Blogger's Home Tour: An Easy and Elegant Manse

Easy and Elegant Life's Chris lives in exactly the kind of house you think he would - masculine, tasteful, and full of sentimental value. The house, he notes, is a work in progress, "as all are". He hopes to finish a full third floor to add on to the existing 4,000 or so square feet. Chris notes the house is located in the Fan District of Richmond, VA and is a Queen Anne Victorian, built in 1907, that was turned into a boarding house during the Depression.

"It was gutted when we bought it" Chris says, "and built out from the studs up. Although we still have plaster walls and 12 foot ceilings, a lot of the original details are gone. There were 12 corner fireplaces sharing three chimneys, through out the house. None is working and we've wall-boarded over a couple in the kitchen and my son's room."

"The deco side table and coffee table were bought at our local antiques mall, as was "Lulu," our zebra rug. The couch is naugahyde from the 1930's, found at a junk shop for $35. The vintage phone has been adapted and worked until the children got ahold of the cord and ripped it out of the handset. The ring was enough to wake the dead -- no wonder everyone picked up back in the day. The bar itself is part of the Bogart Collection from Thomasville and is topped with marble veneer and a leather bumper. The glasses are Rosenthal and were my father's. The photos of jazz greats were rescued by Mrs. E. when a former beau threw them out (they were his parents, who used to own a club in Norfolk, VA.) There are signed photos of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and The Ink Spots among them. The carved table was purchased by my parents in Bangkok while my father was on leave from Vietnam. It folds up for transport! The stained glass panels are from an abandoned church and were bought in Belgium. "

"This is a shot of the far end of the bar room. The black scroll chest holds good bottles of wine. It is topped with a silver tray, rum, tequila and brandy. There is a Buddha head from Tuesday Morning and a 1930's vase given to me by my grandmother. The round mirror is new (provenance forgotten.) The vintage Kodak, 1907 (?) Model Pocket camera was my grandfather's."

"The desk in the library where I do my work is a deco-era game table. The top slides off to reveal a green baize underside and two small drawers. The globe is our port and sherry bar. The bookcases were made from scrap lumber by a brilliant carpenter who was on the crew that was renovating the house at the time. "

For LOTS more photos of Chris's home, including additional rooms, check out the constantly updated Blogger's Home Tour Flickr set here. Feel free to subscribe to The Love List to keep up with new homes as they are posted, and hey, if you'd like to participate - you aren't too late! If you have a blog and would like to be a part of the tour, please see the info kit (available on the left sidebar) for more information. Or, you can email jessica@thelovelist.net