor the rustic wine cellar room over the more modern wood rack systems.  The brick and arches just make the space feel like you would find this cellar in an old world style home.  By making the room large, you have the space for a tasting table and wine crate storage in the center of the room.

CHOICE 12

This wine cellar room is fantastic, but lacks some of the old world charm of many of the others we have shown.  I feel like I am looking into a wine store, not standing in a 200 year old cellar in the French countryside.

What an appropriate sink to place in any wine room.

CHOICE 13

Another owner has taken advantage of the controlled temperature and humidity of their wine room by hanging their dry cured meats.

CHOICE 14

We feel this wine cellar designer did a great job of mixing old world with modern wine room designs.

 josephandcurtis.com

CHOICE 15

If you want to have a party in your wine room, this is the way to do it.  This large table can host a wine tasting party right in the middle of the wine cellar.  Again we see large square storage bins which make it easy to store wine on its side or spirits upright.

CHOICE 16

Another great merger of old world design and modern wine storage.  The use of an arched brick ceiling and stone supports gives it a great "cellar" feel.  This room has great display storage for those special or rare bottles.  The sconces add a great touch of light to this space.

 Houzz

 

CHOICE 17

A final combination of old world meets modern wine room.  The dark wood wine racks go great with the pillars and plank and beam ceiling.  A great space complete with wine tasting table.

http://www.winecellardesign.biz

 

As always, we hope you too find these images inspirational.  If you want to see the actual construction of our wine cellar, be sure to sign up to receive email updates, or join us on Facebook.  Construction will begin in the coming months, and we will have lots of information to share with all of our blogger friends.

Thanks as always to our regular visitors and those that continue to add us to their "favorite blogs" list.

Cheers!!!

Tonya and Rob